Help a newbie find the perfect button-down everyday shirt

[Winding Ways]

Hi Styleforum, this is my first post. I've had quite a few button-down shirts over the years, but I was rarely quite happy with the fabric or the fit. At age 38 I've decided to grow up and put some research into my next purchase.

I'm 187 cm and pretty slim, and I always tend to go with Medium. (Shirts over here in Norway are usually sized S/M/L/XL, however I'm quite open to purchasing online from abroad.)

There are four main issues I've had with previous purchases:

• The sleeve and the torso length are too short. I'd like a shirt to be comfortably tuckable, and the sleeves to end where the palm starts when standing upright with arms down. I'm not sure if this is entirely down to the shirts I've had, I suspect I may have shrunk them a bit because often a shirt has felt fine in the store. I wash them at 40 degrees celsius using a normal cotton program.
• The fabric gets a bit lumpy and wrinkly. For everyday shirts I prefer fabrics that feel a little bit thick and textured, as opposed to smooth and thin dress shirts. Again I'm not sure if I'm washing them wrong, but a lot of the shirts I've gotten in that vein tend to quickly get a bit uneven/lumpy and cheap-looking around the collar and the button area especially.
• Lastly I love darker colours but I find they get a bit washed-out too quickly. Here as well I'm not sure if it's down to how I wash them.
• EDIT: When I find a shirt that fits nicely around the torso, the collar tends to be too small, to the point that it's pretty uncomfortable to button all the way up.

Some questions:

1. Am I washing them wrong?
2. Should I give up finding ready-made Medium-sized shirts that are long enough, and go for bespoke?
3. What cotton weave is best for a soft, smooth feel that doesn't require much ironing?

 

[Veremund]

Dark shirts??? What are you wearing them with? Suits? Sport coats?

 

[Winding Ways]

Dark shirts??? What are you wearing them with? Suits? Sport coats?

Just casual stuff, jeans and casual trousers. If I'm dressing a bit more formally I'll go with a white shirt, but I rarely dress formally. Don't get me wrong, I love white/light-coloured shirts for casual wear as well.

 

[Veremund]

Step 1: The collar must be your correct neck size. Only if this criterion is fulfilled can you proceed to step 2.

Step 2: The sleeves must be the correct length. If slightly too long, move the cuff button over so that the sleeve will close sufficiently once buttoned, preventing it from sliding down your hand. Once this is done, proceed to step 3.

Step 3. The shirt is probably larger than optimal. Take it to an alterations tailor to have darts put in the back of the shirt.

You now have an OTR shirt that fits perfectly.