The Made to Order Program... for when you want this shirt, but in that fabric.
We offer nine of our core silhouettes (seven shirts, one dress, and one skirt) in straightforward stock sizes. Familiar fits you know and love, just made your own.
MTO items are held to the same exacting standards as our off-the-rack styles, created with 22 stitches/inch and single-needle stitching, German interlining, clean-finished seams, and thick Trocas shell buttons from Italy.
MTO offers hundreds of combinations beyond what you see in stock. We bring in new swatches every season and keep our very favorites in the assortment year-round.
Our fabrics are sourced and hand-picked from the best mills all over the world and woven with high yarn counts so that they wash, wear, and last, season after season. Crisp cotton poplin from Italy, cheery printed Liberty Fabric, silk shantung from India, and more special swatches for every mood and occasion.
Whether it's a piece for a special occasion, or just your perfect blue shirt for everyday, it's special to have something no one else has. MTO allows you to create something that's truly your own.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Basics
With our Made to Order program, you can select your favorite fabric and silhouette and have a one-off shirt, dress, or skirt made just for you in a stock size (XS–XL). With dozens of fabrics and 9 of our most-loved silhouettes to choose from, there's lots of runway to create something that's truly your own.
We offer seven of our most popular shirting styles (the Icon, the Boyfriend, the Tomboy Popover, the Designer Tunic, the Director, the Mandarin Tunic, and the Anaya Popover) as well as our Classic Shirtwaist Dress and Pleated Wrap Skirt.
MTO is a great option if you've fallen in love with a particular silhouette and want it in every color, if you need something specific for a special occasion, or if you just want to create something no one else will have. Think of it as a special commission... you get to be the designer.
The Details
You can visit us online or in person. The program is now live on our website so that you can order MTO pieces at any time of day (or night) without having to come into a store. Simply select your fabric, select your silhouette, select your size, and check out online. Your piece will ship to you in 3–4 weeks (for MTO shirts) or 6–8 weeks (for MTO dresses & skirts). You can also go through the process in-person at any one of our shops, where we have try-on garments in every size and physical swatch rings so you can touch and feel what you're ordering.
MTO shirts range from $245–$400, MTO dresses range from $400–$695, and MTO skirts range from $445–$745. Prices vary depending on the fabric and silhouette that you select.
MTO shirts ship to you 3-4 weeks after the order is placed and MTO dresses & skirts ship 6–8 weeks after the order is placed. If you're purchasing a piece for a special event or have a date by which you need it in hand, please contact us before placing the order so that we can confirm with the factory that it will arrive on time. You can always get a status update on your MTO order by reaching out to us.
A full size chart with garment measurements is provided online for each silhouette. Some customers wear different sizes depending on the silhouette — e.g. someone might wear a S in the Boyfriend Shirt but prefer a M in the Icon Shirt — so we encourage you to read this carefully (and compare with garments in your own closet) before placing an order. Note that MTO items share a pattern with their ready-to-wear equivalents so garment specs are the same between the two. In other words, if you already own and love a bunch of Boyfriend Shirts in size S, you can be confident about ordering the MTO version as well.
Just like our ready-to-wear woven pieces, our MTO shirts, dresses, and skirts are made at a family-owned co-operative in Honduras that has been running for nearly a century, where we have our own dedicated line.
Care instructions are provided online with each fabric. For our cotton fabrics, we recommend machine-washing on cold, hang-drying, and ironing by hand, although our shirts can also be sent to the cleaners. Our silk and silk-blend fabrics need to be dry-cleaned or washed by hand — exact instructions will appear at the fabric level in Step 1, so that you know what you're getting into before you place your order.
We offer alterations in our brick-and-mortar shops on any items purchased from us, whether they are MTO or off the rack. Visit a store for more details — due to the custom nature of MTO pieces, we recommend getting fitted in person for any alterations.
We are unable to accept returns or exchanges of MTO items since each piece is made just for you! We strongly recommend familiarizing yourself with a particular silhouette and size before ordering it as an MTO piece. Size charts with garment measurements are listed for each of our different silhouettes so that you can make an educated decision before placing your order.
The Silhouettes
The Icon is the first shirt we ever made — think 'collared shirt' in its purest form — with a full button placket, a scaled-down point collar, and darts in the back. The fit is trim and some women like to go up one size to allow more room in the chest.
The Boyfriend Shirt is a menswear-style shirt cut slimmer to flatter a woman. It has a slightly oversized collar and cuffs, a longer rounded shirttail with an overlap detail, a front pocket at the chest, a locker loop behind the collar, and a box pleat at the back yoke. It's been a bestseller since we opened up shop and it fits true to size.
The Tomboy Popover's defining feature is the popover placket that only goes halfway down the shirt. It has a looser, slouchier fit through the body than the Icon, a rounded hemline, and no pleat at the back.
The Designer Tunic has a slightly flared shape to the body, 3/4-length sleeves with a foldover cuff, and a tunic length that hits most people around midthigh. The wider, no-button placket makes it especially good for those with a fuller bust (no gaps between buttons) and there's a flattering center seam at the front and the back. It looks particularly chic in solid, neutral colors.
The Director style has a spread collar, a full button placket, and mitered cuffs. It has a dramatic, rounded shirttail that dips much lower in the back — a lot of women love the extra coverage with a pair of tight pants. It's designed to be worn a little looser than our other shirts and runs true to size.
The Mandarin Tunic has a minimal mandarin collar, a popover placket that only goes halfway down, and a squared-off, high-low hem. It has a slim, straight cut and looks especially chic in solid colors and stripes.
The Anaya seems to flatter almost everyone. It's an easy, blousy fit with a covered half-placket, a stand collar, and gathered, bracelet-length sleeves. Compared to the other shapes in the MTO program, it’s cut more generously for a roomier fit.
The Classic Shirtwaist Dress is a fitted shirtdress with front and back darts, a fixed waist, a pleated skirt, and a full button placket that goes all the way down. It also has an adjustable self-tie sash that can be swapped out for a belt of your own. Very retro and flattering. The top is intended for a trim fit so it's cut similarly to our Icon Shirt. Just like with that style, some women size up for more room in the chest, but bear in mind that there's lots of fullness and room for movement in the skirt.
A chic, party-ready wrap skirt that also looks pretty great dressed down for daytime. It's got an adjustable waist tie (that can be tied in a bow or knotted with the ends hanging loose) and handy, on-seam pockets. It sits high on the waist with a full skirt that gives you plenty of room to move. Please note, this silhouette is only possible with certain fabrics in our MTO program — some of the sheerer fabrics are beautiful for a shirt, but don’t work as well for an ankle-length skirt. If you don’t see the Pleated Wrap Skirt as an option in Step 2, that means that the fabric you’ve selected in Step 1 isn’t compatible with this silhouette.