I’m convinced it doesn’t exist. My obsession has turned from finding the perfect shirt to proving that like the Yeti and Britney Spears’ sanity, the perfect shirt for men doesn’t exist. What is the perfect shirt, you ask?
Well, today’s man needs to be able to have a shirt that he can wear untucked with jeans, khakis and shorts. Not too long, not too short. It must be fitted, but not tight like the douchebags who buy tiny Abercrombie polos and walk around with their arms flared out from their sides. No, the perfect shirt must fit to the point of being invisible. If thrown in the laundry, it should come out wearable - not crisp, not wrinkled.
The perfect shirt should have a collar that when washed, doesn’t roll up like the ends of ribbon. It must be light enough to wear in summer by itself, and just heavy enough to work with an undershirt in winter (under a jacket of some kind of course. Which also means it can’t have 1970’s italian mobster length collar points.
And of course, no logos. I want it in white, light blue oxford, plaids of various shades, and classic stripes. It’s supposed to be a classic. It’s supposed to be a staple. Every guy should have 5-8 of them in their closet, and when not pressed it should make a suit casual enough to wear with some Adidas Stan Smiths. When pressed, it should look good with a skinny tie and nice loafers.
I’ve looked at the following:
Gap (loose fitting, suck ass shirts made very cheaply.)
Banana Republic (tight fitting, suck ass shirts made at the same cheap factory as Gap.)
Brooks Brothers comes close with their sport shirts, but unfortunately there is the matter of the tag on the front opening and the just too long length. Also, you can’t get the sport shirt in an oxford.
All dress shirts from all brands suck. Too long. Tags in front. Too much body material (seriously, anything bigger than a 15 1/2 neck and you need to weigh 300-400 lbs. to fill out the shirt.)
Maybe J. Crew will be the victor. I will soon visit their store for fall clothing.
Steven Alan shirts may be the only option, but at $168 they seem to be a tad exclusive to be a staple shirt. APC Jeans are staple jeans. 501s are staple jeans. Steven Alan seems to be creating staple shirts for people in the tax bracket that Democrats like to target for taxes.
Anyone got any ideas? Anything I’m missing?
Browse Timeline
Comments ( 5 )
DAve added these pithy words on Aug 20 09 at 1:02 amjcrew makes some decent shirts, but they are too long for my taste. most of the fits i’v been happy with are on the pricey side - gitman bros, trovata, shipley & halmos, steven alan. i also like ben sherman for the fit/price (frequently on sale).
try context:http://www.contextclothing.com/apparel.php?sort=shirting
Matthew added these pithy words on Aug 27 09 at 4:29 pmYou can get custom made-to-measure shirts for ~$150 depending on your tailor. If that’s not the perfect shirt I don’t know what is.
Cartwright added these pithy words on Sep 02 09 at 3:07 pmH&M shirts rock. Quality isn’t 100% there but the cut is spot on and the price is unbeatable. Express shirts are decent too (the button down ones in solid colors - not the candystriper ones or the polos with the lion crest embroidered so large that it could swallow Vietnam.)
admin added these pithy words on Sep 10 09 at 4:36 pmThe good news - Jcrew came through. Picked up a couple of their secret wash oxfords and after a wash/dry cycle, they fit great. Not as perfect as steven alan, but for $60 I can have a closet full. Bitchin!
Tom Mildenhall added these pithy words on Sep 15 09 at 3:00 pmAgreed. I have 9 or 10 of the J-Crew secret wash oxfords and some of the other very similar vintage button up (i think that’s the name). They work great with jeans, good length, not too baggy, classic patterns.