I Want to Talk about Button-up Shirts

buttonup shirts (short and long sleeve) are a huge staple of my wardrobe...

so if you dig em as much as me, what kind of details do you look for/like in your buttonup shirts?

me:
-I prefer buttondown collars...since I wear mine casually with a Harrington, sweater, sportjacket, etc I dont like the collars flapping about. Besides, my personal look is loosely based on an older ivy style (dare I say 'trad') where the buttondown collar was de rigeur. Not too keen on the Trovata 'hidden' buttondown collar where you dont see the buttons

-I like back box pleat that goes all the way down to the hem. Another old ivy tradition...Ben Sherman still does this. Band of Outsiders does this too.

-Collar shape: standard buttondown roll is nice. My collar shape of preference is a rounded collar (I think it was at some point in the 60s referred to as a "Continental" collar)...which can be effectively turned into a buttondown version

-Fabrics: I like checks the best. Esp gingham, which always catches me eye. Stripes are good, but I like them more conservative than loud (a la Etro). Dobby and Herringbone is nice for a more dressier shirt, but hate it for casual wear. Oxford is a classic that you can't go wrong with.


-other details: I like the back of collar button, and for buttondown collars prefer a tall collarband. For spread collars I like a smaller collarband. MoP buttons rule, but I can live with plastic and it doesnt bug me. I dislike chest pockets, altho it's usually unavoidable. A shirt with a 15" neck, 40" chest, 18" stomach, 19" waist, 8.5-9" armhole is a perfect fit.

and I'm a tucker. I NEVER leave the house with a buttonup shirt untucked. It's the 'trad' in me!

Although I'm too cheap to buy any good button up shirt, my expectations of a good one would be:

Fit: Nomatter what the material is, if it doesn't fit then next please. I like a shirt with 14.5 neck, 18 shoulder, 38 chest, 34 waist, 8 armhole, and 26 length. Of course it needs to be longer for dress shirt but since I'm in college and I don't like to tuck shirt into jeans shorter's better.

Collar: As for now, button down.

Fabrics: Oxford, linen, seersucker. I have 2 cheap custom made seersucker shirts in yellow and pink with white stripes that I love, fit perfectly (after 5 fittings) Gingham's nice too but it must fit better than the stripe or solid since I look like a beggar in gingham shirts that don't fit.

Other things: MOP buttons, no chest pocket, a tad bit round in the tail and front. Designs must meet where possible, split yoke optional.

I'm half way done with my first button down shirt, I will show you guys the final results soon

Haha, GetSmart, despite my admiring your style a great deal, I think we differ on almost every point. I like spread collars and won't wear a buttondown collar, I like solid colors, and I prefer to wear them untucked. I agree on checks over stripes, though (generally), and I agree that more conservative stripes are preferable.

I'm in Sauce's camp... I like spread collar, solid/stripes, and usually don't tuck them in, either. I'm quite fond of using heavier weight dressy shirts like herringbones/dobby for casual purposes too haha

Just want to say I can't stand box pleats unless they're sewn shut like on the BoO shirts.

I just got a Barba shirt from Yoox (like 5 minutes ago) and it's just perfect. It was a sized shirt (XXL) but is crazy slim fitting, it appears to be ~16.5" or so in the neck, or a bit less, and fits like a medium (15.5" or so) from most US manufacturers. It's a nice midnight blue with very thick MOP buttons and nice heavy fabric, with a spread collar, and cost $38 delievered from Yoox in their sample sale. Yoox seems like a good place to buy Barba...

did you know the size XXL would fit much smaller or did it just happen to work out to your size benefit?

Button-down collars are the style choice I understand the least on this forum. I can only speculate that it's because I'm in a Commonwealth country where the collective unconscious has written them off as a quaint invention from the provinces. Or maybe I've seen one too many people wearing them unbuttoned in my life. I dunno. I like the idea of washed shirts with stayless point collars, but for some reason I don't own any right now. I have been wondering if I could pull off a washed tuxedo shirt:

Originally Posted by Get Smart

Click to expand...

did you know the size XXL would fit much smaller or did it just happen to work out to your size benefit?

PPL were saying they fit super slim, and I believe someone said that they had to size down from 17.5 (normally) to 15.5 in Barba or so, so I figured it was worth a shot for $38. I was pleasantly surprised that it was such a good fit though.

i like button-up shirts as well but the thing that really bothers me about them is the maintenance. i hate having to iron clothes all day.

One of my favorite articles, most hated shopping for since none fit me perfect. The BoO are my favorite casual go to shirt. The qualities of a casual button up are such:

1. Fabric - not too fine/thin which a casual shirt shouldn't be, texture plays a big role for me
2. Fit - must be slim fitting but be comfortable
3. Nice collar - button down for BoO or nice firm standard collar, can't be cloak or dior like ever
4. Hem - Rounded like BoO so it doesn't look boxy when untucked
5. Plain solid or patterns as long as they're jet style

That said, my margielas fit me best.

the ironing bit can be a chore. I usually collect 4-6 shirts that need to be washed, wash them in a handwash cycle, dry on low delicate for 15 min so they're still damp, then iron while watching tv.

Originally Posted by Get Smart

Click to expand...

buttonup shirts (short and long sleeve) are a huge staple of my wardrobe...

so if you dig em as much as me, what kind of details do you look for/like in your buttonup shirts?

me:
-I prefer buttondown collars...since I wear mine casually with a Harrington, sweater, sportjacket, etc I dont like the collars flapping about. Besides, my personal look is loosely based on an older ivy style (dare I say 'trad') where the buttondown collar was de rigeur. Not too keen on the Trovata 'hidden' buttondown collar where you dont see the buttons

-I like back box pleat that goes all the way down to the hem. Another old ivy tradition...Ben Sherman still does this. Band of Outsiders does this too.

-Collar shape: standard buttondown roll is nice. My collar shape of preference is a rounded collar (I think it was at some point in the 60s referred to as a "Continental" collar)...which can be effectively turned into a buttondown version

-Fabrics: I like checks the best. Esp gingham, which always catches me eye. Stripes are good, but I like them more conservative than loud (a la Etro). Dobby and Herringbone is nice for a more dressier shirt, but hate it for casual wear. Oxford is a classic that you can't go wrong with.


-other details: I like the back of collar button, and for buttondown collars prefer a tall collarband. For spread collars I like a smaller collarband. MoP buttons rule, but I can live with plastic and it doesnt bug me. I dislike chest pockets, altho it's usually unavoidable. A shirt with a 15" neck, 40" chest, 18" stomach, 19" waist, 8.5-9" armhole is a perfect fit.

and I'm a tucker. I NEVER leave the house with a buttonup shirt untucked. It's the 'trad' in me!

I agree with all of this, except I wear them untucked more often than not and they are never ironed.

Oh, and I hate stiff collars, even for dress.

yea, I used to think I preferred a stiffer collar for dress shirts, but I'm def more into soft collars now.

I like button up shirts, but despise button down collars. And definitely untucked with jeans.