T.M. Lewin was founded in 1898 by brothers Thomas Mayes Lewin and Geoffrey James Lewin, who opened their first shop on Panton Street in London before relocating to Jermyn Street in 1903. Thomas Mayes Lewin is credited with popularising the button-front 'coat shirt', a design that let men dress without disturbing their hair, which became a defining feature of the brand's shirts. The company supplied uniforms to the RAF and British Army during the First World War and opened its own shirt factory in Southend in 1987. It now sells shirts, suits, and men's clothing online and sources fabric from Italian mills including Loro Piana.