Ignatious Joseph of Düsseldorf makes very nice shirts. He gave me a couple a few years ago and their quality has told in that time. Good single-needle stitching; soft, floating construction collars; domed mother-of-pearl buttons sewn on by hand in the ‘chicken foot’ style; perhaps most noticeably, very soft and lightweight cottons; and all, as I said, lasting well.
But I write here about his customer service. Technical aspects of a shirt are all very well, but they are really just suggestions of how well a shirt will wear and live over time. In his Style and the Man Alan Flusser lists the aspects that he thinks make a good shirt, including some of those above. The list is significant in that almost none of the points are functional; they are rather decorative: indications, at best, of the care that has gone into making a shirt.
Customer service is reassuring because you know the company will be with you in the long term. Even if quality slackens on rare occasions, the customer service will rectify it.
Not that there were any faults with my Ign. Joseph shirts. But having initially requested a couple of gingham-check shirts with double cuffs, I quickly realised this was foolhardy: most of time I would wear a check like that casually rather than formally, so a single cuff would be more practical. Easier under knitwear.
I asked Ignatius whether this could be changed, and it was. By the factory in Italy, at remarkable low cost, in a few weeks.
Customer service is particularly important to brands like this one that do not have their own retail presence. Ignatious Joseph is sold through separate retailers, including H Herzfeld in New York and Vincci in London. Without that personal connection to the customer, service and philosophy become more important. I’m glad to say Ignatious is on the right track.
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What you write about ign joseph so positively is astonishing. I have only heard bad things about the company, especially in terms of quality/price. Joseph is a business man and doesn't come from the field. He basically pins his name on the shirts.
ReplyDeleteSimon, please advice, what does it mean if you write that he 'gave you a couple of shirts'? I really like your blog and always appreciate your opinion, however, I hope that these gifts do not influence your objectivity.
Rgds from Germany (Dusseldorf),
Tom
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteI really like his shirts, particularly the quality of the simple cottons. And as I said they have worn well. They are probably less formal than say T&A, with much softer collars. He is a designer rather than a shirtmaker, but there's nothing necessarily wrong with that.
I don't think it affects my objectivity to get free shirts. I have enough to not be in any need. As with writing about an advertiser, though, you're obviously free to discount anything written about them.
Simon
Fair reponse.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
tom
Simon,
ReplyDeleteAlong the same vein, I have recently received the most exemplary customer service from Eton Shirts. A couple of the buttons on a shirt came loose and as soon as I notified the Eton store via email, their man Dene was on the phone. He offered to have a bike pick up the faulty garment and replace straight away, no cost, no questions, just a sincere apology.
Sometimes it's nice to come across a problem and have it fixed so courteously, I think it says a great deal about the pride a company takes in its product.
Kind regards,
Charlie
Gents, Something similar happened to me.
ReplyDeleteI purchased a Slim fit Eton shirt from the indumenti.se, large swedish online store. After four months, I returned the shirt with a tear in the collar. And voila, apology and refund. Amazing. Highly recommended.