Bespoke 2.0: Get him a custom shirt for Valentines Day

Online shopping is wildly convenient if youre tight on time or live out in the boonies, miles from a mall. But often with convenience, comes compromise on both quality and tailored fit because its hard to tell from a picture, especially of a supermodel, what the clothes really look like and how they will fit on you.

Three of todays hottest fashion start-ups, recommended to me by none other than the founders of Of A Kind, are defining a niche for themselves by selling custom-made mens shirts online. How do they compare? TNW takes out the measuring tape.

Proper Cloth

Founder: Seph Skerritt
Location: New York City
Launched: October, 2008

Proper Cloth provides customers with various methods fordeterminingsize to help them create the perfect size.Customers can follow video tutorials on how to measure their body, answer a smart sizes survey, choosing from a database of other brand sizes, or by just going with simple standard sizes.

CBM: How could a girl get her boyfriends size?

Seph Skerritt: If youre going to buy your boy a shirt and you want it to be a surprise, you should sneak into his closet and measure his favorite shirt when hes not around. I will gladly send out a measuring tape to help with this. She could also just measure his body directly with his cooperation. Folks in New York are welcome to drop by their office for a f! itting t oo.

Proper Cloth also offersgift cards. For gift certificates over $120, they include a cool gift box with fabric samples and a measuring tape.

Proper Cloth guarantees a perfect fit by giving every customer complimentary alterations on his first shirt. Expect an updated version in another 2 weeks after emailing the company. They have something for everyone lots of cool, trendy casual styles that arent too expensive and more high-end looks. The combinations are endless and each shirt can be shared on Facebook and Twitter. Theyre currently showing 80 fabrics, 4 collar styles, 3 cuff styles, 4 button options, 80 accent options, monogram options, and more.Shirts start at $89 and go up to $300 and delivery is guaranteed 2-3 weeks after purchase, shipping is free. Shirts are manufactured in Malaysia.

CBM: Your thoughts on 2011 trendsin mens fashion?

SS: Slimmer cuts continue to be popular, which makes custom fit even more important. For casual styles, tailored oxford cloth button downs and plaids are definitely going to be big this year.

Biased Cut

Founders: Jonathan Cheng, Annie Tai, and Eric Bertelsen
Location: Headquartered in NYC, offices also in Hong Kong
Launched: December 2009

Biased Cut asks customers to provide 11 different body measurements, including their height and weight. They provide detailed instructions with images, as well as a video guide and our available for questions. Biased Cut keeps an experienced tailor on staff who sometimes makes adjustments based on his expertise, and if anything looks to be too far off Biased Cuts staff will reach out directly to the customers. And if for some reason the shirt is anything less than a g! reat fit , they personally work with the customer to ensure it gets there.

CBM: How could a girl get her boyfriends size?

Eric Bertelsen: Aside from measuring him in his sleep (assuming you have ninja-like qualities), the only way to really surprise him with an actual shirt is to sneak into his closet and measure one of his best-fitting ones. Of course, this gives you a new shirt that only fits as well as his existing one.

Alternatively, wed suggest taking the measurements under his consent, which is actually a pretty simple process and only takes 5 minutes (and well send you a free measuring tape). Or, you can purchase a gift card from us, and then let him have more input in the process.

Shirts are priced at $85 or $95, and first time customers receive a $20 store credit just for signing up. The online store typically carries 15-20 styles, with variations on collar and cuff type. We prefer to keep our collection a little more curated and make the little decisions for the customer, things like pleats, pockets, stitching, button type, etc, says Bertelsen. Most of their shirts are available in limited quantities and they rarely restock fabrics.

Everyone from the team contributes to the design process. We source fabrics from around the world, so were constantly searching for the best thats out there. We have an exhaustive selection process, always taking in consideration things like quality, value, durability, season, and (sometimes) current trends. -Eric Bertelsen

Their shirts are tailored by a modern tailoring shop in Hong Kong that has experience with numerous internationally renowned brands. Two of B.C.s team members, Cheng and Taireside there permanently, allowing the company to work personall! y with t he tailors on new designs and adjustments and do onsite quality control.

Shirts are delivered within 3-4 weeks from order date. Shipping within the US costs $5 per order, and $15 for international deliveries.

CBM: Your thoughts on 2011 trendsin mens fashion?

EB: We wont go outside of our comfort zone of shirts, but we expect mens shirting to see a lot of carryover from 2010 trends. Brightly colored ginghams will likely remain popular, perhaps with an emphasize on the smaller checks (aka microchecks). Chambray was and continues to be popular for the more casual shirts, but that may run its course in 2011. Some interesting bright and bold solids have also been appearing recently.

Other design features to watch for are a shrinking collars and club collars. We arent big fans of the thin collars, but we love the club. Its a cheeky, smart touch to an otherwise traditionally styled shirt that still has roots in classic mens style.

Deo Veritas

Founder: Vinnie Sikka
Location: Chicago
Launched: 2007

Deo Veritas wasfounded on the principle that hand made clothing should not be a luxury afforded only to the affluent. The platform ensures a great fit by offering 3 measurement methods which addresses most body types and proportions.

CBM: How could a girl get her boyfriends size?

Vinnie Sikka: Measuring an existing shirt out of a mans closet is the easiest way to get his measurements, particularly if you can find a shirt that you know fits him well. If youre not intending to make this a surprise, taking his measurements for him would also be a great option.

Deo Veritas offers a basic tester shirt for $45 for those new to e-tailoring. Their most expensive line is the premium, silky smooth Thomas Mason line, which tops out at $144 a shirt. They offer 80 different fabric choices, 6 different collars, 5 different cuffs, 3 placket styles and 3 back pleat styles.

They offer monogramming, options for collar stays, matching pocket squares, contrasting fabric (for the inner collars and cuffs) and an option for sewn collar. Their shirts are produced at their central production facility in Hong Kong, which is a major destination for travelers looking for inexpensive, high-quality tailored clothing.

The typical shirt delivery time from order placement is 28 31 days, so a little slow if youre looking to buy your honey a shirt for the big V-Day. For an additional cost of $40, shirts can arrive in as little as 10 days should customers select the rush delivery option. Delivery is free to the US and Canada. Worldwide shipping is available for an additional, nominal fee calculated at checkout based on geographic region.

CBM: Your thoughts on 2011 trendsin mens fashion?.

VS: Tapered (not super slim) cuts that accentuate the shoulders and chest, shorter collars, solid grays, gingham checks, and bold stripes have been trending up for sometime. Stay away from ridiculous contrast options, i.e. black and white check pattern on a maroon striped shirt subtlety will win you points. The flowback, aka cocktail cuff has also been making a bit of a resurgence for any film buffs these are also known as the James Bond cuffs, popularized by Sean Connery & Roger Moore back in the 60s and 70s. A bit flashy, but they can work with the right outfit.

While Deo Veritas doesnt have a store, it has started offering an off the rack collection in select stores in Chicago.

Just to engage in a little skepticism I reached out to two of my favorite well-dressed men.

Life enthusiast,CJN says, On some level, sending your measurements makes sense. On another level, being measured by someone that has made lots of shirts and understands the subtle details of fit, etc. is another. There are lots of little details that, in aggregate, add up to a lot. I dont think you could ever really get a perfect shirt from one of these sites.

Graphic designer, Allbriton Robbins suggested you check out Alexander West (and tell them he sent you) because he will measure you in person and offer custom cuts.

^man chic.

Image Credit, Image Credit

No usually doesnt mean No but Not yet

No
We cant do that
It isnt possible
It cant be done
It will never happen

The above answers are the easy way out to any question. Saying Yes is always more work, more demanding, requires more thinking and more energy. It isnt surprising that you often hear no or a variation of the negative replies listed above. The trick of course is not taking no for an answer and trying to come up with a reason to make it easier to say yes.

Remove anonymity
I once entered a building on my way to an important meeting. I hitched a ride with an executive from a big company and when we parked in the basement of the company we were visiting we ended up parking in the wrong section. It wasnt really our fault. Their intercom system was broken so we didnt hear a word they said. We just found the first available spot and parked there. When we entered the lobby we were greeted by a seriously pissed of security guy who started shouting at us and demanded we go back and move our cars.

The guy I was with didnt blink, got out his pen and paper and asked for the security guys name. He wrote that down and then asked for his superiors name and wrote that down too. Then he got out his businesscard handed it over, and said So now that we know each others name can you tell me what the problem is. By then the security guard had calmed down a bit and explained that we had parked in a reserved parking spot. The manager then calmly explained that we were having a meeting with the CEO and would rather have our cars towed than be too late. Unless of course the security guy would take responsibility for us being too late. He mumbled something about how it really wasnt that big a problem after all and we continued to our meeting.

I complimented the manager with the way he handled that and he expla! ined tha t you can solve a lot of problems before they get started if you make sure everybody knows who everybody is and that whatever they do will have consequences. It is very easy to extend your middle finger to an anonymous car in the road but a different thing once you realize that the driver in that car is a women who just lost her husband to some awful accident and is now on her way to tell her kids. The less anonymous your encounter is the harder it becomes to be unkind and say no.

Put focus on the bigger issues
A few months ago I was asked to do a presentation somewhere for an audience of a few hundred clients. It was an important event for the company and they had spared no expense to make a good impression on their clients. When i do presentations I use Keynote which allows you to use something called Presenter Mode. It shows you the current slide, the next slide and your notes, if you have them. It also shows you how long you have been talking and how much time you have left:

Presenter Mode is something that everybody should use when giving presentations. If I were the king of the world I would make it mandatory for all presentations. It makes a story so much more fluent and professional if the speaker can see what the next slide is instead of having to remember it.

Unfortunately it does require some set-up. Usually when you do a presentation you will have the presentation projected behind you and if you are lucky you will have a presenter screen at your feet showing the slide behind you. What the technicians usually do is send the same video feed to two monitors. To be able to use presenter mode you need s slightly different set-up. One that takes two different feeds (presenter mode and the actual slide) and sends one to the small monitor and th! e other one to the big projector. I request this specifically in advance when I do presentations because I know it is a bit more work.

So that particular day I arrive and we do a test run and I dont see presenter mode on the small monitor. I walk over to the technician and ask him about it and he says: Yeah, sorry. That isnt possible technically. I dont easily accept no for an answer so I press on. About a minute later he says Okay, it is possible but we dont have the right cables. I still dont accept and remind him that we have a full two hours until the presentation starts and there are ample stores within a 30 minute drive. I offer to go and get the cable myself. After 5 minutes of arguing it turns out it is possible, and they do have the right cables but it will mean rewiring everything and it will also mean the technician will have to switch laptops three times ruing the whole event. Eventually I get my Presenter View and the presentation goes well.

The reason I got it all worked out wasnt because I pulled rank, threatened to get him fired or because I shouted at him. What I did was explain to him that the ultimate goal of the day was to impress the hell out of the audience. I explained that although it would be more work for all of us my presentation would be a lot better if I could see my next slide and I made it clear that THAT was the thing that mattered most. Making our lives easier is not the most important priority. Once he realized that we could start thinking about a solution.

No = not yet
I once knew a sales guy who said that he never took the answer No to actually mean No. To him No just meant Not yet. The challenge is to find out what provoked the negative reply. Is someone just tired? Maybe you can buy them a coffee first. Are they just overwhelmed with work? Maybe you can help them with that. Are they afraid of the responsibility? Offer to take full responsibility.

No usually means something else and is just the start of a conversation. Dont let it g! et you d own.

iTunes gifting grifter cleaning out British bank accounts

On January 25th, The Register reported that one unlucky bloke saw his bank account emptied through a series of iTunes monthly gift purchases sent to an unknown Hotmail account. He was informed of the theft by an e-mail from Apple, saying his gift purchase had been confirmed, but alas, he'd already been taken to the tune of 1,000. It's been over a week since the story appeared, but accounts continue to pour into an Apple customer support forum, echoing the accusations made to The Register -- and, boy are people mad. Apparently, customers seeking Apple's help have received a pat response that sounds awfully familiar: cancel your credit card and report the charges to your bank. We've yet to hear of this happening anywhere outside the UK, but we're still interested to see how the great iTunes heist shakes out. If a suspicious Hotmail account is sucking you dry, we want all the sorted details.

iTunes gifting grifter cleaning out British bank accounts originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Feb 2011 06:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alienware M11x starting at just $599, but not for long

Alienware's M11x was never outrageously priced -- at least not in comparison to Dell's Adamo XPS -- but there's just something beautiful about sneaking in under that magical $600 mark. Right around a year after it was first introduced, the world's most potent ultraportable is stooping to just $599 in a presumed effort to clear out inventory. Dell makes no bones about this being a "limited quantity sale," with the baseline model sporting 2GB of DDR3-800 memory, a 64-bit copy of Windows 7 Home Premium, 160GB 5400RPM hard drive, an overclockable 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300, 11.6-inch WLED panel (1366 x 768), 1.3 megapixel webcam, an integrated 10/100 NIC and a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M GPU. Naturally, the Sandy Bridge models will cost you more, but if you're kosher with buying yesterday's best, that source link is where you need to head, STAT.

[Thanks, Benson]

Alienware M11x starting at just $599, but not for long originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Feb 2011 04:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Half of Verizon Smartphone Owners Say Theyll Switch to iPhone

In a recent survey, around half of Verizon smartphone users said they planned to switch to the Verizon iPhone when it becomes available next week.

Market research firm uSamp recorded the responses of more than 700 current smartphone owners on the Verizon network. According to those responses, around 66% of BlackBerry users on Verizon plan to switch, and around 44% of Android smartphone users plan to spring for the iPhone 4 on their current network.

Altogether, 54% of the Verizon-using, smartphone-owning respondents said they planned to switch to the Verizon iPhone.

When asked why! they wo uld switch, respondents cited the iOS mobile interface (60%), the devices memory (43%), the camera (41%), the iPhone media features (51%), and the web browser (58%).

uSamp also said 26% of current AT&T iPhone users would switch to Verizon.

In Mashables own poll, we found that a great many AT&T iPhone users plan to switch to Verizon, too. With a sample size of more than 5,000 respondents, 30% said they would switch as soon as possible, and 15% said they would switch as soon as their current contract was expired. A further 23% said theyd switch when the next version of the iPhone became available on Verizon.

All this phone-hopping and network-switching is great news for Apple and Verizon; however, the new bandwidth requirements on Verizons network might put a damper on new Verizon iPhone users experience. The company plans to throttle download speeds for the top 5% of its users many or most of whom are likely to be on the new iPhones.

If youre a current Android or BlackBerry user on the Verizon network, do you plan to get a Verizon iPhone 4? Tell us why or why not in the comments.

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