I was pleasantly surprised by the reaction to our madras shirt last year. Although there was a  nice craft story there with the hand weaving, I was a little afraid the bolder check and colour would put people off. 

The first batch sold within a week though, and we rushed to get another one by the end of the summer, which then also sold out. A little bit of inadvertent hype probably played a role – the first batch was not large, given my concern, which made them seem to sell particularly quickly. Still, a nice reaction. 

It’s not always like this. Readers have mentioned that it can seem as if everything sells quickly, that it’s all a roaring success. Well, in the interests of showing we’re not over-selling, some things don’t have that kind of reaction.

The sleeveless sweaters, for example, have chugged along since they launched but not seen any kind of rush. A few readers love them, and have asked repeatedly for new colours, but they’re not for everyone. The Wool Walker also sold consistently over the past couple of years, but never fast. 

Perhaps the success of the madras shows that there’s a hole in the market for interesting but eminently wearable patterns; the kind of thing your partner might be slightly but also pleasantly surprised by. 

Fewer people might be exploring these because the market feels so tough at the moment. Everyone trends conservative in hard times. (And womenswear trends towards menswear – hence all the jeans, boat shoes and suede jackets in the women’s market.)

Whatever the reason, I’m pleased to say we’ve restocked the original PS madras in greater volume than last year, and added two new colours – one brighter than the original, one more conservative. 

The first, above, is a cream with brown, beige and blue overchecks, plus a hint of green and a dash of yellow. To me it’s the more adventurous of the two new colours, but probably because of the pale colour overall rather than the checks themselves. 

It’s actually very easy to wear, as you can pick up the colour of any of those checks in other things you’re wearing: blues or browns, green and khaki. A little like we all used to be told to pick up a colour from a tweed jacket when making choices of the tie or handkerchief to go with it. 

Here I’m wearing the shirt with some old Levi’s and our PS boat shoes, and tucked out. 

This is easier with the madras shirts because they’re cut a bit fuller in the body than the other shirts (the same as the oxfords before the shrinkage, for those that know the range). It’s not how I wear my shirts during the week so much, but is a nice relaxed option on the weekend. 

And then, to keep everyone happy, the new blue madras is tucked in. Both work equally well in either style, but I know readers like to see a range of options. 

The blue was designed to be very easy to wear – it’s the same colour palette as your jeans, and navy suits, and blue oxfords – but light enough to go with all those jeans and navy chinos. 

The background is a pale grey/beige, and then different blues are layered on top of it. I know not everyone will like the T-shirt underneath, but I like it as a nice piece of layering. More on the topic of tees under shirts here. 

One last thing about the madras shirts that’s worth repeating: they need very little ironing. Just like the button-down oxfords that Ivy students apparently preferred because they didn’t need to be ironed (or more realistically, could get away most with not being ironed) this hand-loomed madras doesn’t wrinkle that much, which is a nice bonus. 

Most of the time I just wash them and then hand to dry and they’re fine. 

I should also say that all three madras patterns are available as cloth for people to buy their own and send to a shirtmaker. It’s narrow-width cloth with a selvedge, so we sell the lengths at 2.7m. 

The cloth:

100% cotton Madras, hand-woven in Chennai by Original Madras Trading Company
Open and breathable, suitable for warmer weather though not high summer
Softens with washing and wear
Weight 150gsm
Lengths sold as 2.7m, narrow width (95cm) with selvedge
Slight differences in length and width a result of being hand loomed
Occasional slubs in the clothare  also a natural result of the process, not a fault
Slight colour fading, but only after many washes. Similar to a light denim shirt
Minimal shrinkage, 1-2%

Shirt summary:

Hand-made in Naples, Italy by the workshop of Luca Avitabile
Hand-attached collars and armholes; hand-sewn buttons and buttonholes
Button-down collar designed to roll open from the neck, and around a jacket lapel
Length of a regular dress shirt, but can be worn tucked in or out

Care and fit:

Machine wash and hang dry (or dry clean)
Can be ironed as normal, but not necessarily needed
Comfortable fit, 2cm wider in the waist than other PS shirts but otherwise the same fit
Simon is wearing a size medium in the images of the two new colours, a bespoke shirt in the original (the brown and orange check)