How to wear a white shirt

[patrickBOOTH]

I hate them. The only tone on tone white shirt I ever liked was this bespoke one, don't remember the fabric mill, but it was a while back and it was very thin with like "slubs" throughout it. It was just subtle enough to barely be noticed at 5 feet away. It was so delicate that it disintegrated pretty quickly.

 

[globetrotter]



Growing up, those were always associated with the "Europeans" meaning the Swiss and Belgians and mittel-Europe. Nice ones were swiss-banker like. Not so nice ones were fuzzy-foreigner. And to wear a nice one, the shirt had to be perfect and top notch and you had to be in for a Pound - three piece suit, homburg, big gold cufflinks and big gold watch, polished black shoes and gold eyeglasses. When I first started getting bespoke shirts I got a couple but then realized they were not for me. There is one that I still miss, though - a white tone on tone bengal stripe (with the two tones evenly split so there is no ground-tone).

yeah, I'm sort of surprised at the hate here for them. I've liked them when I see them, but I might be group thinked out of it. I have always liked things that you have to get really close to see the pattern on.

 

[RDiaz]

I think it would depend on what time the wedding was. Day wedding you're ok, evening, I would have gone with a white shirt and a different color tie, like gray.

It's an evening wedding. 7:30 PM, but the sun will still be up and high by that time. And I hate (really, I can't stand them) gray ties! Argh, there must be a solution to this other than a boring blue tie / blue suit

 

[patrickBOOTH]

How about a black tie? Remind me, is the jacket darker navy? I think a black knit would look great.

 

[Manton]

Aw82: ideal shirt is plain broadcloth, a collar that works for your face, but not BD, point or spread, French cuff. I would stay away from twills unless you want a shirt specifically for the cold because they wear hot. HOWEVER, I would not wear FC to job interviews.

Globe: avoid like the plague jacquard white shirts. Awful. If you want surface interest, try linen cotton for summer and twill for winter. Fine twills are OK but herringbone is bad.

JRD: Tattersall is nice but you have to be careful with it, it’s hard to pair. I actually like the small tattersalls for city shirts, the country Tattersalls less so because the size of the check makes them hard to pair with tweed coats. I really don’t like the English country look you see sometimes of a large Tattersall with a large tweed plaid.

Uniesee: While I try to avoid it, black shoes with a blazer at night can be OK, but only if they are not oxfords. Since I hate black loafers, this means monks, which lucky for me I have. But I prefer mink suede. It may be “wrong” in some way but I like it.

Clapeyron: looks fine, push down your square. Treehorn is right though, it’s a night outfit, not a day outfit. But, when I know I have something to do at night that requires that, I will not hesitate to wear that to work.

Booth at 126: wow, that is a terrible tie. Nice job with the square, though.

Rdiaz: please no red ties at weddings!!!

Baron, the last one is not bad but it would be better with a blue shirt. The tie goes so well with the jacket that it makes the white shirt OK.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I can't win today with this tie. At least nobody in the office has made any comments.

 

[RDiaz]

Damn guys... I don't have any grey nor black ties... you're gonna make me spend more money

Given that most of my blue ties are quite dark and would look boring with the suit, and I hate grey and black ties, I guess I'll look for a lighter blue silk print, paired with a white shirt, so the ensemble is not that boring... Would that be OK?

 

[globetrotter]

thanks^

 

[Manton]

rdiaz, get a wedding tie, they are good for more than weddings.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

You can find navy/white wedding ties since you hate gray.

 

[FlaneurNYC]



I agree... I have a light grey (tending toward silver-ish... not shiny, but anyway...) end-on-end shirt that never seems to go with anything. As eg1 mentioned, it always just seems like a dirty white shirt, rather than a colour unto itself.

I third this observation. I have a Borelli in pale dove gray that I can never seem to place. It's neither fish nor foul.

 

[Douglas]

Help me, gents. I thought you were going to diss Clapeyron's rig for being all solid. I do think the tie has some textural interest and overall it's classic with the white square, but to me it was so basic as to be boring and, dare I say it, almost Trumpish. I'm not a fan of the all-solids thing and generally would not pick it for myself, even for evening wear. Can you go into more depth here?

Also, if anyone wants to start a wedding tie thread, it would be appreciated by me.

 

[RDiaz]

You can find navy/white wedding ties since you hate gray.

I'll go hunting later today. Hope there's some blue/white glen plaid or houndstooth... I might even end up with a gray wedding tie. You know, though I mostly hate gray ties, I quite like the one you're wearing today, actually. Maybe because it has some blue in it. It works well with the white shirt...

 

[FillW]

Women like a white shirt with a sport coat so I'll keep on wearing them.

 

[patrickBOOTH]



I'll go hunting later today. Hope there's some blue/white glen plaid or houndstooth... I might even end up with a gray wedding tie. You know, though I mostly hate gray ties, I quite like the one you're wearing today, actually. Maybe because it has some blue in it. It works well with the white shirt...

Check the drakes website, they usually have some ok wedding ties. Just stay away from the 7cm ones. You like my tie? I'll give you a good deal on it.