The Right Shirt and Collar for Men

Gone are the days when blue, white and discreet stripes were the only shirt options for the businessman. Today there are many choices in fabric, styles and colors, and selecting carefully will ensure both professionalism and comfort.

Let’s look at the five elements of a shirt that need to be considered individually.

Fabric

Fine quality dress shirts are made out of 100% cotton. Cotton “breathes” and absorbs moisture which allows the body to cool itself. A blend of at least 60% cotton is another option. It is the weave and finish that make a shirt either casual or formal. Broadcloth is smooth and has a silky finish appropriate for a dress shirt and, conversely, oxford has a rougher finish and usually comes in button-down style. A broadcloth should be worn with a suit, being more formal, and an oxford with a blazer and trousers, being a casual choice. Avoid wearing an oxford with a suit but a pinpoint oxford is a slightly finer finished version of the oxford and can be worn successfully with a suit. The best fabrics available are Egyptian cottons.

Colour

Coloured shirts can make you look more approachable and are really nice in expanding our options vis-à-vis ties and suits. Alternatively, choose white or soft whites for a formal, authoritative look. Pastels tend to help bridge the gap between authoritative on the one hand, and approachable on the other. Traditionally, the darker the colour of the shirt, the less formal the appearance.

When it comes to stripes, the narrower the more formal. Likewise, coloured stripes on a white shirt are formal, white stripes on a coloured shirt are casual or, at least, less formal.

Collar

Since the collar essentially frames the face, it is important to select a collar which works best for your physical proportions. The details to consider are the spread, which means the distance between the points of the collar which can be narrow, medium or wide and the points length which can be short, average or long. For balance, follow this chart to select the best shirt collar for your face shape.

For a standard collar and button-down shirt, opt for either a half-Windsor or the four-in-hand knots for your tie. The tab collar needs a tighter four-in-hand, while the wide-spread collar requires a half or full Windsor for balance. All woven tie material should be tied in a four-in-hand.

Fit

Surprisingly, very few men wear properly sized shirts. Properly fitted, a buttoned collar should allow you to comfortably insert one finger between your neck and the collar. In addition to comfort, an ill-fitted collar will prevent your tie from sitting correctly and your points to lay improperly. Conversely, if the shirt is too loose, it is equally incorrect. If you cannot find a nice fitting shirt, consider having them custom made.

Cuffs

Shirt cuffs are the last element to consider. The two basic styles are the single or barrel cuff, with one or two buttons, and the double or French cuff. French cuffs are dressier and require the addition of cufflinks to close the cuff. Most men prefer a simple gold or mother-of-pearl cufflink or, alternatively, wear a pair of silk knots. Add novelty cufflinks unless the shirt unless the shirt is informal, as demonstrated by the other elements. Cuffs should extend about a quarter inch below the jacket if you were a single cuff and about a half-inch for French cuffs.