I decided to write up a review on the Arrow brand even though I dont consider myself an expert on fashion, as I felt that the existing reviews did not do justice to this great shirt. For the uninitiated amongst you, Arrow is a brand of shirts, first produced in USA by Cluett, Peabody & Co in 1851. In India, this brand is manufactured and marketed by Arvind Mills, who also own most other premium brands available here, such as Louis Phillipe and Van Heusen.
With a single company producing so many different brands, you would have expected all the shirts to be more or less similar. However, if you are an observant user, you would have noticed certain differences, especially in the pleats at the back, the strength of the cuffs and collars and so on. I personally prefer an Arrow to the other premium brands in the country, because I have found that this brand has the best overall quality. I have Louis Phillipe shirts that wrinkle like crazy, and Van Heusens that are a little short on the length of the sleeves. But every Arrow I own has perfect length and uniformly good quality of fabric.
It may be that I have a build like a Westerner, but I find that with the cheaper brands the sleeves are too short or the shirt too tight or long. As a result I have to spend hours in the trial room before I can select a garment! With an Arrow, however, I just choose the color and design, and walk away with a size 44!!
These shirts are definitely expensive, with prices starting at nearly Rs. 900 ($20). But if you want to own a premium shirt, that is what you have to dish out in India, whatever be your favourite brand! And the money is well spent, as the shirt will last for a decade or more, provided you dont entrust it to your dhobi! And the discerning audience will always pick out a well dressed man by the quality of the shirt that he wears, as the premium brands give you an aura of excellence, thanks to the infinite attention paid to micro-details like the distance between the parallel stitches in a double stitched garment or the alignment of the stripes of checks in the body of the shirt with the yoke and collar, or of the sleeves with the cuff!
So I would definitely advise you to get hold of one of these shirts, at least for occasions like weddings or job interviews. If your budget is a bit tight, hunt around at factory seconds outlets or fairs-most of the seconds shirts have practically no defects!