Ratio Clothing - Introduction & Review

Ratio Clothing is one of the most popular online MTM shirt makers around. They are also the only brand I know that manufacturers in the U.S. and still manages to keep prices reasonably low. This is quite unusual in times when most production is outsourced to Asian countries and that fact adds to the perceived value of the product. 

In terms of customization, Ratio Clothing offers everything that makes sense and looks good. Collar style (they have a proper English spread collar, not like the one from Indochino, I am annoyed I forgot to choose it), back pleats, pocket and placket can be made according to your choice. Ratio Clothing is custom, but their process is a bit different from other online MTM shirt makers. 

You don't need to use a measurement tape to get your perfect shirt, you use OTR sizes as an indication for your custom shirt. For example your neck size is determined by the neck size of a well fitting OTR shirt. The same goes for the sleeve length. The chest measurement is determined by the size of the OTR jacket you are usually wearing, e.g. a 42.

Using these standard measurements, you can then further customize your fit by choosing the shirt length and the desired fit. It's a process that seems to work very well. I actually don't have a single OTR shirt or suit anymore, so I measured one of my Indochino shirts and submitted those measurements. 

The fit is great. The shirt is slim fitting, but not restricting my movement. Most importantly, there is no billowing in the back. The only problem with it is the collar size - it's quite a bit too big, unfortunately. Luckily, Ratio Clothing has a perfect fit policy. If you are not happy, they are remaking your shirt for free. According to Eric, founder of Ratio Clothing, 80% of their customers have a perfect fit right away, the rest gets taken care of. The jeans in the photo are from Indi Custom Jeans, by the way. Review is on the way. 

The seams and buttons are done very nicely, collar is not too stiff. You can find more about the construction quality and the methods used on their website.

The shirt I chose is the Bold Blue Stripe shirt for $115. It's a two-ply cotton broadcloth fabric and feels great. Lots of their shirts are priced at $98, so basically exactly like Indochino. But unlike Indochino, Ratio Clothing's core business are shirts and you can notice the love they put in it. While my Indochino shirts fit great as well, the one from Ratio Clothing feels superior in terms of fabric and construction quality. Production in the US is an added bonus in my opinion.

Eric was also so kind to provide me with a special coupon code for readers. To get 20$ off your purchase (and get a shirt from 79$) at Ratio Clothing use the coupon code INDOCHINOREVIEW (valid until 31/05/2012).