Anybody tried silk shirts for business wear?

[spectre]

Has anyone attempted the "heavy silk shirt" option as in the James Bond novels, with jacket and tie. Pros? Cons?

 

[spectre]

No-one at all has tried a silk shirt for business ??

 

[vonwotan]

I have a few raw silk shirts that I wear with nearly any suit for business or pleasure. I would not wear a habotai or other shiny silk in any situatuion, it's just not my style. Raw silk is terrific in warm weather and does not wrinkle like linen.

 

[RJman]

The heavy silk shirts the OP alludes to are almost certainly not raw silk. My experience has been that heavy silk wouldn't breathe very well, and cleaning it would be more difficult than simply laundering cotton. Thus, nowadays silk shirts for non-casual use are generally seen only offered for formal (black-tie or white-tie) wear -- i.e., for occasional use. I have a very nice Turnbull & Asser silk shirt that I've worn on occasion, and yes, it's luxurious, but it's not the sort of thing I think I could wear every day.

As to why they would have been more prevalent 50 years ago when the Bond books were written, some speculation:
Men of Bond's class would not have done their own laundry or cared about how their garments were cleaned
Perhaps silk was favored as finer than most cottons of the period (I don't think they had 170s or 200s back then)
Bond wore nylon underwear, too, but we're not asking about that (except Soph), so why ask why?

 

[LabelKing]

I have several silk shirts, some heavier than others, but none would be appropriate for business in the Kasperian sense.

Someone on the FNB forum mentioned their grandfather who always wore silk shirts and had the bulk of his shirts shipped to China for laundery. Similar, I suppose, to Nehru having his items shipped to Paris for cleaning.

 

[DocHolliday]

From my very limited experience, it seems like heavy silk shirts would be very hot and sticky, particularly under a jacket. Perhaps this should be filed along with Bond's strange choice in underpants.

Edit: Oddly, I was writing up this post at the same time RJman was editing his. We both thought of Bond's underpants. Great minds think alike, or at least like to think about fictional spies' pantaloons.

 

[LabelKing]

Silk underpants were the choice for well-shod men.

 

[spectre]

I recently decided to try silk underpants from a place called Wintersilks and have found them the most comfortable I've ever worn. They dry overnight or even in a few hours and are very lightweight for travelling. They also have several colours and many styles.

 

[tiecollector]

Originally Posted by spectre

I recently decided to try silk underpants from a place called Wintersilks and have found them the most comfortable I've ever worn. They dry overnight or even in a few hours and are very lightweight for travelling. They also have several colours and many styles.

My only quip with silk underpants is that it causes crevices to develop moisture, which will make you feel a bit skiddish a few hours after a chilidog and standard public issue hygiene paper.

 

[Will]

I have half a dozen ecru silk button down collar shirts that I wear on weekends with odd jackets and under sweaters. I probably won't get more.

I didn't like how they came back after dry cleaning and now I send them to the laundry just like a cotton shirt. After ten washings the silk begins to take on the characteristics of cardboard, so the cost per wear is a bit higher than it is for cotton.

 

[globetrotter]

I knew somebody who wore silk business shirts. I didn't like the look.

 

[mensimageconsultant]

Originally Posted by Will

I have half a dozen ecru silk button down collar shirts that I wear on weekends with odd jackets and under sweaters. I probably won't get more.

I didn't like how they came back after dry cleaning and now I send them to the laundry just like a cotton shirt. After ten washings the silk begins to take on the characteristics of cardboard, so the cost per wear is a bit higher than it is for cotton.

WinterSilks also sells Silk Wash. In other words, silk does best with special detergent and air drying.

 

[nelly]

Received a silk shirt as gift, wore it once, didn't like the feel or look, it's been in my closet for 2 years (I should probably throw it out). NUFF SAID.

 

[vonwotan]

For silk shirts or silk underwear, the comfort and practicality depend entirely on the type / weave of the silk. IMHO Wintersilks silk v-neck undershirts are quite good and come in two weights, but I do not like their under shorts. There is a Canadian company called Staples that sells a woven silk that stretches and breathes quite well. These are wonderful under shorts, especially for travel. The only silk I have liked for shirts is raw silk which works quite well. My only complaint is that the collar is a bit soft but holds up well enough with stays. I received some silk pyjamas (habotai - thick shiny) and I wear them only when Sarah comes to visit.

 

[Journeyman]

I bought an off-white, silk business shirt from Pierucci back in 1995.

I wore it exclusively with a cream, three-piece linen suit that I bought from Country Road around the same time (with either chocolate suede or mocha leather shoes).

Whilst it looked quite nice, it was a horror to wash and iron - I had to handwash it, and it took me about 30 minutes to iron the damn thing. The moment I moved it around on the ironing board it would develop a wrinkle and so I found myself ironing the same areas again and again. (That, however, might say more about my manic attention to detail than to the shirt itself).

It was such a pain to wash and iron that I found that I only wore it about once or twice a year (but then, you don't really get many opportunities to wear a three-piece linen suit, either...).

As a youthful experiment, it was good, but I wouldn't rush into buying another one.

I also had a few pairs of silk boxer shorts from the Tie Rack, back when they carried boxer shorts. They felt comfortable when I first put them on but as someone noted above, they didn't really last the day out satisfactorily. I feel that cotton is best for underwear, as it breathes better.

Cheers,
JH