The Two Types of White Dress Shirts Every Man Should Own
There are very few items of clothing as foundational—as elemental—as the white dress shirt. It may not maintain the ubiquity it once did, but even in 2024, the fact is you need at least one for big meetings, evenings on the town, court dates (fingers crossed!), and myriad other aspects of adult life. In fact, you’d be better off with at least two, each slightly different from the other but serving similar functions. And the secret is you can probably get away with owning only two white dress shirts.
Here’s what you do: Start by getting a spread-collar dress shirt, one with a shape that sweeps out from your chin and follows the approximate lines of your collar bones, in a fancier fabric like poplin. Then, be an American—more on that later—and get an oxford cloth button-down, which will have a beefier fabric and collar points that button down onto the shirt (hence the name). Once you’ve done that, you’re pretty well covered.
But the devil is in the details. And you don’t want to stop with just the barest of knowledge, right? Of course not. So we’ve got some details to discuss.
First, the fit
The most important thing here—and the one too many guys these days seem to forget—is that you need some room to move. When buttoned, whether standing or seated, the shirt shouldn’t pull. If you see gaps opening up between buttons around your chest or stomach, this isn’t the time to congratulate yourself on your gains at the gym or admonish yourself for indulging in one too many snacks. It’s time to look for a new size or cut.
If you’re looking for a tailored fit, your shirt should skim your body without bunching or pulling. If you prefer something more traditional, make sure it’s not blousing out all over the place. The collar should be snug but not tight; one finger should fit between the shirt and your neck, but just the one. The arms should be long enough that you can see a little flash (say a quarter to half an inch) of cuff peek out from under a jacket sleeve, and certainly not so short that they ride up on your arm when you reach for something.
Finally, the overall length of the shirt should be friendly to tucking in and not migrating out above your waistband. Way back in the day, when trousers were much fuller, many shirts were cut so long they looked almost like nightgowns. (There’s a scene in White Christmas in which Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are getting dressed to travel after a performance that illustrates this beautifully.) Nowadays you’d have a lot of trouble tucking that much shirt into a slimmish pair of trousers. But if you can’t tuck in and raise your arms without baring belly, you’ve got a problem.
Next, the fabric
You remember when we talked about suits? The same general rule about fabrics holds true with shirts: the flatter and shinier, the fancier. So something like traditional oxford cloth, which tends to be heavier and have a defined texture on the surface, skews more casual. On the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got poplin, which is lightweight, smooth to the touch, and has a bit of a sheen (along with a tendency toward sheerness, especially with finer versions). In between, you’ve got stuff like twill and pinpoint, which have some texture but are finer, with a more even texture.
A few more considerations
Do you want to wear cuff links? Then you’ll need a French-cuff (also known as a double-cuff) shirt, which is designed to accommodate them and in fact doesn’t wear properly without them. You might be surprised to hear this, but some guys try to shove them into buttoned cuffs. It does not work.
Do you need to use collar stays? Those little plastic bits you’ll find tucked into an envelope of fabric on the underside of some collars can be useful, especially if you’re planning to wear your shirt unbuttoned and without a tie. They’ll keep the collar from collapsing on itself, which is a perennial danger when it’s left unsupported, especially on the right-hand side, where it won’t have the extra fabric from the placket propping it up.
Wait, a placket? Yeah, it’s the part at the front, where the buttons are. A standard placket is an additional piece of cloth at the front that offers structure and reinforcement but looks more casual. A French placket wraps around the back, behind the buttons, offering a cleaner and dressier look while still providing structure.
Should you wear an undershirt? Can’t hurt, especially if you’re going with a finer poplin, which may be sheer enough that you veer into PG-13 territory without an additional layer beneath it. With heavier opaque fabrics, you can skip one if you want to.
Do we really need all these different cuff shapes? Probably not. Custom operations will give you the option to have longer or shorter cuffs, one or two buttons, even convertible options that button but also accommodate cuff links. These are all well outside the standard considerations. But the most common question, other than French or buttoned—don’t go convertible, it’s weird—is whether you want them mitered (aka angled) or rounded. That’s just a question of whether you prefer sharper lines or softer ones, and it’s entirely up to you.
Where to buy a white dress shirt
Anywhere and everywhere, it seems. We’ll list some of our very favorites in a moment, but here are a few things to keep mind. First, avoid ultrafast fashion unless you want a rag in a couple weeks or months. If you need to go cheaper, we can vouch for Uniqlo and Everlane, but note that when it comes to button-downs, you’re going to get a less robust collar than you would at more expensive spots. Preppy mainstays like Brooks Brothers still offer great white dress shirts aplenty, as do like-minded brands like Drake’s. You can also look to J.Crew, Banana Republic, Suitsupply, and Eton for white dress shirts we’ve tried and loved. Want to attach a full name to the transaction? Try Todd Snyder, and Ralph Lauren. And if you’ve got some (okay, a lot of) extra cash on hand, Charvet (which, in a pitch-perfect display of French richness, does not seem to have an active website) and Turnbull & Asser are famous for their shirts for a very good reason.
Now, on to the shirts themselves ...
The True Dress Shirt
Like we said: You want a spread collar. (Point collars tend to look dinky and cutaways too flamboyant.) The points of the collar should be long enough that they’re hidden beneath the lapels of your jacket when you’re wearing one. This also means you’ll have enough heft to your collar that it can accommodate a tie knot nicely, which is great because in all honesty, this shirt is going to look a lot better with a tie than without one. The fabric should be one of the fancier ones mentioned above: poplin or broadcloth if you want something classically “proper,” or twill or pinpoint for the same vibe with less delicacy and more durability. Adornment, as a rule, is best kept minimal, so you probably want to skip the chest pocket. In similar fashion, a French placket will serve you quite nicely, though a French cuff is usually unnecessary and might be a little too much. And if you want a monogram? Think about not doing it! No, really. But if you must, on the rib cage, where it’s hidden under a jacket, is more traditional, and is less showy than something on the cuff.
The Oxford Cloth “Dress” Shirt
The European mind may boggle at the concept, but Americans have successfully normalised the wearing of the supposedly casual oxford cloth button-down (or OCBD) as a dress shirt. Once considered a sport shirt only, it’s now a part of our business-wear lexicon, and if you ask us, that’s a good thing. There’s a touch of stateside irreverence in it, for one thing. But also, the OCBD looks way, way better without a tie than its spread-collar cousin. That’s because the construction of the collar, in which the points literally button down onto the body of the shirt, gives it built-in structure. You don’t have to worry about it drooping unevenly or inching under your jacket. It’ll stand proud all day and night.
If you do choose to wear it with a tie, you can leave the collar buttoned, which is very much in keeping with the trad/preppy vibe of the thing. Or you can take a page from the jet-setting Italians of the middle of the 20th century, who would touch down in New York for a weekend, buy a bunch of Brooks Brothers shirts, and then wear them at home—with the collar buttons undone, for a dose of sprezzatura—to show off.
As for the fabric? If you’re looking to knock the formality down, go with classic oxford cloth, which (bonus) looks even better as it wears in and gets a bit threadbare. If you want to add some polish, look for a pinpoint oxford, which feels more formal. Feel free to wear it with a repp stripe tie for extra preppy points.
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