London's Glamorous Shirtmaker

Emma Willis is much the most glamorous bespoke shirt maker in London, and probably the second best known after Turnbull & Asser, her near neighbour on Jermyn Street. Central to her success is the fact that she shares not one address with Turnbull & Asser, but two. Because Emma Willis has her own shirt-making facility in the city of Gloucester (where Turnbull also has its factory) in which all her shirts, as well as ties, pyjamas, dressing gowns, swimming shorts and socks, are made. She is a passionate advocate for the made in England label.

An Emma Willis shirt is British in style, while being cut slimmer than is traditional - something that endears her to younger customers. When asked what defines an English shirt she says, “We put our stitching in ¼ inch from the seams, a raised placket is typical and with the stitching closer together so it runs under the buttons, which are flat mother of pearl. We do single-stitch side seams, which take twice as long because you have to sew them, then fold them over and sew them again. And we have hand-sewn gussets.” The quality of pattern matching on the shirts’ split yoke is also notable.

Surprisingly, given the current state of London shirt-making, the gussets do not represent the only handwork available on her shirts. “I have two customers who have hand-sewn shirts, and two hand sewers who can set the sleeve in and put the collar on by hand. It adds about £100 ($160) to the price of a shirt,” Willis explains. Demand seems buoyant for her custom service; she says that her bespoke orders (which includes made-to-measure shirts sold through her website) account for 50% of her sales. And she currently benefits from the enthusiasm of her clients for smart casual dressing. People buy shirts for the weekend, rather than going into T-shirts.” Which isn’t just good news for her, but for anyone interested in male elegance.

-Words by Mansel Fletcher
-Photography by Chloë Lederman