Continuing our exploration of some of the best online, made-to-measure, custom shirt companies, we are this time taking a look at Ratio. They pride themselves on being all made in the USA, and extremely high quality. Indeed, their shirts are certainly priced to match that claim, with shirts starting at around $100. Here is what we think of them:
Style & Design Process
Ratio’s website is very clean and simple, which is both a great benefit and also perhaps a downside. What I mean by this is that while the website is clean and neat, and easy to navigate, there is also only one way to shop their shirts. Unlike, say, Proper Cloth or Deo Veritas, there are no pre-made collections of shirts, broken up by style or design. Rather, there is simply one full page of all their available fabrics that you pick from, and that’s really it. While this is fine, at the end of the day, I would at least like some more sorting options. I wish you could sort by price, newest, and multiple filters at once (say, dress + solid + pink, for example). In this regard, the site is somewhat barebones.
As to the styling of the shirt itself, Ratio also does not have the best system. You do not get to see a virtual preview of what the shirt will look like. Rather, you select a fabric, and then choose the options you would like from a few drop-downs next to the shirt. None of your choices, though, are reflected in the picture of the shirt as you select them, though, so you sort of just have to imagine what the shirt will look like. This is not the end of the world, but, again, it would be nice to see some more modern updates to the website, especially considering how much more advanced some of the other custom shirt websites are these days.
That collar looks a tad skimpy, no?
Perhaps my biggest gripe with Ratio is that, very much unlike Proper Cloth or Deo Veritas, they do not offer that many collar options. Want a collar spread with points wider than 3.00”? Too bad. They simply do not offer it. As someone that likes substantial collars on his dress shirts, this is a big deal to me. Other than this, though, Ratio offers just about all the other normal customization options. You can pick the kind of cuffs you like, make it a short sleeve shirt or a popover, pick what kind of pockets you like, and so on. No further complains here.
For my shirt, I went with the “White Signature Twill” with the “Large English Spread” collar (the largest they offer; it’s 3.00”) , no chest pocket, regular placket, and two-button mitered cuffs. The result is a beautiful-looking, super classy dress shirt, and, even though I would have preferred a slightly larger collar, I am quite happy with how this shirt turned out!
Quality & Construction
A close-up of that luxurious white twill
Shipping times for Ratio is as you would expect: a few weeks from the time you order you end up with the shirt on your doorstep. (It’s more than reasonable, but nothing like Deo Veritas.) The fabric quality on this twill is luxurious. It is thick and rich, but still soft and supple. It’s dense, yet breathable. The twill pattern itself is perfect, not being too thick or wide, while not being impossible to see either. (While you can see a vague underline of an undershirt beneath this white fabric, it’s not nearly as obvious as with some other white fabrics I have seen.) The placket is thick and sturdy, the collar holds its shape phenomenally, and the buttons are thick and high quality. All the stitching is neat, and well lined-up. This shirt is supremely well-made.
Fitting Process & The Final Fit
(I am 6’1” and 165 lbs., and usually wear a size S or 15” shirt in the slimmest fit available.)
Ratio is the king of the “answer a few basic questions; get a perfectly fitting shirt” system. They ask you just a few basic fit related questions, like your height, weight, slimness preferences, and so on, and their system creates what they call a “Fit Blueprint” for you. And let me tell you, they really get this right. Even for a hard to fit guy like myself — being so tall and thin — the first shirt from Ratio fit just about perfectly. Of course, a few tweaks needed to be made, as always when it comes to custom garments, and Ratio, like all the other custom shirt companies, is happy to send you a remade shirt with the final tweaks.
Ratio’s shirt needed fewer tweaks for me than any other custom shirt company I have so far tried. The collar needed to be made a bit larger, and sleeves a touch longer, and the waist and chest measurements I decided to alter by just fractions of an inch. In all, these are hardly significant changes. Their algorithm is superb. In the end, after the remade shirt arrived a few weeks later, I was left with a perfectly fitting shirt, the result of a painless system.
Indeed, once your shirt is ordered, you can then see every single measurement in your “Fit Blueprint” section of Ratio’s site. Hands down, they have the best “fit profile” of any service I have tried. You can tweak literally every conceivable measurement right with their system, without having to type anything into a comments box. Plus, every time you click on a different measurement, the sidebar updates to include how to measure said part of the shirt, along with some tips and advice about how to achieve the best fit in that specific area. It is really quite incredible, and, to my eyes at least, clearly at the head of the pack when it comes to online custom shirt fit profiles.
Value, Price, & Conclusion
Ratio shirts, for the most part, start at $98. What this means is that, realistically, you are looking at $100+ per shirt. Yes, they are made in the USA, and yes, the quality is truly fantastic. But this is also a lot of money for a custom shirt considering many other shirtmakers have options starting about $30 lower. Still, this is not to say that it is not worth it. If you value a top-tier online fit profile, a painless and insanely accurate and quick fitting process, stellar fabric quality, USA-grade construction, and don’t mind their smaller collar and customization options, not-super-extensive fabric options, and a just-okay overall website experience, then Ratio is the custom shirtmaker for you.
In the end, each of these custom shirt companies have their strengths and weaknesses. Ratio really nails fit and quality, but they don’t have nearly as extensive customization options, or fabrics, nor do they have a very advanced website. Plus, their starting price is quite high. In the end, though, if all of the things they do better than the rest sound in-line with your own wants — and all of the things they do not do better than the rest don’t much bother you — then Ratio is your custom shirt company. All I can say is that I sure as heck was happy with my final shirt. I wear it just about once a week!