The perfect shirt since 1883 It started in 1883 as a general store with a tailor workshop out the back. But word quickly spread, both near and far, about the reputable tailor who created the best, most fashionable shirts around. By 1899, August Stenström was overwhelmed; there was no end to the orders.
that you can turn the shirt inside out and it looks the same; the bottom seam is concave, which involves a lot more work but adds a sophisticated touch.”
By Linnea Dunne | Photos: Stenströms, Freddy Billqvist and JKF Photo
Attention to detail is the backbone of the brand. Everything is done for a reason, including the sourcing of materials for the buttons from Australia, most made from mother of pearl. Each button is handcrafted, the holes made manually before the button is polished and surface-coated. “It’s a case of value for money,” says Ramberg, “in the lasting quality sense.”
In 1899, a fully fledged shirt factory became the inevitable solution, located in the heart of Helsingborg and working to the very same standards and principles first set out by Stenström himself. By 1912, with 140 employees, Stenströms was Scandinavia’s largest shirt factory – one that is still leading the way in the world of shirts and tailoring today, still doing most of the sewing by hand and still putting quality first. “I was on a flight to Munich the other day, and I sat there spotting the Stenströms 26 | Issue 89 | June 2016
shirts,” laughs Marie Ramberg, marketing manager at Stenströms. Unwavering insistence on the very best quality is still their hallmark. Ramberg maintains that each shirt goes through 60 separate production steps, 25 focusing on the collar alone. “From day one, Stenströms has been about the best in stitching, the best-quality fabrics… In recent years we’ve invested in the details of each and every shirt: each button is secured with a special thread to make sure that they won’t come off; we’ve added more seams, including a French seam which means
That the business is family-owned, as it always has been, means that there is a long-term perspective and commitment to the founder’s vision, giving the quality of the end product as much importance