We’ve Been Doing This a While. Quite a While, Actually.

A quick note before we start, because some of you will notice. This post is written in King's English rather than the American English used across most of our site. That is not an error, nor a late-night spellcheck failure. I am British, and while I have been living in Chicago since 2019, certain habits die hard. Spelling is one of them.

That background probably also explains something else. I am instinctively uncomfortable with shouting about our own competence. I would much rather mutter something like “we’ve done a few of these before” and quietly get on with it. Unfortunately, understatement does not always translate particularly well on the internet.

So here it is, said plainly and without fuss. CLIFTON has been designing and producing custom clothing for a very long time. Not dabbling. Not experimenting. Properly doing it. Repeatedly. For schools, clubs, universities, teams, companies, societies, and the occasional wonderfully specific request that only makes sense after the third email.

In practical terms, we specialise in custom blazers, custom rugby shirts, and custom casual shirts, produced repeatedly for organisations who need consistency, control, and delivery certainty.

The images below are not mood boards or concept sketches. They are real garments. Designed, made, delivered, and worn. Again and again.

Custom Blazers. Structure, Tradition, and Absolute Control

Blazers are where experience shows immediately. Proportions, stripe spacing, piping width, crest placement, lapel shape, fabric behaviour. There is nowhere to hide.

We have produced traditional club blazers, bold striped blazers, commemorative designs, understated formal pieces, and everything in between. The common thread is that we understand the rules before we decide whether to follow them or bend them slightly.

This is not novelty tailoring. This is controlled, repeatable production with enough flexibility to get the details right.

👉 Explore our Custom Blazers - View Custom Blazers

Rugby Shirts. Heritage, Repeated Properly

Rugby shirts look simple until they are not.

Stripe scale, collar construction, panel balance, placket length, fabric weight. Get any of these wrong and the shirt never quite feels right. Get them right and nobody questions it. It just works.

We have produced rugby shirts for tours, teams, clubs, brands, alumni groups, and organisations that care deeply about getting it exactly so. Which is fortunate, because so do we.

These are not first attempts. They are refined outcomes.

👉 Explore our Custom Rugby Shirts - View Custom Rugby Shirts

Casual Shirts. Where Confidence Gets Louder

Casual shirts are often where clients want to push things further. Bolder graphics. Brighter colour. More personality. Less restraint.

That only works if the underlying process is solid.

We have produced Hawaiian shirts, printed casual shirts, promotional pieces, statement designs, and shirts that exist purely because someone said “can we do this?” and we answered “yes” without panicking.

When the production fundamentals are familiar, creativity becomes easy.

👉 Explore our Custom Casual Shirts - View Custom Casual Shirts

The real message here is not that we can make blazers, rugby shirts, or casual shirts. Plenty of people can do that once.

The message is that we have done these exact types of garments many times before. We design and manufacture custom blazers, custom rugby shirts, and custom casual shirts as a repeatable process, not a one-off exercise. We understand the decisions you are about to make because we have helped others make them already.

Your order is not an experiment. It is a well-trodden path with room for personalisation. Quiet competence, delivered repeatedly. If that sounds reassuring, you are in the right place.

Best,
Simon
Founder & Co-Owner, CLIFTON

Author: Simon Elliott, Founder & Co-Owner, CLIFTON
Location: Chicago, USA
Last updated: 5 January 2026