Posted on September 20 2026
Every so often a customer picks up a Stenstroms shirt, looks at the price, and asks the fair question: what makes this different from a shirt at a third of the cost?
It's a good question and there's a real answer. It has almost nothing to do with the logo.
Stitch density
Run your thumb along the side seam of an inexpensive shirt and then along a Stenstroms. The difference in stitches per inch is visible without magnification. Higher stitch density means the seam distributes stress across more thread rather than concentrating it on a few. It's the single biggest predictor of whether a shirt survives fifty washes.
The collar is the whole game
A shirt collar is a small piece of engineering. It has to stand up on its own, frame the face, sit cleanly under a jacket, and do all of that after repeated laundering.
Stenstroms uses a fused-but-flexible interlining and a collar construction that holds its roll rather than collapsing into a flat wing. If you've ever had a shirt where the collar points curl away from the chest by mid-afternoon, you've experienced the cheap version of this.
Fabric that earns its keep
The cottons are two-ply, long-staple, and woven at high thread counts. Two-ply means each thread is spun from two finer yarns twisted together, which produces a fabric that's simultaneously softer and stronger. It also takes a press better and holds colour longer.
The Fitted Body Regular Fit White Tuxedo shirt is a good demonstration. Formal white is the least forgiving fabric there is, because every flaw shows. That's precisely why it's worth buying well.
Fitted Body, Slimline, Regular
Stenstroms runs several fits and the names are more literal than most brands. Regular Fit is a classic cut with room through the body. Fitted Body is tapered through the waist without being tight. Slimline is the trimmest.
Sizing is European, so it runs by neck measurement in centimetres. If you wear a 16 inch collar, you're a 41.
When it's worth it, and when it isn't
Honest answer: if you wear a dress shirt twice a year, this isn't the right purchase. Buy something good and be happy.
If you wear one four or five days a week, the economics flip. A shirt that survives three years of weekly wear costs less per wear than one you replace every eight months, and it looks considerably better for the whole of that time.
See the difference side by side
The fastest way to understand construction is to hold two shirts at once. Come in and we'll put a Stenstroms next to something more ordinary and let you decide whether the gap is worth it to you. We won't push you either way.
Browse dress shirts or visit us in Markham.
Common questions
Why are Stenstroms shirts expensive?
Swedish construction, single-needle stitching, mother-of-pearl buttons, and long-staple cotton. The cost is in the making, not the label, and it shows in how the collar sits after fifty washes.
Are Stenstroms shirts slim fit?
They're offered in fitted and regular. The fitted body is trim but not tight, cut for a man who wears a shirt tucked.
How should a dress shirt collar fit?
Two fingers should slide between the collar and your neck with the top button done up. Any tighter and it will feel worse by mid-afternoon, not better.
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