Now is time for yet another entry into our collection of online MTM company reviews. This time, it’s Blank Label. Unlike many other MTM companies, Blank Label actually offers a wide range of many, many different garments, offering everything from dress shirts, to corduroy pants, to suits, to polos, to outerwear. In time, we hope to review all of these items. For now, though, we’re starting with the staple, the bread and butter: dress shirts.
Style & Design
We went with an Indigo Blue shirt ($95) and styled it somewhere between casual and dress, with a spread collar and clean front. The fabric itself is a perfect color that can work just as well with chinos as it can with a suit. This sort of indigo shirt is a true staple for a guy’s wardrobe and, we think, likely a bit underrated. So, we were very happy with the style and design of this shirt, and how it came out in the end.
The selection at Blank Label is, we think, perfectly curated. There is not too much, nor too little. Nothing about their site is overwhelming, and they have lots of options, but they have things broken down neatly, and their selection is more than manageable. You can actually see everything that they offer, and be able to pick from some of their more basic options, to something a little more unique. A
Ordering Process
Blank Label only asks a few questions to build a fit profile for you. In fact, it’s surprisingly a little bit of information to then make a whole shirt out of. Yet, it seems to work. But more on that later. The site itself is super clean and easy to navigate, so big points there. On the other hand, their product photography is lacking, with no modeled shots anywhere on the site. Worse, the ordering experience is likely the worst we have seen. There are very few options, and everything is simply a drop-down menu, with no visual representation of what you are choosing. You can click a button to learn more, but that just takes you to, get this, illustrated drawings of various options. If you want to see what an actual certain collar looks like on their shirts, you’re out of luck. They also don’t offer things like popover shirts, or true cutaway collars, etc. And you can forget about fused/unfused, soft collars or cuffs, and so on. Needless to say, this is one area where they can definitely improve.
Shipping is neither fast nor slow, and takes 2-3 weeks for your shirt to arrive once your order is placed. Certainly quite reasonable. How was the first fit, though? As, after all, that is the most important thing when it comes to MTM. All else, for the most part, can be forgiven. B
The First Fitting
Well, actually quite good! I was shocked, given how little information I had to provide to create my profile. Yet, the first fitting was an excellent starting point. Definitely plenty of room to improve, though. The sleeves were too roomy, and there was quite a bit of pulling in the lower area of the shirt. The rear of the shirt was also oddly too long. Nothing that could not be fixed, though.
And this is where the real test of an online MTM company comes in. How does this process now work, in the refinement and perfecting of a shirt. Is it easy? Are they responsive? Is there a number to call, perhaps? How open are they to remaking or tailoring your shirt? And so on.
Blank Label was excellent with it all. Their policy is to offer one free remake per garment type (meaning, one shirt, one pants, one suit, etc…), to nail down your fit. Then, if there are still issues due to something they did wrong or did not fit correctly, you can send your shirt back to them and they will tailor it for free for you. For all of this, you do need to send the shirt back via a prepaid UPS label, so it adds considerable time to getting your shirt finally, but, in the end, a well-fitting shirt is worth it. A
The Final Fitting
After a remake and a round of tailoring on top of that to correct one or two minor things, the final product here is pretty solid. It is still not a perfect fit, but it’s pretty good! The sleeves could still stand to come in some, and I wish the back draped a little bit more cleanly when worn untucked. Beyond that, though, this is in a very good place. Tweaking my profile for future orders is as simple as sending them an email. And, that ongoing relationship is a huge deal, and what separates a bad MTM company from a great one. Blank Label’s support is no question excellent, and so huge points for that. A-
Quality & Construction
The shirt is very well made. All the stitching is clean and neat, the buttons feel solid and sturdy, and the fabric itself is great as well. It’s smooth and comfortable, and nothing feel scratchy at all. The shirt is a pleasure to wear in that regard. Sometimes these sorts of fabrics can be stiff, but this one is not at all. These are very well-made shirts, no questions asked. A
Value & Conclusion
Blank Label MTM Dress Shirts — $95: Look, there is a ton of competition in this space these days. Blank Label is certainly not competing on price. They’re a bit cheaper than a lot of, say, Proper Cloth’s range, but their starting price is actually higher. Instead, Blank Label seems to slip into a unique position, wanting to be a go-to company for all your needs, from polo shirts, to chinos, to suits. And they can do it all MTM. They have excellent customer support, as well as tailoring at their disposal. Those are no small things. I am not sure exactly where Blank Label will fit in for me, personally, but I know that they will, and that I plan on ordering from them again (with a few slight tweaks). Regardless, they sure do get the Peak Lapel Stamp of Approval. Final Grade: A-
Update 1/3/19: We bought a second shirt from them, this time in a flannel. After a wash it was too small as to be un-wearable. It’s not clear if there was an error in the sizing when it was made, or if it was just the fabric shrinking too much in the wash. Regardless, this is not a great sign. Either their measuring is inconsistent, or they do not pre-shrink their fabrics (something which every MTM shirtmaker should without question do). However, their excellent customer support has, without hesitation, asked for the shirt back to remake it, and make sure this time the measurements are correct. It still remains to be seen how this updated shirt comes out, and whether or not it will shrink terribly in the wash. We will update this post with more information as we have it.