Difference between dress and sport shirt?

That's my definition as well. A sport shirt is also shorter in length which implies it is meant to be worn untucked.

I went into a Brooks Bros a month or so ago and asked what's the difference in their sport shirts and dress shirts because both cuts look the same. The guy told me the sport shirt just has buttons on the edge of the collar, so their sport shirts are essentially button downs I suppose.

Sport Shirts are original polo shirts worn by the players, buttoned collars were used to prevent flapping.

How are Sport Shirts worn today? Layered or casual - with jeans or chinos etc....

Can the material and colour make a difference? Would one ever call a linen shirt in some darker colour a dress shirt even if it had quite a traditional collar construction? How about a corduroy shirt or something in a heavier wooly-textured fabric?

 

Does a dress shirt have to have collar stays to qualify? If the collar is not button down but the collar is soft (i.e. no stays) then does that automatically make it a sports shirt or is there an additional type of shirt (casual shirt?) that sits somewhere alongside/in-between dress shirts and sports shirts?

 

This is a topic of some relevance to me at the moment. I'm retired so I very rarely wear suits anymore. My key articles of clothing are trousers, sports jackets, shirts and shoes. Before asking for advice on getting shirts MTO or bespoke I'm trying to determine the correct terminology for the type of shirts that I wear. I don't wear my shirts untucked and I never wear button-down collars. My shirts tend to have a fairly traditional collar shape but mostly soft collars (without stiffeners) and many are in darker colours (although we're not talking black or dark brown here, more mid-hues) and heavier materials (and a lot of linen for the summer, such as it is in the UK). Am I wearing sports shirts?

 

- Julian

if it's too short to tuck it in, it's not a dress shirt. if it's not cotton (excluding corduroy) and you can tuck it it, then your sports shirt is too long

If we are dividing the world of shirts into only two possible types, namely dress shirts and sports shirts, then the consequence of the above seems to be that one should never wear a shirt that is not cotton but is long enough to tuck in. Would others agree with that? So for instance a nice linen shirt should never be worn tucked in?

 

- Julian

This has been discussed before.

Take a look at this thread:

http://www.styleforum.net/t/258613/number-of-shirts-in-rotation/60

A sport shirt often has a softer collar than a formal shirt.

No. Nothing wrong with a linen shirt designed to be tucked in.

Cotton is a material and corduroy is a textile. A cotton shirt can be corduroy, a cotton shirt can be not corduroy, and a non-cotton shirt can also be corduroy.

... My point being that you aren't helping anybody by making no sense.

Often, but not always. I have a flannel shirt with built in collar stays (which I'm going to redo the collar on when it gets pulled out this winter, but...). I remember an article from a while back about a well known english tailor/shirtmaker (forget who, sorry) who was fretting about all his customers going elsewhere for their sport shirts, apparently regarding his as too formal and conservative in styling. Stiffer collars and whatnot.

Basically, it's a difference akin to the one between a suit jacket and a sport coat. It's the overall styling. There's no real difference apart from whether something comes with pants, but there are various details that can pull something either way. In some cases, a shirt can be worn as both- Gingham a case in point. Sport shirts are basically casual options. The same oxford in white may qualify as a dress shirt as the one in a dark plaid that's pretty clearly a sport shirt. Softer collars will almost always be sport shirts, unless they're made in a conservatively colored fabric, and worn with a tie. In which case they may be dress shirts.

Generally, shorter and smaller collars, softer, less formal fabrics means a sport shirt. Some are meant to be untucked. They don't have to be. I personally don't, since I'm in shape and don't need to hide a spare tire, which is (IMO) about all that look is good for.

If you want a clear definition, here it is: A sport shirt is a shirt that's more casual than a dress shirt, excluding knits.

i was saying "dress shirts are cotton, but corduroy, even though it is cotton, it is not a dress shirt".

agreed. in fact i own one myself. however, if one is asking what a dress shirt is, one ought to probably not use linen shirts as dress shirts

Sports shirts usually have soft collar and/or button down collar and also softer cuffs. They comes sized in s,m,l....... or in us or euro sizing . Dress shirts comes in neck sizing like 14.5...15....
Dress shirts have harder collar and cuffs.

Really? I always have mine made with softer collars and cuffs for comfort reasons. I don't really think that these are most valid criteria, especially with MTM or bespoke shirts.