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What kinds of "formal" dress shirts are too informal for the workplace?

Von Kaiser

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I was looking at some of the more colorful CT and TML "formal" dress shirts. Most of these shirts are brightly striped or checked and sometimes have multicolored stripes and checks. They look like what you'd wear to a party. I'm nervous about wearing anything other than a boring solid-colored shirt. Are these "formal" shirts too informal for, say, a lawyer to wear to a courtroom or an executive to wear to a boardroom? Are white shirts with stripes less risky than non-white shirts with stripes?
 

cptjeff

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It depends on the pattern and the color. Subdued checks and stripes would be perfectly fine.
 

MyOtherLife

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In the thread title you specified 'formal' dress shirts.
Not long ago GQ mag was suggesting wearing a tuxedo jacket or tuxedo shirt with jeans.
I find this very distasteful. Any tuxedo shirt would not be appropriate for the office
unless you are working some form of entertainment or arts field.
Some shirts made of Sea Island/Egyptian cotton can shimmer a tad too much for an office.
I have one such shirt in white with grey pencil stripe that I seldom wear for this reason.
 

jnm23q

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I think the OP meant 'work/business formal', as opposed to 'evening dress' formal.

Regarding the white + other colour stripes, I think they're fine. Light blue and white stripes are quite common, as are red and white, or lilac and white. Have a look at Truzzi on the STF or VCH sites (links above) if you want some good quality shirts with a bit of colour, but not too loud. Borrelli has some nice colours as well.

If you don't want to spend $150, Harvie and Hudson might be a good option, they work out around $50 each.
 

Reevolving

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Originally Posted by Von Kaiser
Are these "formal" shirts too informal for, say, a lawyer to wear to a courtroom or an executive to wear to a boardroom? Are white shirts with stripes less risky than non-white shirts with stripes?
Yes & Yes. Go too bold and tacky, and you'll come off as a "Jersey Shore" type trying to dress for his first grown-up job. Or worse...
my_cousin_vinny.jpg
Dressing professionally is not trying to look like some ridiculous get-up on a catwalk or a style magazine. For a serious professional environment, stick to shirts like these: http://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCatS...wAll=t&sortBy= Put another way, do the women at the office wear stuff like this? No.
armani-couture-2.JPG
 

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