best uniform shirt

[beats working]

Just curious if anyone has ever seen 100% cotton airline style uniform shirts. If so, where could I find one. I have always hated the feel of polyester and am willing to do some ironing in the hotel to have a comfortable shirt. Any suggestions??

Thanks!

 

[bobbysamd]

Van Heusen

I agree with you 100% about cotton shirts. Despite the upkeep, there's nothing like them, but . . .

Years ago, I bought some Van Heusen pilot shirts that were something like 65% cotton-45% polyester. I ordered them from the factory. They were great shirts. They stood up to the most vitriolic coin-operated laundries around and always came out great. I gave them away a few years ago and wish I could get them back. You might take a look at them at this link .

 

[captjim]

Re: Van Heusen

I agree with you 100% about cotton shirts. Despite the upkeep, there's nothing like them, but . . .

Years ago, I bought some Van Heusen pilots shirts that were something like 65% cotton-45% polyester. I ordered them from the factory. They were great shirts. They stood up to the most vitriolic coin-operated laundries around and always came out great. I gave them away a few years ago and wish I could get them back. You might take a look at them at this link .

I'll second that. Van Heusen shirts are pretty good. They are really sturdy, they're also cheap, which is the most important thing!

 

[Mookie]

Pilotshirts.com

100% cotton, great price, customer service, and tapered one's don't make you look like a circus tent. HIGHLY reccomended!!! If you order two, I'd suggest ordering one that's "tapered" and a normal one, and return the one that doesn't fit. They're totally cool about exchanging the one you don't want.

Mookie

 

[CF34-3B1]

I'm with Mookie on this one. Get the tapered version from Pilotshirts.Com I've tried a lot of other types, and these are my favorites in terms of quality, price and fit. The tapered really do look better. And hey, now that winter uniform season is almost here, we wont have to iron the shirts!

 

[cvsfly]

What about the pilot style (sewn in epaulets) sweaters?

 

[beats working]

what about 100% cotton?

Thanks for the replies. I agree about the pilotshirts.com deal, but the website only has cotton blends (60/40,etc). Has anyone seen a real 100% cotton pilot shirt?

BW

 

[Mookie]

my pilotshirts.com shirts are all 100% cotton, so I don't know why it wouldn't be on the website. try and give them a shout.

don't go for the sweater with epaulets, looks like a uniform for a russian sub. of course, just an opinion. I'm certainly not the fashion police....or am I?


Mookie

 

[katanabob]

...don't go for the sweater with epaulets, looks like a uniform for a russian sub...

Sweet! A chance to make good use of that Sean Connery/Marko Ramius accent. ("Personally, I give us.. One chance in three.") (or "Be careful! Most things in here do not react too well to bullets.")

The pilotshirts.com tapered shirts I see only come in shortsleeve variants. Anyone have an opinion on the Landerwood shirts?

 

[Humblepilot]

Landerwood

I use to order from him when I was at ACA and we didn't have any requirements on brand. Great guy to talk to on the phone and super service. If I remember right he started out making them for Piedmont folks. I really liked his 60/40 blends. Good luck

Humble

 

[dsee8driver]

Jetstream....

I tried the Vanhusen, I also tried the Wings 50/50 but my favorite so far that survives the Freight Dog enviroment without a hitch are the Jetstream by Ebeco which suprisingly are 65 poly 35 combed cotton. Very comfortable and you can geth them out of the dryer, hang it and not have to do the ironing thingy usung a hotel iron that often gets your shirt all dirty.

 

[MJPilot]

And what about good looking pants in black???

 

[dsee8driver]

Pants....

I purchased a 2 pants almost 2.2 years ago from a place in Chicago called BASSO uniforms 773-646-2332. The pants are reinforced really well. Although a bit pricey 77.00 for a pair I have had the 2 for 2.2 years and they are still holding up on a freight dog enviroment. Other doggies buy theirs at JC Penney at 30.00. But I'm happy with the quality from BASSO. I've had from Tally HO and from The Field Shops. Same price but can't compare to the quality.

Carlos

 

[njcapt]

I thought I could avoid getting involved in this discussion, but am giving in to temptation.

I have tried numerous different epaulet shirts in the past 11 years. I started out with the Van Huesen Aviatiors, but with the 65% poly content, it was a little like wearing a plastic bag in the summer. The Stop Over Store in MSP used to sell their own brand of 60% cotton broadcloth shirts that I loved. The last time I checked, they had stopped carrying them, though. Lately I have taken a shine to the Wings brand shirts from the Pilot House. They have 60% cotton, feel great, and iron up crisp.

Unless you are a big airplane Captain who never gets underneath an airplane, I would avoid 100% cotton shirts. ANY grease or oil you get on them will be documented forever in the exact place the contact took place. One sweaty summer afternoon will make an all cotton shirt look like you slept in it, as well.

I'm still looking for decent - looking, sturdy, reasonably priced uniform pants. The original Greiff pants I got while at ALG 11 years ago were decent, but the last decent ones I witnessed for eight years. Lion Apparel took over and managed to force us to pay $75 a pair for poorly constructed, guaranteed to shrink, pieces of crap. Finally, at UFS we had uniforms produced by Murphy and Hartelius (M&H), which, while expensive, were great. I have bought several other pairs to replace old ones, but without the company discount I pay like $80 a pair. ATA uses Tally Ho for their uniform stuff. I bought one pair under duress as a new hire - a total POS. The first time I wore them, the azz seam came out of them (and I had lost a fair amount of weight since getting them tailored). Not one reinforced seam, cheesy material, and bizarre fitting. Any info on uniform pants meeting the previously stated requirements would be appreciated.

 

[bobbysamd]

Uniform Pants and Shirts

I bought some dark blue trousers at Penney's in Vero shortly after I got on with FSI. They held up well after many weekly washings in the local coin-op.

I still have a set of Dockers that I bought for flying ten years ago. Still look okay. Don't fit as well, though my weight is the same.

While on the subject of shirts, don't buy from Sporty's. I bought some blue shirts from them while at FlightSafety. They might have been a 65-45 mix, but were gross in the heat.

I like Mookie's epaulet sweater-Russian sub comment.

 

[Saabslime]

As far as pants go, I really like the look and fit of the SLATES. Nice cuffed bottom and never need ironing. You can find them at any JC Penny, Nordstrom, etc. I think they're around $65 a pair and only come in dark navy blue as far as I know. They're kind of thin for winter time flying but perfect for summer. Geez I'm starting to sound like a salesman..........

 

[PanPan]

Slates are deffinatly the way to go

Ive been wearing Slates for more than 4 years. They hold up great, look sharp, dont fade and you can get them for 49 bucks at JC Pennys on sale. They come in lots of colors and fabric combinations too. They are light weight but they got me through several winters in Wyoming.

 

[jetdriven]

landerwood pilot shirts get my vote. I have had crewgear and van heusen and I like the landerwood the best. The tails are longer than the Van heusen. do your VH come untucked right at the side of your waist?? I hate that.

 

[sat74]

If price is no object, I suggest using a custom tailor in Hong Kong to make some for you in your choice of fabric. I have used Ascott Chang for over 20 years for my shirts. I use their 50% Dacron/Cotton blend that is much better than poly. I do not recommend the 100% cotton as it wrinkles too easy.

Price is around $85 per shirt, but they last 10x longer than regular uniform shirts. You can order by faxing your measurements to them and turn around is a few days.

A less expensive, but very good, alternative is Sam's Tailor in HK.

Ascott Chang

Sam's Tailor

 

[GopherEvertt?]

I'll second the Slates. They are very comfortable, and most importantly, machine washable.

 

[Anaconda]

i've been thinking about the slates as well and finally went and checked them out this afternoon. unfortunately the didn't have my size but they were on sale for $39.99. this was at a hecht's store in BNA. dillard's had a similar pant for the same price called roundtree and york but i didn't think the quality was as good.

go to dockers.com and they will link you to several online stores that have slates for $39.99 as well...

i'll give my nod to pilotshirts.com. great selection of shirts and terrific customer service. when they stopped selling my favorite shirt (the "gold star" style) i called them up to ask what's up and they sent me three for free that had slight defects that were easily fixed at my local seamstress shop...

 

[justApilot]

I have my shirts made by a company in Dallas called Ripley (214-941-0311). 60/40 blend is something like 60 bucks a shirt and 100% is something around 80. A little pricey... but it is a custom shirt. They will make it however you want. I highly recommend them.