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the solid black button-down shirt

post #1 of 73
8/11/10 at 10:03am
Thread Starter 
What are your thoughts on solid black button-down shirts? I know that the color black gets a lot of hate on sf and I've noticed that not too many people wear solid black button-down shirts in the waywt thread. I myself like to wear black.
Does anyone else out there have and regularly wear black shirts (not t-shirts or polos)? How do you wear them? Raw denim? Grey trousers? Buttondown collar or not?

Before all of the "why does your question warrant its own thread" comments come in, I've searched and don't see any threads specific to my question. Just some pertaining to the color black in general.
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post #2 of 73
8/11/10 at 10:17am
I rock a black shirt every now and then with a gray(the right color gray) suit...sans tie for going out at night. I think it looks slick....
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post #3 of 73
8/11/10 at 11:29am
Thread Starter 
I agree that a black shirt with a gray suit (no tie) can be a slick, clean look. It has to be a lighter gray suit, charcoal and darker shades of gray would not work at all.

What about pairing it with jeans. Do they have to be dark jeans or can faded jeans work too?

Does anyone have pics of some good fits with a solid black shirt
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post #4 of 73
8/11/10 at 11:36am
I am not a fan. I've seen too many douchebags wearing this look for me to be able to separate the seething hatred I have for them from the clothing style. YMMV. EDIT - Not to imply that ter1413, or that all people who wear black shirts are douchebags, just the vast majority I have ever come in contact with.
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post #5 of 73
8/11/10 at 12:32pm
Just picked up a JCrew lightweight cotton button down and a linen button down both solid black. They look good tucked or untucked with khakis. A black shirt with any kind of suit screams guido.
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post #6 of 73
8/11/10 at 1:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmass1 View Post
What about pairing it with jeans. Do they have to be dark jeans or can faded jeans work too?

i think faded jeans would probably look better (i dont mean stonewashed, btw) because with dark jeans it tends to look like one big block of black which i'm not much of a fan of.


I think it can be done well, but i personally dont like wearing black buttonup shirts. I have one i bought ages ago when i first started buying button up shirts, and it fits great, but i've only worn it like three or four times.
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post #7 of 73
8/11/10 at 2:27pm
I'm with those who think it looks a little too guido to me, it also has a waiter look as well
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post #8 of 73
8/11/10 at 2:50pm
I hate black button ups and since when does the color black get hate on SF.
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post #9 of 73
8/11/10 at 3:01pm
Don't really like them. Busboy steez.
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post #10 of 73
8/11/10 at 3:03pm
Got to have the same swagger as Hank Moody.
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post #11 of 73
8/11/10 at 3:06pm
Several years ago I bought a slim, black dress shirt from H&M for all the hot, trendy nightspots in NYC where it would kill. I have since worn it exactly zero times.

A black dress shirt by nature is very limiting. It's inherently casual, so you can't wear it to work. It looks terrible with khakis. You can pair it with jeans, but it has to be the right pair of jeans. You can pair it with a suit, but it's got to be a leisure suit, nothing too formal. Basically, there are so many roadblocks that in the end it's not a terribly useful purchase.
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post #12 of 73
8/11/10 at 3:07pm
I've seen nice ones from Band of Outsiders.
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post #13 of 73
8/11/10 at 3:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ter1413 View Post
I rock a black shirt every now and then with a gray(the right color gray) suit...sans tie for going out at night. I think it looks slick....

I hat this look with a passion. the only I think I hate more is the same black shirt with a red tie.

I don't really like black shirts but I can see the appeal once in awhile, they can be made alright.
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post #14 of 73
8/11/10 at 3:22pm
My wife likes it when I wear a black shirt.

So I had a slim fitting black OCBD made, which I wear with blue jeans. Not my favorite outfit, but it makes the missus happy and looks ok.

I also had an old Australian Army fatigue shirt that I dyed black - fairly fitted, heavy cotton cloth with epaulettes. I liked it as a practical work-shirt that didn't look too military, but it looked ok too.
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post #15 of 73
8/11/10 at 3:23pm
Nobody argues that a black t-shirt looks terribly wrong with most outfits, so the dislike stems not from the color black but rather the color black combined with formalizing elements (e.g. collar, buttons, fabric, long sleeves). Thus to wear one successfully you'll probably need to ditch one or more of the formalizing elements inherent in such shirts. Consider.... 1. Short sleeves (or highly rolled-up long sleeves). 2. Less formal fabrics so it doesn't look like a dress shirt 3. Ensure there is not a huge juxtaposition between the formality of the shirt vs. the formality of everything else. The dislike also stems from the cultural stereotype of the shirt being associated with some guy named Guido or perhaps even a child molester. So you'll also need to avoid that look too if you want SF approval.
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