Within the realm of men’s dress shirts, Eton falls somewhere in between higher-end brands such as 100 Hands or Attolini, and lower-end brands such as Banana Republic, J.Crew, or Charles Tyrwhitt. They retail anywhere between $185 and $295 which is quite steep for an off-the-rack shirt. So, why are they so popular among consumers today–and are they worth your money?
Table of Contents
- History of Eton
- A Closer Look At Eton Shirts
- 1. Fabric
- 2. Construction
- 3. Types of Shirts
- 4. Manufacturing
- 5. Fit
- Are You Getting the Value For Your Money?
- My Verdict: Is It Really Worth It?
Slim, including super slim cuts, trendier fabrics, as well as spread collar options, and a non-iron, wrinkle-resistant treatment have made Eton rather popular even among menswear enthusiasts. Spearheaded by their designer Sebastian Dolega, they also are not afraid to push the envelope when it comes to very artistic or artsy and Bohemian types of shirt fabrics and materials. So, when it comes to things like floral patterns, they don’t have to hide behind Etro or Robert Graham.
Of course, all that comes with a relatively hefty price tag for an off-the-rack shirt. Casual shirts cost between $185 and $235 in 2020 and their more regular dress shirts range anywhere between $235 and $295. This is certainly a level where you can just, get online made-to-measure shirts but you can actually go to a local store or haberdasher get a full-fledged made-to-measure shirt, you can even get bespoke shirts in Europe for less than that, out of comparable fabric with considerably more handwork.
Even if you get one of their shirts on sale for 40 or 50% off they’re not quite a super low bargain. However, ever since 2012 Eton has developed a strong foothold with higher-end or upscale menswear retailers. To understand why and whether they’re a worthwhile investment, let’s get to know the brand and look closely at the details of these well-known high priced shirts.
History of Eton
The company was formally founded in 1928 in the small Swedish town of Ganghester by Annie and David Peterson. Initially, they would sew those shirts out of their home under the label of Skjortfabriken Special, which meant Shirt Factory Special. They grew in popularity locally and being in an area where there was still quite a textile manufacturing at the time in Sweden, they were able to expand rather quickly.
In 1955, they made a push into the British market and David Peterson had been to Eton in England and was impressed by its nimbus and the campus and they also realized that the Swedish name wasn’t quite marketable in England and so, they started a line that was the “Eton Special” line and when it was really popular, they decided to rename the entire brand into Eton. Around the same time, they opened a state-of-the-art shirt factory in Ganghester in Sweden which today serves still as the headquarters of the company.
I was able to visit the headquarters in 2014 when they were still making their higher-end DnA shirts in Sweden. I don’t think they do that anymore simply due to high labor costs in Sweden but one thing that really stood out to me was all the equipment and machinery they used. They had developed extensive processes and even came up with their own ceiling-mounted systems that were branded as Eton.
Throughout the existence of the company they always tried to get better, get more efficient, and have a better quality shirt, and because of that, they came up with new machines, machine editions, and whole systems which eventually was outsourced to a subsidiary called Eton Systems which is wholly owned by Eton Shirts.
In my mind, that was really impressive for a clothing company. Also, they always were interested in innovation and so even in the 70s, they experimented with organic non-iron or wrinkle-resistant treatments which eventually led to their first, what they called Non-iron Shirt in 1992. In my opinion, to this day, their non-iron treatment is a cut above the rest and it’s something that gives them a competitive advantage in the marketplace today.
The company was probably owned until 2012 when Litorina took over then sold it again to EQT partners in 2016. In my mind, it was very interesting to see that Eton didn’t really become popular in the US until after they were acquired by Private Equity Ventures.
A Closer Look At Eton Shirts
Eton has claimed in the past that they make the best dress shirts in the world, so of course, you want to know, is that actually true? So what do you, as a consumer, actually get in terms of materials, construction, fit, and details when you buy an Eton shirt?
1. Fabric
Just look in their shirt. The number one ingredient is, of course, the fabric and so a high-quality fabric is important for a high-quality shirt. Now Eton uses mostly Giza 45 cotton which is long-staple Egyptian cotton or Sea Island cotton from the West Indies. Only .0004% of all cotton in the world are actually Sea Island cotton, so it’s not something that is really well-suited for mass production at the scale that Eton is doing it.
Eton is also large enough to create exclusive fabrics just for them even with leading shirt fabric manufacturers. Because they produce over a million shirts a year, they use different kinds of cotton including star cotton from JC Holloway and Egyptian cotton. All of their stuff is extra-long-staple cotton which means it lasts longer and will pill less.
All of the shirt fabrics are true two by two-ply meaning all the warp and all the weft yarns are actually two plied. Why is it important? Basically, it makes the yarn stronger and makes it more consistent, which we elaborate further in our Cotton Explained guide.
When I visited Eton six years ago, they were also experimenting with more environmentally friendly fabrics or materials such as Tencel from the Austrian company of Lenzing, and today, I think they offer a cotton Tencel blend option but the majority of their shirts are still 100% cotton.
Apart from their signature twill shirts and a full range of broadcloth oxfords and all the typical men’s dress shirts, they also have a large range of casual shirts and artistically inspired shirts that are more geared towards the young professional or Bohemian type.
Eton Non-Iron Dress Shirts
If I had to point out just one thing about Eton shirts, it clearly is their wrinkle-resistant or non-iron treatment. First of all, there’s no such thing as a true non-iron shirt and if you want a crisp look without any wrinkles, you’ll have to iron it. That being said, non-iron treatments can really help to keep shirts better looking and crisper especially when you travel and when you move around all day.
What’s so special about Eton non-iron dress shirts? Well, most non-iron treated shirts are coated in formaldehyde, and it’s a chemical that will come off over the course of 20 washes and it also doesn’t feel very nice on the skin. There’s a very plasticky, almost cheap feel on your skin.
Eton, in collaboration with Alumo, which is a high-end Swiss shirt fabric manufacturer, developed an organic process that is applied to the yarn, not the finished fabric, that makes the fibers more wrinkle-resistant. The big difference is that you don’t need bad chemicals to achieve that effect and I remember when I was at their headquarters, they advertised that their shirts had fewer bad chemicals than a cup of black tea. For me, that’s pretty impressive and it’s probably one of the reasons why Eton shirts are so popular today.
2. Construction
Interlining
Apart from the fabric, the interlinings they use are of high-quality. I’ve worn their shirts for around six years, I have not had any issues with blistering.
Workmanship
In terms of workmanship, the buttonholes are situated neatly, they’re cut first and then sewn by a machine with a high-stitch density. All the buttons are sewn on with the Ascolite machine which is a method that creates a shank so you don’t have wrinkles on your shirt when you button it, but more importantly, it is designed so the button will never come off. In fact, I’ve never had a button come off of any of my Eton shirts.
Unlike with most other shirts in this price category, the buttons Eton uses are not true Mother of Pearl. Instead, they are a mixture between crushed Mother of Pearl and resin and plastic, and to me, they feel like a plastic button even though it’s a very sturdy one and it’s not prone to breakage, but it’s definitely a cut below what you would expect from a shirt in the price range.
Stitching
In terms of stitching, Eton claims each shirt has about 12 000 stitches. No, I didn’t count every single one of them but I can tell you that the stitch density is very high at about 8 stitches per centimeters or about 20 stitches per inch. They also use single needle stitching on the sleeve and along the side seam and it is all machine-stitched. There is no hand-stitching but everything is very neat and accurate.
The shirts are, of course, factory-made, so if you have a patterned shirt, not every pattern on the stripe or shoulders are aligned. Also, the yoke is not split, which is not a big deal for an off-the-rack shirt but if you go bespoke, having the ability to have different yokes allows you to accommodate a different shoulder slope. Also, of course, if you hand make a pattern, you can ensure that the stripes are all aligned and every pattern matches and looks super neat.
Eton shirts do not have a gusset but neither do very high-end shirts. One quirk that annoys quite a few people is the fact that Eton has only sewn-in plastic flexible collar stays so if you want a stiffer collar stay, you can’t add it because there’s no option for that.
3. Types of Shirts
Five years ago, Eton offered different ranges such as their red label which was more business-oriented, a green label which was softer, and then their DnA which was made in Sweden and more high-end. Today, it doesn’t seem they still offer those same ranges but they still offer dress shirts, evening shirts, and casual shirts.
4. Manufacturing
When I visited their factory, all their shirts were made in Eastern Europe, mostly in Romania and Lithuania, all the shirts I have from them today, which are five, are all made in Romania and even new shirts if you look at them, they’re mostly made in Romania. They don’t own their manufacturing facilities but have exclusive contracts with them, and they even supply them with logistics and their own machinery and equipment to ensure that the product is consistently good and of high-quality.
On their website, they no longer offer their DnA shirts, so I don’t think they produce shirts in Sweden anymore. The labor costs are just too expensive. On the flip side, Romania has one of the lower labor costs in all of Europe so it’s surprising that a shirt with such a high retail price is not made in Italy, for example, but in a much lower cost country like Romania.
5. Fit
When it comes to fit, Eton offers four different options off the rack; that is classic, contemporary, slim, and super slim then they also have things like evening dress shirts and sleeves that are extra-long if you’re tall and can’t find shirts otherwise.
On their website, for an upcharge of what seems to be $40, you can get a custom shirt but it seems to be more like a made-to-measure or a made-to-order program. I know, they claim they offer both made-to-measure and made-to-order and I’m sure if you buy the shirts at the store, you get more information about that. Personally, I have not tried that service so I can’t really tell you much about it.
My right shoulder is about two inches lower than my left one and it’s also sloped more, so for me, made-to-measure or made-to-order programs don’t really help that much if I want to get that perfect fit, especially considering that off-the-rack Eton shirts fit me pretty well even though I have relatively long arms and a long torso, but they accommodate for that.
In the US, contemporary is Eton’s most popular fit but it’s going head to head with a slim fit, which I own. It offers a tapered fit, back darts and it’s just overall slimmer than what you would usually find in the US. At the same time, it doesn’t feel overly constrictive when you move around because it has smaller armholes and enough room in the chest and the back.
On the other hand, your super slim fit is one of the most aggressively skinny fits on the market. Of course, it has back darts but it’s super tight and it’s ideal for men who want that skinny tight look or are just very slim themselves, and can’t find a shirt that fits up to their standards otherwise.
Their slim fit is somewhere in between the super slim and the contemporary fit and it’s what 65% of European men buy from Eton. They also have a classic fit that doesn’t have any tapering or any darts.
Normally, when I get off-the-rack shirts, the sleeves are typically too short but on my European size 41 which is about 16 inches, the sleeves are about 36 and a half inches long which is probably one and a half to two inches or about four to five centimeters longer than what I typically see in shirts now. If that isn’t long enough for you, they even have a very small section of extra long sleeves that you can get.
Also, because it’s a longer torso, it doesn’t come undone so easily which is something I appreciate. As I said, they’re really a great option if you’re looking for that super slim or skinny fit. I believe they’re not great for people who are on the shorter side who have maybe a little more weight on their hips and just don’t have a long torso.
Are You Getting the Value For Your Money?
In a nutshell, you get high-quality fabrics, you get lots of color options, you get lots of fit options. The workmanship is neat, the buttons don’t come off, and you can have this organic wrinkle-resistant treatment.
On the flip side, the buttons feel cheap, the collar stays can’t be removed, and in this price range, typically, you can find some hand contrast stitching in the shoulder area, for example, or like folded waterfall shoulders, which is not something you’ll find from Eton. You’ll definitely have to upgrade to something like Attolini, Finamore, or Kiton.
Why is Eton so popular among high-end retailers?
Just like any other business, a wholesaler or a retail store wants to make the most amount of money with the least amount of work. So, when in doubt, a retail store wants to sell you a shirt at a higher price because it has a higher margin and means more net profit for them than a comparable shirt that costs less.
Also, ideally, they want to tie up as little stock as possible because that requires capital, so they never want to run out of stock and always have a just-in-time delivery of the shirts they can sell to their customers. Of course, they also like to be listened to by the manufacturer, they want to be able to provide their ideas, and they want the customer to be happy with the fit, and they don’t want the buttons to come out for customers to be unhappy because returns are work and expensive.
Eton seems to figure out how to put together a nice stock program, how to keep their wholesale clients happy and it seems to check all those boxes and it’s probably one of the reasons why they have such a strong foothold with upscale menswear retailers.
What does it mean for you as a customer?
Obviously, you have the chance to try things on in person at a store to feel the fabric and to touch it. At the same time, you also pay more money for that luxury. I would guess that if Eton was a direct consumer company, they could probably sell that same quality shirt at around 50% of today’s retail price.
That being said, that is true for any direct to consumer traditional retail company, at the same time retailers have really helped Eton to establish a strong brand, to spread the word, and to ultimately sell more shirts, so it’s a win for the retailer. It’s a win for Eton, and a win for the customer if they actually like the shirt. But because everyone along the way wants to earn money, the retail price is as high as it is.
I think, if you as a consumer just look at what quality you get for your money, you really have the option to get a nice made-to-measure shirt, even a bespoke shirt in Europe with exactly the details you want for around the same price as a new Eton off-the-rack shirt. Of course, you’d also have to travel to Italy to get that unless you’re there anyway.
Fortunately, most bigger cities have local made-to-measure shirt shops in the US. Finding a true bespoke shirt is a big challenge and of course, last but not least, you don’t get that non-iron treatment that makes Eton special.
My Verdict: Is It Really Worth It?
First of all, I do not think that Eton makes the best dress shirts in the world. There are many other dress shirts and each and everyone has different needs and desires. If you want the ultimate amount of workmanship, they’re definitely not the best shirt. If you want the perfect fit, they’re definitely not the best shirt. If you want the best non-iron or wrinkle-resistant shirt, I think they are probably the best shirt you can buy in the market.
So, if an organic wrinkle-resistant treatment is important to you or maybe you don’t want to fuss with MTM and you want to see what you get, feel it, and touch it, then I think Eton is a good option and worth your money. Also, if you value unusual bold shirts with special prints, Eton can fill this niche market.
Personally, I find it valuable to have a few non-iron shirts in my closet because sometimes when I travel and I have to pack my shirts, I want to be sure that I don’t have to iron stuff all the time. So, yes, for me, they’re worth it for non-iron dress shirts 100%.
On the flip side, for linen or for casual shirts, I don’t like those bold patterns; I like more classic stuff, and I can find comparable fabrics and comparable shirts at a lower price elsewhere. So, in those cases, they’re not worth it to me.
I also sometimes like having the option to choose my exact fabric, maybe make a Winchester shirt out of it, and get the exact shape, fit, and style I want and Eton doesn’t give me that. Let’s say you want a Carlo Riva fabric or David and John Anderson, it’s not something you’ll find with Eton and you’ll have to go made-to-measure or bespoke.
Eton does have sales where you can get shirts at 40 to 50% off, and obviously, they become a much better value then. Still, apart from my non-iron shirts even at 50% off, I would rather go with an online made-to-measure company so you can get exactly what I want with a better fit at a lower price. If you’re on a really tight budget, you can find Eton shirts for relatively low prices in good shape on eBay still.
