RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Now that I'm nearing my mid-thirties, I can no longer coast on the handful of fast- fashion dress shirts I kept in rotation throughout my twenties. Between weddings , work functions, and the occasional date night, I've found that the cheaply made white button-downs with their yellowing collar just don't cut it anymore, and more casual options ( like linen shirts) can still make me feel underdressed.
Luckily, I think we're in the golden age of buying off the rack. As customers have gotten savvier and brands work to bring some of the techniques and quality of high-end tailors to the masses, the result is a market filled with well-made white dress shirts in just about any style you can imagine. Whether you're married to the Oxford or like to flirt with a French cuff, many brands are moving away from one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter silhouettes and leaning into traditional tailoring practices to offer more sophisticated alternatives to the department store giants that have traditionally dominated the space.
How We Chose the Best White Dress Shirts The thing about white dress shirts is that they're dictated by two complementary, and sometimes opposing, objectives: looking good and feeling good. Finding one that manages both comes down to fit, fabric, and style, along with how much you're willing to spend.
Fit : More often than not, you're going to find terms like "traditional fit," "modern fit," or "slim fit" when shopping for white dress shirts. But what, in practice, do these actually mean? The definitions vary between brands, but they generally refer to how closely the shirt follows the body through the chest and torso.
Depending on your body shape, a slimmer fit may be harder to pull off, while a traditional fit, with more room through the torso, won't accentuate your stomach in the way a closely tailored shirt might. A modern fit usually falls somewhere between the two. The right silhouette ultimately depends on your personal taste, while still taking your proportions into consideration. It should follow your body without pulling across the buttons or leaving too much fabric beneath a jacket.
Next, look at the arms and shoulders. The shoulder seam should sit at the natural curve of your shoulder rather than dropping down your upper arm. The cuff should finish just past your wrist bone, allowing a sliver of fabric to peek out from a jacket sleeve.
Most dress shirts use neck and sleeve measurements as the guide by which the rest of the shirt is proportioned. The collar shouldn't press against your Adam's apple, but it should sit close enough that it doesn't have a gap at the nape of the neck or dimple when buttoned. Together, these considerations should give the shirt shape while leaving enough room to move comfortably throughout the day.
Fabric : Traditionally, dress shirts are made from cotton. It is durable for repeated wear, while lightweight enough to pair with a jacket. But what you may find is that cotton alone may not be enough, and these properties are often enhanced with a synthetic like Lycra or lyocell, which can add additional stretch or breathability for added comfort.
Oxford cloth, which is my personal preference, has a slightly heavier feel and a visible basket-weave texture. It is softer and more casual than poplin, which has a smoother surface and crisper finish. Twill is another common option, with a softer hand and a subtle diagonal weave that tends to show fewer wrinkles.
Linen, flannel, and other fabrics can also work, but they are more dependent on the weather and setting and not really considered as dressy as their more traditional counterparts.
Style : Dressing up can be intimidating, as many rules from traditional tailoring still influence how we judge menswear. You don't need to know all of them, but understanding a few key terms will make it easier to choose the right shirt.
Start with the collar. A spread collar has wider points and a more formal appearance, especially when worn with a tie. A point collar is narrower and works across most business and formal settings. I personally opt for a button-down collar because I prefer the look, though its softer construction does tend to put it on the more casual end of the spectrum.
From there, consider the cuffs. Barrel cuffs fasten with buttons and are the most versatile choice for regular wear. French cuffs fold back and require cufflinks, making them better suited to more formal settings.
Price : Last but not least, budget comes into play. Like most things in life, dress shirts fall across a wide gradient of prices. More expensive doesn't always mean better, but higher-priced options will usually offer more variety, more elements of traditional tailoring, or, at the very least, a wider range of sizing than Small, Medium, and Large.
Once you have all of these factors in play, you're set to find the right dress shirt for you. The following options hit those marks while covering a range of budgets, giving you plenty of choices for the next time you need to look – and feel – your best.
➤ 100% cotton ➤ Pinpoint collar ➤ Trim fit
If you're looking for an option that won't break the bank and holds up after repeated wear, The Tie Bar's selection of dress shirts is an all-around favorite in the Braley household. Its non-iron shirts punch well above their weight in terms of price-to-quality ratio, holding their shape through a full day of wear. They've also become my go-to when traveling through Europe, when I'm afraid my travel steamer will explode if I try to use it with a voltage converter. While I'm partial to a button-down collar, I like the extended point collar on this one, which gives it a slightly dramatic, elegant look at a sub-$100 price point.
➤ 98% cotton, 2% lycra ➤ Semi-spread collar ➤ Classic or slim fit
Quince's domination of the closets of even ...
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