It started with the search for the perfect shirt. That led to the realization that, outside of Savile Row and Jermyn Street, there was no great American shirtmaker who focused on fit and quality. That’s when Ledbury founders Paul Trible and Paul Watson ditched their respective financial and political careers (both lines of work requiring impeccable tailoring) and decided to start their own shirt company. It was also 2008, their careers hadn’t fully taken off and the markets plummeted and economy began its free-fall.
Paul Trible told us “When our job prospects disappeared, we were given the rare opportunity to pursue a passion. From our years in London, we had acquired a healthy addiction for the tailoring of Savile Row and the shirting of Jermyn Street. We were always frustrated to return home to the States where the majority of menswear brands took a one-size-fits-all, profits over purpose approach. With a passion for craftsmanship, we set out to create a brand that delivered great fit and superb quality, all at an attainable price.”
A perfectly pressed well fitted shirt says a lot about you—it makes a statement when you enter a room, and it’s up to you whether you want to announce that you had your assistant order an off the rack billowy armed dress shirt online or whether you want to show that you cared enough about your personal presentation to make you, and your company, look like a billion bucks.
You are showing the world that you take yourself seriously as a man, appreciate the finer things in life, and don’t skimp on life’s necessities. It’s an important statement, one that requires a serious quest—and since Paul and Paul have completed the stateside quest for you, all you have to do is stock up. Ledbury built their brand on the belief that a few well-made items are better than many that are not with a goal to set trend aside and make great-fitting, high-quality shirts that can be worn in any setting and by any generation.
Ledbury is actually named after a street in London, keeping with the influence of studied tailoring in the English tradition that you find in each of their collections. All of their shirts are made with slightly less fabric in the waist and torso to create a more flattering shape. Ledbury’s collars are sewn on separately and fused from the outside in, ensuring the collar stays standing up and won’t collapse under a jacket. They also solved the problem of having a shirt buttoned too high or too low when not wearing a tie by lowering the second button to create the ideal V at the neckline. Why didn’t we think of that? It creates the perfect blend of modern and traditional.
The brand is all about fit and quality…and really, those are the two key elements to a great piece of menswear. The styles are classic with some updated twists, the quality is top notch and the fit rivals some of our favorite custom tailors.
