Emma Willis, English shirt maker in London, trained at the Slade School of Art before starting her business in 1987, designing and making mens luxury shirts.

In 1999 she opened her elegant and intimate shop in Jermyn Street, on the corner of St James’. Her philosophy is to adhere to traditional English shirt making techniques, using luxurious Italian and Swiss Cottons, Silks and Linens, many of which are exclusive to her collections.

London’s bespoke shirtmaker Emma Willis is also GQ’s Shirt Style Shrink, answering any questions you have on shirts in Fashion Editor Robert Johnston’s Style Pages.

Subscribe to Emma’s blog and keep up to date with the factory and shop progress and receive advice to help you look your best in your Emma Willis ready to wear shirts, ties and accessories. Or spend time browsing the collection of Slim and Classic fit shirts, you can even have a bespoke shirt made and ordered online.

‘The Big British Shop’ at Selfridges.

17 May 2012

See our Patriotic Jubilee Walking Socks and Patchwork Boxer shorts in ‘The Big British Shop’ at Selfridges.

Luxury men’s shirts for the understated, elegant look of classic English dressing.

10 May 2012

Emma Willis of Jermyn Street London has been a specialist in making luxury men’s shirts since 1987.They design everything from eveningwear, ready to wear to bespoke online, where you can choose the body fit, sleeve length, collar size, and style of collar, front and cuff…It’s like popping in to your private tailor on Jermyn Street, from the remote coast of the Maldives or New York stateside.

You have all the choices of a bespoke shirt, removing any of the more complicated details that would require a physical fitting. Emma’s philosophy is to adhere to traditional English shirt making techniques, using luxurious Italian and Swiss Cottons, Silks and Linens, many of which are exclusive to her collections.

An Emma Willis shirt is British in style, while being cut slimmer than is traditional – something that endears her to younger, hipper customers. She’s already the darling of the gentlemen’s club set and dressing as many dukes as she does bright young things…she has intuitive knack for walking the fine line between classical elegance and relevance to contemporary luxury.

I transferred my creativity into honing what I felt was the perfect shirt for a man, listening to the requests and fantasies for the dream business or smart casual shirt.

We chatted with Emma about how she fell into the world of menswear. She said “I decided I wanted to be a full time rock singer. I was performing in London with my band, but needed to make ends meet. Seeing the City booming with young men I knew in shirts, I set up a shirt business with a small factory in South London making bespoke men’s shirts. I realized I enjoyed employing the best methods of traditional shirtmaking, and buying the very finest Swiss cottons.”

There are plenty of ‘good’ shirt shops out there, but Emma’s creativity and eye for the unusual makes for a shirt and designed with a certain passion for the look, feel and make of the shirt. She oversees her factory three days a week and will only use the very best quality fabric and the very best employees. It shows in every stitch and mother of pearl button.

The ‘factory’ is a boutique operation with a handful of expert seamstresses/machinists working to the motto of ‘Keep the Blame.’ It keeps them grounded and on top of their game! They cut so that each pattern is matched at the seams, sew 18 stitches to the inch, using single needle stitching for the neatest, strongest seams, hand trim the collars before turning to ensure clean cut, sharp points.

We fell head over heels in love with this Spring Summer 2012 collection…a plethora of stunning Italian silks woven exclusively for Emma Willis, colorful weekend oxford windowpane, and Prince of Wales poplin checks in blues, pinks, yellows and purples.

A little birdie told us that Winter 2012 at Emma Willis will be country looking shirts in wholesome checks, and rich plum, aqua, blue plains using the most luxurious and easy to launder cashmere cottons…Think hay bales and autumn picnics! We can’t wait to go shopping.

London Fashion Review’s Blog on Emma Willis.

30 April 2012

Emma Willis Store- Jermyn St, London

Introduction to the Emma Willis Brand

London fashion designer Emma Willis found herself in the world of bespoke shirt making completely by accident. After dropping out of university and then art school, she went on to try her hand at a number of things, including amateur singing, drawing portraits and then selling clothes door to door. The booming 1980’s, sparked Emma into the idea of selling shirts to London’s stockbrokers instead of door to door. Emma Willis soon found herself selling over a hundred shirts in a week. Realising the potential of selling business shirts to affluent businessmen of the city, in 1987, Willis decided to set up her own shirt-making business.

Willis went to leading shirt makers, Turnbull and Asser’s, and asked them if they had any spare productions; much to her surprise they did – the Emma Willis brand was born. At first, all her shirts were made at Turnbull and Asser’s factory but before long, with a little help they were making all of their shirts themselves from an office in Soho. As time progressed and the business expanded, the brand took over a small bespoke factory, which allowed Willis to expand her operation overseas and measure men for bespoke shirts in New York and Paris – building up clients and connections in the process.

In 1999, Willis opened her store on London’s Jermyn Street, a street synonymous with the world’s finest bespoke shirt makers. However, this almost never happened when Willis thought of giving up the business to concentrate on her family life. Fortunately, Willis had a change of heart and continued to see her brand go from strength to strength.

As well as the store on Jermyn Street, Emma Willis shirts are sold online on the brand’s ecommerce site, through Selfridges and various other retail outlets throughout the globe including the USA, Japan and soon India.

Emma Willis designer - Jermyn St London

Emma Willis – Shirts For Soldiers

To thank and support the British troops for their courage and their efforts both at home and overseas, Emma Willis and some of her team visit the Headly Court rehabilitation centre every few months to make complementary bespoke shirts for injured servicemen. The servicemen choose their own fabric in a colour of their choice. Unsurprisingly, they are always appreciative when the finished custom-made shirts arrive. The brand funds the majority of the operations themselves, supplemented by generous donations from customers and fundraising activities from the prestigious Eton College. Information on how to make a donation to the cause can be found of the official Emma Willis website.

The eight staff members at the Emma Willis brand make approximately 5 shirts a day and, as of Christmas 2010, over 300 bespoke shirts had been made for the British servicemen. Speaking of the initiative, Emma Wills said: “I heard a programme on Radio 4 about Headley Court and it was so moving, I found it deeply touching and decided I wanted to do something to help…Then I realised that I could make the bespoke shirts because I could make them to fit them.” ARRC commander Lieutenant General Sir Richard Shirreff, said: “What Emma and her ladies are doing is a symbol of what the nation should be doing – putting their arm around these boys and supporting them.”

For the ‘Shirts for Soldiers’ initiative, the Emma Willis brand received a Morale Award from the British Forces Foundation and in 2010 they were nominated in the Sun Military Awards for Support to The Armed Forces.

Emma Willis Business Shirtsn

Future of the Emma Willis Brand

In the future of the Emma Willis brand there are hopes of expanding their wholesale business abroad, but there are definitely no plans to open a second Emma Willis shop, home or overseas. The label believes that there is too much globalisation in the world of fashion – and that the Emma Willis brand with have a stronger identity if it has just the one store.

Visit the official Emma Willis website here.

‘Precious few factories are set up in the UK these day’…Simon Crompton (The Rake)

26 April 2012

Precious few factories are set up in the UK these days. Even fewer make high-quality menswear. We therefore welcomed enthusiastically the news back in 2010 that Emma Willis would be setting up her own shirtmaking factory in Gloucester. Perhaps the greater news, however, is that two years later the factory is still going, has expanded in products and staff, and is receiving visits from royalty. Last month the Duke of York (pictured above, centre) visited the factory, saw a shirt being cut and made, and interviewed two young trainees.

Such visits do wonders for the motivation of budding craftspeople. I found a similar atmosphere among weavers at the Corgi knitwear factory in Wales during a recent visit. Because they can do short runs at short notice, Corgi is often used by fashion designers, and the local girls crowd around Style.com after the fashion shows, looking for their pieces on the catwalk.

Emma Willis now has a far larger number of local staff enjoying this success, with the teams of cutters, machinists and finishers all doubling in size since 2010. They include Megan, pictured above cutting out a pair of boxers, and Lyn, who hand weaves all the shooting socks on an old Victorian loom. The factory has also started making ties, meaning everything including pyjamas, silk scarves, swimming trunks and dressing gowns are made on site. I can particularly, and personally, recommend the shooting socks.

Here’s to you, Emma.

Business FM Radio interviews Emma on the sucess of her Bespoke online service.

23 April 2012

Listen here to Emma being interviewed on Business FM.

A Suitable Wardrobe ‘London’s Glamorous Shirtmaker’.

4 April 2012

Emma Willis is much the most glamorous bespoke shirt maker in London, and probably the second best known after Turnbull & Asser, her near neighbour on Jermyn Street. Central to her success is the fact that she shares not one address with Turnbull & Asser, but two. Because Emma Willis has her own shirt-making facility in the city of Gloucester (where Turnbull also has its factory) in which all her shirts, as well as ties, pyjamas, dressing gowns, swimming shorts and socks, are made. She is a passionate advocate for the made in England label.

An Emma Willis shirt is British in style, while being cut slimmer than is traditional – something that endears her to younger customers. When asked what defines an English shirt she says, “We put our stitching in ¼ inch from the seams, a raised placket is typical and with the stitching closer together so it runs under the buttons, which are flat mother of pearl. We do single-stitch side seams, which take twice as long because you have to sew them, then fold them over and sew them again. And we have hand-sewn gussets.” The quality of pattern matching on the shirts’ split yoke is also notable.

Surprisingly, given the current state of London shirt-making, the gussets do not represent the only handwork available on her shirts. “I have two customers who have hand-sewn shirts, and two hand sewers who can set the sleeve in and put the collar on by hand. It adds about £100 ($160) to the price of a shirt,” Willis explains. Demand seems buoyant for her custom service; she says that her bespoke orders (which includes made-to-measure shirts sold through her website) account for 50% of her sales. And she currently benefits from the enthusiasm of her clients for smart casual dressing. People buy shirts for the weekend, rather than going into T-shirts.” Which isn’t just good news for her, but for anyone interested in male elegance.

Words by Mansel Fletcher
-Photography by Chloë Lederma

Thank you to Justin for this lovely blog.

4 April 2012

Dear Readers,

A few days ago A Suitable Wardrobe did a piece on Emma Willis and her shirts, which to my understanding are nothing short of fabulous. I hope to one day be fitted for them. But what I want to dwell on is more important than just shirts, it is service for one’s country. Service by those who made sacrifices that most of us will never make and will likely never be asked to make. It is not often that I get to combine two of my loves, menswear and philanthropy. But when I do, it is a great feeling. How and why? You may ask.

Ms. Willis has made a mission of providing bespoke shirts to the men of the Headley Court rehabilitation facility in England, which helps treat injured British servicemen. The cause is nothing short of noble. The program is simply called ‘Shirts For Soldiers‘ and it is now under the guidance of a larger charitable organization called The British Forces Foundation. I highly recommend taking a few minutes to read about the organizations (you can also read more here), as their words do the cause far more justice than mine are capable of. Until recently a majority of the cost of the program has been shouldered by Ms. Willis and some of her customers. However, a site has been set up that allows anyone to donate to the cause. A few moments ago I donated 50gbp ($80) to the organization. I challenge you to join me in supporting this cause by donating; any amount will make a difference. To donate please follow this link. I hope that some of you will join me in supporting this great cause.

Respectfully,

Justin (fineyounggentleman blog)

UrbanDaddy, ‘A line of possibly the greatest shirts you’ll read about today’.

4 April 2012

On the Button
Bespoke Shirts Direct from London

British women. You know the type:Sexy accents. Great curves. Names like Pippa.

Also, legendary shirtmakers.

About that last one…

Welcome Emma Willis Bespoke, a line of possibly the greatest shirts you’ll read about today, made just for you and available online for the first time now.

About Emma: she started as an aspiring rock star. Then she began selling shirts to pay the bills. Then, yadda yadda yadda, she’s now the first woman to have her own place on Jermyn Street, the shirts-only version of the suited paradise that is Savile Row. (They’ve got a street for everything over there.)

Her shirts are the kind of mother-of-pearl-buttoned, Swiss cotton and linen treasures you’d gladly jet to merry old England to be fitted for.

But that won’t be necessary. Because now you’ll just hit her site and craft your ideal torso coverage. You’ll choose from some classic, Gekko-esque dress shirt types and a handful of tuxedo-ready numbers. The rest is up to you. This means choosing collar, cuff, front and pocket styles. Then: entering in a few key measurements (your tailor will have these, or you can just take them yourself). In a few weeks, your wares will arrive.

They should distract from the fact that you’re not wearing pants.

A week inspired by our incredible Servicemen.

27 March 2012

Walking alone in this beautiful March sunshine at the end of an inspirational week visiting Headley Court Military Rehab Hospital, which I always leave deeply moved by the courage, charm, humour and suffering of our young injured, and spending time with two breathtakingly brave and admirable injured Servicemen going out in to the world for new careers, I am moved to write how privileged I feel to meet and get to know fellow human beings of such magnitude.

Captain Simon Maxwell of the Royal Marines mentioned to me that he would be very interested in a career as a war reporter. I could not think of any one better placed than the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen, so Simon read his amazing book War Stories, and Jeremy said he would be more than happy to give any advice. They met this week for a drink outside our shop, and talked extensively, resulting in Jeremy kindly offering to mentor Simon in the future if he wanted to pursue war journalism.

On Friday Reuters came to the shop for a photo shoot with Adam Cocks (see attached) and myself, and interviewed us on my Style for Soldiers Charity, and Adam’s incredible experience in Afghanistan and after. Despite his terribly injuries, he says the time he spent in the Forces (he was originally doing an 18 month ‘sabbatical’ out of his civilian life as a successful Investment Consultant in the city, however he has only now just returned to ‘P-Solve Meridian’ after almost 5 years away) with his fellow servicemen were some of the happiest and most meaningful months of his life, combined with an exciting, physical, outdoor life. He has renovated his house, learning building trades by employing experts and asking them to teach him as they work, set up a charity supporting the injured and their families called ‘Lt Dougie Dalzell MC Memorial Trust (DDMT), raising thousands, in memory of his friend who was killed, all the time undergoing gruelling physical rehab and numerous leg operations. How feeble does one feel?

Not only are Simon and Adam very handsome, but they are also the highest calibre of selfless, thoughtful, determined and modest individuals, who would fill anyone, fortunate enough to meet them, with pride for this generation of young men and women.

Tatler’s May edition features Emma Willis Launch Party for Sticks for Soldiers at Ronnie Scott’s with guest performer Adam Ant.

26 March 2012

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‘The Big British Shop’ at Selfridges.

Luxury men’s shirts for the understated, elegant look of classic English dressing.