Category: Shirts

Shirts, Style Zero 2 Style Hero

How to Look Good in Our Dress Shirts

If our outfits were a sentence, our shirts would be the subject. Our shirt can dictate the rest of our outfit based on its color and cut. Shirts also frame our face and define our silhouette, so it’s critical that they fit properly. A shirt that doesn’t fit properly will make us look larger than we are. If it’s too big it will create a “muffin top” around our waist and make our sleeves billow like a pirate’s. If it’s too small it will highlight every bulge and curve on our bodies and restrict our arm movement. And keep in mind, very few store-bought shirts will fit us perfectly. Mass-produced shirts are made to mostly fit most people and a perfect fit likely won’t be found without the help of a tailor.

Collar

With the collar buttoned, our shirts should afford us enough room to breathe without making us look like we’re wearing our father’s shirt. We should be able to fit a finger or two between our neck and the collar of the shirt. The collar is one of the basic measurements of men’s dress shirts (the other being sleeve length). When we find a shirt that fits us well around the neck, we should remember the measurement for future purchases.

collar shirtsmyway-com
www.shirtsmyway.com

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Daniel Allen
Pants, Shirts, Style Zero 2 Style Hero

Wrapping our Heads Around Weaves

The way a fabric is created determines the way it looks, the way it hangs, the way it feels. From light and sheer to heavy and shiny, the weave determines the very character of a garment. When it comes to men’s clothing we only have to consider two basic types of weaving, but the variety within those weaves is almost endless.

Plain Weave

Plain weaves are defined by their simple over-under weave. The warp threads (those running vertically) alternate going over and under the weft threads (those running horizontally), just as the weft alternates going over and under the warp.

poplin wikipedia
www.wikipedia.org

Poplin

A popular and common weave, poplin gets its name from the Pope having a residence in the town where it was once made. Poplin was originally made with a thicker weft, giving it a corded appearance and texture. Modern poplins use the same size threads for warp and weft, making it smoother but also a bit sheer. Poplin fabrics are usually used for formal dress shirts and tend to have solid colors.

Broadcloth

Broadcloth is made with a normal plain weave like the poplin, but it is woven wider than its intended final width. Traditionally, it was stretched while immersed in water; when it dried, the fabric shrank to its intended size. Finally, the fabric was rubbed with special earth and beaten with wooden hammers to bind the individual fibers together, similar to a felting process. Because of this processing, broadcloth is softer and heavier than poplin, but it can still be used in formal situations.

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Daniel Allen
Shirts, Style Zero 2 Style Hero

Sizing up the Right Shirt for our Style

Originally considered underwear, shirts didn’t come into their own until the 20th century, yet of all the garments that go into our outfits, the shirt is the most diverse and the most visible. White shirts have always been at the top of the fashion food chain because it’s indicative of a lifestyle where the wearer doesn’t get dirty. Likewise, colored shirts have traditionally been more casual because the colors were originally meant to obscure stains between washings.

The easiest way I’ve found to organize this list is by the length of the placket — the reinforced piece of fabric onto which buttons are attached. A shirt with a full placket is one with buttons from the neck down to the bottom hem. Shirts with partial plackets have buttons that start at the neck but don’t extend to the bottom of the shirt. A shirt without a placket has no buttons.

Full Placket

Dress and Sport Shirts
First, let’s discuss our basic shirts with full plackets and collars. They come in a countless array of colors, cuts, and costs. A simple dress shirt in a conservative color is the foundation for nearly every formal outfit. Add a bold pattern or a unique cut and it becomes a sports shirt, ready for a night out. These shirts come in both short- and long-sleeved varieties. Whichever way we go, fit comes first, if it’s too billowy we’ll look like we borrowed dad’s shirt, if it’s too tight, we look fat.

sport shirt sierratradingpostdotcom
www.sierratradingpost.com

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Daniel Allen