Kaiser Friedrich Herrenhemden

Designer Stephan Griese draws shirts covered in crabs, lobsters, graffiti and painted elephants in Charlottenburg. The sewing happens in Berlin and even the buttons are dyed here to match each design. Everything runs on one close-fitting cut in five sizes. As a gift for men there are vouchers and made-to-measure shirts.

Kaiser Friedrich Herrenhemden on Kaiserdamm: colourful shirts made in Berlin

The shop sits on the corner of Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse and Kaiserdamm in Charlottenburg, a few minutes from Charlottenburg Palace and from Wilmersdorfer Strasse. From outside the address looks unremarkable, and then the window turns out to be full of shirts covered in crabs, lobsters, graffiti and painted elephants. The sentence Kaiser Friedrich Herrenhemden uses to describe itself runs: life is too colourful for boring shirts.

Behind the business stands designer Stephan Griese, who draws the designs himself. Most of the fabrics come from Germany and are printed exclusively for the house, while individual qualities are sourced from Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Britain. The sewing happens in Berlin, and even the buttons are dyed here so they match each design. The collection is called Knallbunt, and a closer look reveals paisley patterns, crossword puzzles and vinyl records on the fabrics.

Made-to-measure shirts, vouchers and gift ideas for men in Charlottenburg

Everything in the shop hangs on a single cut: a close-fitting shape in sizes S to XXL, with at least four new collections a year. Around 95 per cent of the models are genuinely loud, though anyone who prefers something quieter will find more restrained patterns too. A shirt costs between 89 and 129 euros, a bow tie 49 euros. The so-called Made Shirts are cut and sewn only after ordering, so they need a little lead time.

As a gift for men, the made-to-measure service works best here. Anyone who knows the measurements of the person they are buying for can have the shirt made to those rather than settling for an off-the-peg size. Anyone unsure about the pattern takes a voucher, available separately for the shop and for the web store. A call ahead is worth it in any case, because the team also opens by arrangement. Besides the Charlottenburg address the shirts are stocked at Quartier 102 in Kleinmachnow and at Gewandhaus Berlin on Knesebeckstrasse, and a separate business section handles larger orders.