Don’t Get Shirty with Me!
PUBLISHED July 4th, 2013 04:00 pm | UPDATED May 18th, 2020 04:44 pm
I suppose it’s a professional hazard, but too often I observe too many men with pitiful excuses for shirts. I will reiterate that it is not my intent to neither lecturer nor- worse still- to patronize. It is my prerogative to find a way of balancing advice and discussion between you, the audience, and myself, the author of this column.
As we get older- not old (!), as men we become more defined in our ways and habits. As an optimist I would say this is generally a good thing because it reveals that one is becoming more sure and growing in confidence about his choices, preferences and most importantly his identity. Alas my optimism cannot shield me from the reality of what it really means for most men to become ‘set in their ways’. This usually entails a sleepy approach towards selecting daily wears, and in this particular article I want to discuss shirts.
Looking around me through my daily travels- or maybe that should be travails?- I cannot help but feel puzzled as to why men repeat the mistake of wearing awfully fitting shirts: sleeves too long and therefore baggy, undarted backs that often translate into the shirt looking like a tent, or collars that are too soft and thus retain no shape or structure to frame the face.
A good shirt is an intricate construction that rests on good fabric, a good cut and the right kind of collar for your face shape. If you have a rounder face then avoid wide cut collars as they only serve to add weight to your frame, similarly a man with a narrow and angular face should choose a collar that creates the illusion of being broader at the shoulders and chest, to this end a cutaway collar tends to look not only balanced but also adds an element of being elegant and stylish.
Every man should have the following staples as far as shirts are concerned (mind you this “prescription” is the bare minimum, by all means expand it willfully to ever greater quantities):
• 3 white shirts- 2 for work and 1 for the weekend
• 2 blue shirts- both work attire
• 2 checked shirts- 1 micro check for work in a single colour and one broad check for casual outings- the checks of this one can be in multiple colours, the most classic of which is navy and red
• 1 printed shirt for the weekend- for the safer bet this can be a single colour paisley print. For the adventurous amongst you though I highly recommend a floral printed shirt. To keep it masculine go for dark floral prints- navy, burnt orange, burgundy red. If you want to make it colorful then go for a mixture of autumnal tones, that way you retain a masculinity in your presentation. Anything too bright and soft toned (unless used as an accent in the shirt) risks making you look like a Hawaiian pastiche.
A little further investigation into the irksome state of so many men’s shirts is down to an age old known fact: men, in a broad generalization, hate shopping- of course I’m excluded from this bracket (my wife would grumpily vouch for me on this one!). This simple piece of information is crucial to understanding how men end up dressing the way they do- ill fitting clothes as a whole. But again I revert to my optimism in learning that as a result of their hatred of shopping men are, by that very default, loyal shoppers. Which simply translates to a potential treasure trove for many retailers and tailors out there: get it right and you’ll get them back over and over, and we will have much better dressed gentleman walking the streets- I have it on very high evidence that a well tailored, good quality white shirt always has an intriguing (ahem!) effect and impact on the people around you. Something about this simple garment can elevate you and change the way you are perceived- even if it’s brief, at least for that moment you know you held someone ‘captive’, beyond that your intellect and engagement should do the rest, after all a man shouldn’t only be the sum of the parts of the cloth adorning his body.
For the best on local offer, have a look at some of Singapore’s finest:
Clothesmith: http://clothesmith.asia/
Fifty Five Boat Quay: https://www.facebook.com/fiftyfivesg
Dylan & Son: http://dylanandson.blogspot.sg/
Written by guest writer Style & the Dandy
