A new shirt wardrobe - what would you choose?

[chorse123]

What shirts you would get if you had to start over from the beginning? Say a washing machine exploded, your house burned down, your girlfriend wanted revenge, or something like that. You have a budget for only 12 shirts. What would you get?



I'm curious because my wardrobe of around 30 Jantzen shirts is wearing out. The sleeves on my earlier orders, which weren't particularly long to begin with, have continued to shrink. They make me look like a 14 year old who hates shopping. I've begun to replace them with much nicer bespoke shirts, but have not have had much of a strategy. FWIW, my bespoke have been:

White, year round weight
White linen
White cotton/cashmere BD
Light blue, year round weight
Light blue linen/cotton
Light blue, navy, white stripe linen
Medium/light blue ground with white stripe linen
Blue pencil stripe linen
Country check, purple and cream
Country check, multiple colors
Turn down pique voile tuxedo shirt

 

[Gus]

It is just hard to beat a stack of nicely tailored white shirts and blue shirts with a wide spread collar including a few cutaways.

I mix them up a bit with a variety of fabrics. I especially like end-on-end for subtle visual interest.

After that, solid pink and lavender oxford cloth, navy and blue pinstripes and graph checks.

 

[Dewey]

I was just thinking about this same question. I would go with six light blue, six white. For light blue, three royal oxfords, one pinpoint BD, one gingham, one dress stripe BD. For white, two royal oxfords, two pinpoint BD, one white with a navy/yellow tattersall, one white with wider-spaced thin blue stripes. That's how I would start over. I can live with looser-fitting casual shirts, so I would start to rebuild the collection of more seasonal shirts with cheap ready to wear. BTW your current bespoke collection sounds great. Very luxe

 

[AntonioG]

Originally Posted by chorse123

your girlfriend wanted revenge

I would sell her shoes & jewelry!

The usual white and light blue as in your list of bespoke but I would add these 2 colors:

-Lavender year round weight
-Ecru year round weight

Easy to mix&match.

 

[sartort]

Timely thread, as I have been considering this issue lately. I think the reason for exploring the idea, which is certainly no more than a mental exercise at this point, is that I have revamped my shoe collection, suits, odd jackets and trousers, ties and belts and shirts are pretty much the final frontier. Of course since the year + that I've been inflicted with the disease known as SF, I've added new shirts along the way, but I haven't revamped this area like I have the others. With that out of the way, here is what I would do. I've found that my favorite collar is the Regent collar found on Polo Custom Fit shirts. It's a high-ish collar with a wide spread (but short of cutaway) and somewhat short pt lengths. This allows the collar to stand tall and hang nicely when going sans tie. I've found my favorite cut is RL Black Label. If I were to go bespoke, I would get a mixture of these two to form my perfect shirt. Ideally: Bespoke combining Regent collar and RLBL cut. Colors: Limit to: Blue (majority), White, Lavender, and Brown. Less than ideal, but perfectly acceptable: RTW from Polo Regent Custom Fit, RL Black Label, and Coles Shirtmakers. I think Chorse's list is actually a very good idea, so I will put this meandering post out of its misery and play along: Starting over: BB Black Fleece White OCBD BB Black Fleece Blue OCBD X 2 BB Black Fleece Blue/White Stripe OCBD X 2 BB Black Fleece Red/White Stripe OCBD Blue Solid w/ French Cuffs White Solid w/French Cuffs Blue Solid w/ Barrell Cuffs x 2 White Twill w/Barrel Cuffs Navy Linen Lavender Gingham Lt Blue Gingham Royal Blue Gingham Brown Gingham Lt Blue Houndstooth Lt Blue Candy Stripe X 2 Blue Pencil Stripe Lavender Self Check I would only get a couple of French cuff shirts as I don't have occasion to wear them that often. To be honest I have most of these shirts on the list in one form or another, minus the Black Fleece button downs, but I am growing more and more fond of Mafoofan's unified vision of a sea of blue shirts. Mine would have 4 colors, but ideally, all the same collar and dimensions and details. (I am considering ordering from Hemrajani/mytailor to make my aforementioned hybrid in a cheapish fabric. If it turns out well, I might start going through the list in thomas mason fabrics.)

 

[yfyf]

It's a bit odd to imagine you without your varied collection of shirts. In fact, I feel like I rarely see you wear plain shirts on WAYWT.

 

[sartort]

+1

yfyf does raise a good pt. it's hard to imagine you in something other than tattersall and other such checks. take that as a compliment.

also i apologize for dorking out in my post.

 

[kaxixi]

For the second time today, I'll reference BMulford's WAYWN threads. I really like the patterns of his shirts, as they tend to be rather fine. My favorite is his blue and copper microcheck.

 

[DocHolliday]

2 semi-spread collar white, button cuff
2 semi-spread collar blue -- one in herringbone
2 buttondown white, preferably deadstock vintage
1 buttondown blue, preferably deadstock vintage
1 tattersall
1 pale yellow
1 blue linen/cotton blend, not too refined
1 white with blue windows
1 white in a lightweight cloth and unlined collar

All done.

 

[TheFoo]

1 or 2 white, the rest solid blue. I'd add blue stripes and checks later.