The website is not as polished, and the company is not as well-known in many circles, but the India-based Luxire is a much loved online MTM clothing maker, and we can totally see why. It’s not all perfect, but they offer some incredible value, and lots of things that nowhere else does. If you haven’t heard of them before, it’s time you have, because they are quickly becoming our favorite, go-to online MTM shirting company (though they also offer a whole lot more than just shirts). So read on for our full review, and make sure to check out all our past MTM reviews as well!
Style & Design
Luxire offers a dizzying array of fabrics and options. Pretty much anything under the sun you can find, yes, they also do seem to be curated at the same time. While the amount of selection was overwhelming at first, once you start looking, you’ll find that they actually do put care into the fabrics they select and choose to carry, and most all of them are great options for one thing or another. At the same time, just about anything you might want is available, from standard fabrics like Poplin, Herringbone, or Pique to something more unique like Terry, Tech-fabrics, Seersucker, or cotton-linen blends.
Luxire offers a test/trial shirt for your first order for only about $30, and it is a chambray-like fabric. For our second shirt we went with an awesome-looking plaid flannel. Both of these shirts actually look super nice, and make for great causal wear. These are also quite unique fabrics, and not the sort of thing you can easily find somewhere like Banana Republic or J Crew — or even some other online MTM companies. This is something Luxire does quite well, and we really appreciate it.
Ordering Process
This is, without a doubt, Luxire’s weakest point. The website sucks. It is perhaps the worst online MTM site we have ever seen, and is likely even worse than Modern Tailor’s (though some things Luxire actually does better, like show some images of full shirts made, etc). Fabrics are inconsistently shot, the checkout and customization process is extremely complicated and difficult to use — and the whole thing feels like learning a new program like Excel. It’s practically a skill to order from Luxire. But, if you can figure it out, we think it’s well worth the time and effort. And once you get the hang of it, it’s not that bad in the end. (We were promised by Luxire that their site would see improvements, but they were promised for April time and we still have not seen them.)
And that really is the reality here. Customer service is also quite weak, with them taking at least a day to reply, only replying when it is US nighttime, and there clearly being a massive language barrier that makes getting real feedback difficult. You’re never quite sure you are being understood 100% properly. But, again, once you learn how to properly communicate these sorts of things — and it is a skill that has to be acquired over time with experience with MTM — then the feedback you get actually is spot on. Any time we have listened to their suggestions, they have been correct. The fact is that Luxire is the MTM pro’s site. It is not for the faint of heart, and not for beginners in the MTM space. Proper Cloth is perfect for that. Luxire is once you graduate from those places, and want even more for your money, but also really know what you are doing.
When you order from them, the best way to go is to put in measurements and have them make a shirt to those measurements. (They also offer standard sizing, and even the ability to ship them a shirt which they will copy, but shipping to India is pricey, and on you.) Needless to say, you have to be somewhat experienced at least to have these measurements, but if and when you do, just enter them in, and you will have created your sizing profile. Once you do that, you can move on to customizing the garment, and, once again, the options are seemingly endless. You can adjust the precise shape of shirt pockets, the width of plackets, the type of collar roll and lining. You can change the buttons, the button stance; you can do a popover shirt, a short sleeved shirt, a tuxedo shirt, and any other type of shirt you might think of. It is complicated to do — and each time I buy from them I find a new little option to consider — but I have never seen anything else like it with MTM. It really is the pro’s MTM service. The website and interface though really need a facelift. Badly.
Shipping and production is relatively fast. Usually about 2-3 weeks to make the shirt, and then it is shipped 2-day via FedEx, and ships free for over $50 or so. Our last two orders took closer to a total of 4 weeks, but we were promised this is a temporary slower pace as they have been getting an influx of orders recently, and fell a bit behind. We hope this is fixed soon. 2-3 weeks is perfect. 4 weeks is a bit long.
First Fitting
I was blown away with how well this shirt fit. They produced the shirt exactly to the measurements specified. They did not “interpret” them into their CAD pattern. They cut the shirt precisely as I asked. Proper Cloth, for instance, cannot do this. Even if you send them a shirt to knock off, Proper Cloth will only get as close as they can by inputting it into their rather limited pattern and list of measurements. Luxire lets you specify an armhole and bicep measurement separately, and they really nailed it exactly as I asked. It turns out, though, that my measurements were all actually a bit smaller than what they should have been, and so the shirt came out a tad tight. But that is easy to fix with a next order, and didn’t even require much back and forth at all with their customer service to figure out what exactly to do in order to get it right. The fact is that this shirt, even as it stands, was pretty close to perfect. It was exactly what I wanted and asked for. No other MTM company has come even close on a first try, always bumping into some limit or another with their capabilities or pattern. For a first fitting, then, this is absolutely fantastic, and also speaks to how robust and precise their patterns are.
Final Fitting
You can never truly judge a fit from a still picture, so bear that in mind. Please don’t put too much stock into how it looks in the picture. It’s just a rough idea.
I tweaked some measurements and placed a second order, and the outcome was even better. I think I went too much with the chest increase and too little with the waist, but that can easily be fixed for my next order, and then I think we’ll be truly perfect. Again, I continue to be blown away by how precise you can get. You can put in fraction of inches, and they’ll cut to that. You can specify any adjustment, any alteration, anything you would like, and they will do it. You can remove extra fabric just from the back, you can adjust the darts on the back of the shirt, you can adjust the neck placement, shoulder slope, shirt cuff pleats, and literally anything else you can possibly want. There are seemingly no limitations whatsoever with their pattern. This is as close to Bespoke as you can get online. Each pattern is unique, it seems, to each customer. It’s truly incredible!
All their fabrics are also pre-shrunk and so I have had no issues with shrinking after a number of washes. This is something that I do have issues with with Proper Cloth from time to time, even. So, kudos on that, Luxire!
The downside? Well, they don’t offer easy returns, or tailoring credit, really. They just offer that cheaper trial shirt. So, you’re on the hook for returns of remakes if you have to send it back to them. This is understandable considering they are based in India, but a company like TailorStore will let you keep the shirt and simply issue you a credit to order again if something doesn’t come out right. Luxire, no such luck. You’re very much on your own here. I wish this would be improved as well. C
Quality & Construction
The flannel we went with costed about $80, though Luxire offers options for even less than this. (Proper Cloth, for what its worth, starts at $85 or so.) For the price, this is a great shirt. Fit aside (which, as we said, we were super impressed with), the fabric is super soft and comfortable. The buttons are Mother of Pearl standard (though you can upgrade to river buttons for $20 more), and are stitched neatly and tightly. The collar roll is damn impressive and sexy, and everything about this shirt feels premium. It has stood up well to multiple wears and wash cycles, and overall, is one of the most comfortable and wearable shirts I own. I love it. But you can go all the way up to top of the line fabrics from Thomas Mason and others, spending hundreds of dollars on a shirt. But even the $30 trial shirt is a great fabric, and is light and breezy for the summer months. We also have a cotton oxford shirt (not pictured) that is one of the softest oxford fabrics we have ever felt. So the quality of the fabric is really up to you. Considering you are also getting their incredibly flexible and adaptable pattern system, these shirts are well worth the money.
Value & Conclusion
Luxire is polarizing since all that makes them so great is also what makes them so complicated and unapproachable. If you’re a MTM veteran and really know what you are doing, we don’t think there is a better option out there and Luxire comes with our highest recommendation. We are super impressed with fit, quality, and customizations options. However, if you’re going to need any level of hand-holding through this process, or are new to this area, we would have to steer you elsewhere, like Proper Cloth, first. Their website, order process, and return policy is simply prohibitive for newcomers. The power of their system, though, is irresistible for seasoned MTM pros.