Though I often find reasons to justify my own dress shirt purchases, I have to admit: for a person who doesn’t plan to wear a dress shirt on a regular basis and instead only for designated “business” or “business casual” events, two dress shirts are sufficient – a plain white dress shirt with a medium-spread collar and barrel cuffs and a light blue button-down.
The White Shirt
The white shirt is an essential part of a man’s wardrobe, but surprisingly, it is not as versatile as it seems to be. Though the white color provides a “blank canvas” to not disturb any potentially loud and busy ties, it also creates a rather stark and undesirable contrast between the shirt and other pieces of clothing. In natural light and especially bright sunlight, this contrast is often excessive, and may attract much unwanted attention to the wearer and label him as “attention-seeking.” To counter this, men should avoid bright colored ties (yellows, greens, orange-red, etc.) when wearing the white shirt in daylight and opt for duller shades (navy, gray, burgundy, etc.) instead.
However, the white shirt is a necessity for more formal events, as no shirt can surpass white in terms of formality. Additionally, the white shirt is particularly useful in the evening. As colors are often blanched by artificial light sources, contrast provided by a white shirt can effectively “bring out” the colors needed to brighten a dull-seeming outfit.
A white dress shirt is essential for a man due to its usefulness in evenings and formality. For the same reason, a button-down collar is unsuitable because it has been traditionally reserved for casual shirts. For versatility, a medium-spread collar should be chosen, as it is the happy medium between wide English cutaways, which is often seen as boastful and attracts unwanted attention, and American forward points, which often look strange when worn tieless. Barrel (button) cuffs should be chosen over French cuffs, and the latter requires cufflinks and has connotations of arrogance.
Recommended Brands:
- Brooks Brothers: the spread, or “Ainsley,” collar is an appropriate medium spread. Described by many as “indestructible.” In my experience, the collar sits slightly lower on the neck.
- Charles Tyrwhitt: the “Classic collar” is fairly similar to Brooks’ Ainsley albeit slightly narrower, and the collar sits further up on the neck. the new semi-spread (“semi-cutaway” in British English) collars are also very versatile and business-appropriate, and are slightly further spread than its “classic” collars.
If you don’t mind wearing a forward-point collar (slightly narrower than the medium-spread and unsuitable for tieless wear) or a semi-cutaway (slightly wider than the medium-spread, but has the connotation of being worn by attention-seekers):
- Tommy Hilfiger – the point collar is commonly seen, but the semi-cutaway is only available on certain fabrics. The shrinking on these shirts is significant, however, and the shirts seem to be giving away after a year.
- Jos A. Bank – the “Point” and “Spread” collars refer to forward-point and semi-cutaway, respectively. The “Joseph” line refers to medium-spreads. Most Bank shirts are cut fairly large, and may not be suitable for younger, trimmer men.
- Nordstrom – The house brand of Nordstrom is comparable to Jos A Bank in quality.
The Blue Shirt
A classic Brooks Brothers oxford-cloth button-down collared shirt (OCBD). Light blue is often more suitable than white for business environments. Though still light enough in shade to be worn with most white-shirt-appropriate ties, the blue shirt is dull enough to “absorb” brighter colors, and thus is suitable to be worn with ties in yellow, green, orange, and lighter shades of red. In daytime, it is often recommended by menswear consultants over equivalent white shirts.
Considering that the blue shirt should be in a more casual style to balance the formal white, the light blue dress shirt should have a button-down collar. Though originally reserved for sport, the button-down collar has been transformed by mainstream American clothiers and Ivy League students to be suitable for business wear. Thus, the blue button-down collar is suitable for most interviews and business events.
Additionally, the collar looks appropriate when tieless as well, and thus is more suitable for business-casual wear. When worn without a tie, the “curve” of the collar is aesthetically pleasing to many, and the buttons fixing the collar to the shirt body prevents the collar from flapping around. It is important to note, however, that the button-down collar may not be appropriate for business in Europe, where menswear styles remains quite traditional.
Recommended Brands:
- Brooks Brothers: the inventor of the button-down collar is still widely recognized as the maker of the finest button-down collar shirts.
- Land’s End: Lower price and quality than Brooks Brothers, but still excellent shirts. The collar points on these shirts are a bit short, and thus the shirts many not be as suitable to be worn with a tie.
- L.L. Bean: Around the same price as Land’s End, but with higher quality.
- Nordstrom/Jos A. Bank
Exceptions
Speaker Boehner’s shirt wardrobe seems to consist only of oxford-cloth button-down collared shirts. (Getty)
Though blue and white solids should be staples to any man’s wardrobe, the strict prescription of “spread collar barrel cuff” and “button-down collar barrel cuff” are by no means absolute. The Speaker of the House, for example, seems to wear only button-down collar shirts, and the style works well with his choice of American-cut suits and ties. Wear whatever works for you – just try not to break any rules.
Cover photo by Robert Sheie at www.menswear-market.com