Before anything else: Ted Baker’s UK business collapsed into administration in March 2024 and every UK store had closed by that August. The brand sells online again under a new operating partner, and a single London shop was reported as opening this month — but a shirt guide that recommends it without saying any of that has not checked.
This guide covers the brands worth your money, what to look for in a shirt, how UK collar sizing actually works, and the returns rights that apply when you buy one online — including the exclusion that catches anyone ordering a monogram.
Last updated: 21 October 2026. Brand status and consumer rights checked on this date.
The short version
- Ted Baker: online only since the 2024 UK store closures
- Sizing: UK shirts go by collar size in inches, not S/M/L
- Fabric: two-fold cotton is the formal benchmark
- Online returns: 14 days to cancel, 14 more to send back
- Monogrammed? no cancellation right — personalised goods are excluded
- Faulty? different law — 30-day right to reject
- Zalando: a retailer, not a designer brand
What this article covers
What Happened to Ted Baker
This belongs at the top because the brand is still widely recommended as though nothing changed.
What this means for a buyer. The shirts are still available and the design identity is intact, but you cannot try one on in most of the country, and the business selling it to you is not the business that was selling it in 2023. That makes the returns section below more important than usual. Reporting of the relaunch is covered in WWD and TheIndustry.fashion.
The Brands, and What Each Is For
| Brand | What it does well | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Hugo Boss | Modern tailoring, clean collars, stretch cottons that survive a long day | The safe office choice. Cut runs slim — size up if you are between collars |
| Ted Baker | Prints, contrast linings and detail. For people who do not want to blend in | Online only in most of the UK since the 2024 closures. See above |
| Liberty London | Its own archive prints, which nobody else has | You are buying the fabric design as much as the shirt |
| Ralph Lauren | Oxford button-downs and classic formal shirts that do not date | The most conservative of the group, and the most reliably resaleable |
| Fred Perry | Casual shirts with a clear identity rooted in British subculture | Not a formal-shirt brand. Buy it for what it is |
| Zalando Premium | A retailer, not a brand — stocks many designer labels in one place | Useful for comparing cuts and prices across brands before committing |
Descriptions of house style. No scores are given, because we have not run a test that would justify one.
Our related guides cover designer shirts for men in more depth.
Collar Sizing, Properly
UK dress shirts are sold by collar measurement in inches. S/M/L is a casual-shirt convention, and using it for a formal shirt is how people end up with a collar they cannot fasten.
| UK collar | European | Rough S/M/L |
|---|---|---|
| 14” | 35–36 | XS |
| 15” | 38 | S |
| 15½” | 39–40 | M |
| 16” | 41 | M–L |
| 16½” | 42 | L |
| 17” | 43 | XL |
| 17½” | 44–45 | XXL |
Standard conversion. Fit beyond the collar — slim, tailored, regular, classic — is not standardised and varies by brand and by range.
- Measure at the base of the neck, where the collar sits, and add half an inch for comfort.
- Two fingers should fit inside a fastened collar. If they do not, it is too small, whatever the label says.
- Sleeve length is quoted separately by better brands — a 15½/33 is a collar and a sleeve, and it is worth finding brands that do this.
- The shoulder seam should sit on the edge of your shoulder. This is the one thing a tailor cannot easily fix, so it decides whether a shirt works.
- Cotton shrinks. A shirt that fits perfectly in the shop may not after three hot washes — wash at 30 and the problem mostly disappears.
Fabric and Construction
Where the money actually goes, and the vocabulary that lets you tell.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Two-fold cotton | Two finer yarns twisted together. Stronger, smoother and better draping than single-fold at the same weight. The formal benchmark |
| Poplin | Smooth, light, slightly lustrous. The default formal weave — and the one that creases most |
| Oxford | Heavier basketweave, textured, more casual. Wears for years and forgives a lot |
| Twill | Diagonal weave. Softer, drapes well, creases less than poplin — the practical choice for travel |
| Single-needle stitching | A finishing detail that indicates a better-made shirt. Look at the side seams |
| Removable collar stays | Better than sewn-in ones — they keep their shape and survive washing |
| Mother-of-pearl buttons | A quality marker, though plastic buttons on a good shirt are not a disaster |
Standard shirtmaking terms. A shirt describing none of these on its product page is usually telling you something.
Your Rights Buying Online in the UK
Most designer shirts are now bought online, and most buyers do not know what they are entitled to.
| Right | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| 14 days to cancel | From the day you receive the goods, you may cancel for any reason at all — wrong colour, changed your mind, no reason given. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 |
| A further 14 days to return | After cancelling, you have another 14 days to send it back. The deadline is met if you post it in time |
| Refund within 14 days | The retailer must refund within 14 days of receiving the goods back |
| Return postage | Usually yours, unless the retailer offers free returns |
| Personalised goods are excluded | A monogrammed or made-to-measure shirt carries no cancellation right. Order it and it is yours |
| Faulty goods are separate | The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives a 30-day right to reject for a full refund if the shirt is faulty, on top of everything above |
Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015. This is general information, not legal advice.
The monogram trap. Several shirt brands offer embroidered initials, often free, at the point of checkout. Accepting it turns the shirt into a personalised good and removes your 14-day cancellation right. If you are unsure about the fit, do not add the monogram to the first order.
Making a Good Shirt Last
A designer shirt is only good value if it survives being worn. Most of the damage people do to shirts is done in the wash and on the hanger.
- Wash at 30 degrees. Hot washes are what shrink cotton collars and fade colour. Nothing on a shirt you wore to an office needs 60.
- Undo every button before washing, including the cuffs and the collar stand. Buttons left fastened pull the placket out of shape.
- Remove collar stays first. Washing them in is how collars end up permanently curled.
- Do not tumble dry a good shirt. Hang it damp on a decent hanger and most of the creasing drops out on its own.
- Iron damp, collar and cuffs first, then the yoke, then the body. A dry shirt takes twice as long and never looks as good.
- Rotate them. Wearing the same two shirts weekly wears them out in a year; a rotation of six lasts far more than three times as long.
- Use wide hangers. Wire ones distort the shoulders, which is the one part of a shirt a tailor cannot rescue.
Where to Save Money
- End of season, not Black Friday. January and July clear actual stock; November often clears stock bought in for the purpose.
- Buy the plain white and blue poplin at full price and everything else on sale. The basics get worn out; the patterns do not.
- Outlet lines are frequently made for outlet. Check the fabric description against the main-line equivalent before assuming it is the same shirt.
- Compare across a retailer such as Zalando’s premium range before buying direct — the same shirt is often priced differently.
- Factor in return postage when buying a size you are unsure about. Two returns can erase the saving.
- A good shirt properly cared for lasts years. Wash at 30, hang it damp, and the cost per wear beats three cheap ones.
One further saving that is not about price at all: a cheap alteration beats an expensive shirt that does not fit. Taking in the body of a shirt costs very little at most dry cleaners, and shortening sleeves is routine. The shoulder is the exception — that is structural, and it is why the shoulder seam is the one measurement to get right in the shop.
For related buying guides, see our profile of Derek Mathewson on judging value in a different market, and Martin Lewis on flight cancellation rights for another area where UK consumers routinely leave money on the table.
Corrections Made to This Page
| What was there | Why it has changed |
|---|---|
| Ted Baker recommended with no mention of the administration | The UK business collapsed in March 2024 and all UK stores closed by August 2024. Online trading resumed under a new operator in November 2024 |
| Two invented anecdotes — a London professional at his wardrobe, and a friend at a dinner | Neither happened. Removed |
| Zalando listed as a designer brand | It is a retailer that stocks designer brands. Now described as one |
| US spellings — “center of attention”, “colorful linings” | Corrected to UK English |
| No sizing, no fabric detail, no consumer rights | All three added — they are the parts a buyer actually needs |
Audit carried out 21 October 2026.
Final Thoughts
A designer shirt is worth the money when the fit and the fabric justify it, and not otherwise. Get the collar size right, buy two-fold cotton for formal wear, and learn the difference between poplin, oxford and twill — that is most of the decision.
Then protect yourself on the way in. You have 14 days to cancel an online order and 14 more to return it, 30 days to reject a faulty shirt — and no cancellation right at all once you add a monogram.
Sources
- WWD — Ted Baker unveils new website after shutting all UK stores
- TheIndustry.fashion — Ted Baker’s e-commerce site is back up and running
- Hugo Boss — men’s shirts
- Ted Baker — men’s shirts
- Liberty London — men’s shirts
- Ralph Lauren — formal shirts
- Fred Perry
- Zalando — premium men’s shirts
Disclaimer
This is general information, not legal advice, and no brand on this page is scored or ranked. Consumer rights are summarised from the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015; exclusions apply and a retailer’s own policy may be more generous than the law. Brand ownership, store estates and stock change frequently — the Ted Baker position is as reported up to 21 October 2026. More from The UK Post.