Some newbie questions about shirts

[iroh]

1) Should I wear a dress shirt with an undershirt? doesn't that defeat the purpose of having the nice fabric rub against your skin? 2) Is this button suppose to stay or do I cut it off? doesn't seem to serve any purpose if I use only the other one.

3) More thread count = better? Is this always true? why or why not? how does durability come into play there? 4) How many times can you wear a dress shirt (and typically how many hours) before you need (or should) replace it? 5) Any reason why I should pay 100-200+ for shirts from engineered garments or Band of Outsiders and others brands etc? http://www.contextclothing.com/brand...eered+Garments http://www.contextclothing.com/brand...d+of+Outsiders 6) Any good places or brands to shop for a good quality casual shirt, having good value would be a plus? Not places like the GAP or H&M. 7) What color pants go well with a white dress shirt? 8) What color pants go well with a white blue shirt? 9) When selecting materials for a dress shirt, is two ply the highest quality? or what is better? Here is a screenshot from moderntailor.

I'll add more questions when they come up. Many thanks

 

[jcriswel]

Originally Posted by iroh

1) Should I wear a dress shirt with an undershirt? doesn't that defeat the purpose of having the nice fabric rub against your skin?

You flipped the question - it should be should I wear an undershirt with a dress shirt? Watch how you pharse your sentences. If you think about what you wrote, it's goofy.

Originally Posted by iroh

2) Is this button suppose to stay or do I cut it off? doesn't seem to serve any purpose if I use only the other one.

It's an extra button on a non-custom shirt for guys with smaller wrists or in some cases the wider button stance accommodates a watch - use your imagination. If you don't like it, cut it off.

Originally Posted by iroh

3) More thread count = better? Is this always true? why or why not? how does durability come into play there?

Do some research on shirts. There's lots of reading material here and on the net.

Originally Posted by iroh

4) How many times can you wear a dress shirt (and typically how many hours) before you need (or should) replace it?

Depends on whether you launder or wash yourself. Laundry guidelines say about thirty-five times through the laundry.

Originally Posted by iroh

5) Any reason why I should pay 100-200+ for shirts from engineered garments or Band of Outsiders and others brands etc?

http://www.contextclothing.com/brand...eered+Garments
http://www.contextclothing.com/brand...d+of+Outsiders

This is your choice... it all comes down to fabric and fit.

Originally Posted by iroh

6) Any good places or brands to shop for a good quality casual shirt, having good value would be a plus? Not places like the GAP or H&M.

Lots of casual shirts out there. Some are good quality. Check out Sierra Trading Post.

Originally Posted by iroh

7) What color pants go well with a white dress shirt?

Any!

Originally Posted by iroh

8) What color pants go well with a white blue shirt?

Any!

Originally Posted by iroh

9) When selecting materials for a dress shirt, is two ply the highest quality? or what is better? Here is a screenshot from moderntailor.

Two ply is sturdier construction and will likely last longer. Again, there's a bunch of research material on shirtings for your reading. Don't expect us to regurgitate it.

 

[haiguise]

Higher thread count can mean a thinner fabric. It's not always better if that's not what you want.

Two ply is sturdier but can be thicker depending on the thread count

I wouldn't spend 100-200 on a non MTM shirt, but some people do.

You shouldn't wear an undershirt with a dress shirt, unless it's really cold and you have to. If you wear one, it's preferable not to see the undershirt if you don't have a tie on. The way around this is a grey heather v neck, which apparently minimizes visibility of it. I don't own one. If it's really hot I sometimes wear undershirts so that it absorbs my sweat and my shirt doesn't look wet.

If you're already looking at ModernTailor, go for it. All of my shirts (except for two or three) are from MT. Once you get the right measurements it's good. The price is unbeatable for the quality.

 

[iroh]

how come dress shirts don't last as long as a t shirt? they cost so much more money.

 

[iroh]

7) What color pants go well with a white dress shirt?

8) What color pants go well with a white blue shirt?

these are important questions bump

 

[ktrp]

Originally Posted by iroh

how come dress shirts don't last as long as a t shirt? they cost so much more money.

It depends what you mean by 'last'.

Buy two t-shirts that look great.

Put one through the laundry 35 times.

See if they look the same.

I suspect you are just used to wearing stretched out of shape frayed t-shirts.

 

[ktrp]

Originally Posted by iroh

7) What color pants go well with a white dress shirt?

8) What color pants go well with a white blue shirt?

these are important questions bump

It was answered. All.

Regarding white, seriously, anything can look good with white, however certain combinations might not be ideal unless you are a waiter or are selling kitchen cleaning products.

Certain shades of blue will not go well with certain shades of pant, but off the top of my head, I would say that almost every colour of pant looks good with some blue shirts.

I expect your challenge is that you have spent too much time listening to women who told you that men couldn't match colours. You have eyes. Use them. You can get broad ideas here, but ultimately, you put a single shirt with a single pair of pants, and see how it looks.

If you want to know what is fashionable this month with no regard to whether it looks good, construction quality, or history, then definitely ask women.

 

[Metlin]

Originally Posted by haiguise

You shouldn't wear an undershirt with a dress shirt, unless it's really cold and you have to. If you wear one, it's preferable not to see the undershirt if you don't have a tie on. The way around this is a grey heather v neck, which apparently minimizes visibility of it. I don't own one. If it's really hot I sometimes wear undershirts so that it absorbs my sweat and my shirt doesn't look wet.

Which is great if you are woman, or a man with no chest hair.

 

[Metlin]

Originally Posted by iroh

how come dress shirts don't last as long as a t shirt? they cost so much more money.

Is this a serious question?

 

[Ianiceman]

The great undershirt debate took place on here a few months ago. I would say there was a fairly even split between the always and the nevers, with a few who wear them only in winter for warmth and a few who wear them only in summer for sweat.

New question. The stitching that goes along the edge of a shirt collar. Most shirts have that line follownthe edge about 4mm in from the edge, but I like the look when it's right on the edge. Is there a name for this, and can you ask/tell MT to do it this way?