J. Cogburn
Senior Member
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2009
- Messages
- 654
- Reaction score
- 15
I have the dollars to invest in only a limited number of bespoke shirts for the office. While I have a preexisting rotation, I hope to retire my existing stock of retail dress shirts and use them only for casual wear. And while I hope and expect to buy more than 12 bespoke dress shirts eventually, it's unclear when that day will come. My question to you all - what 12 would you commission?
The pertinent considerations are (1) I must wear a suit four days a week; Friday's are "casual" and I don't need a bespoke shirt for those days, (2) I am a "summer" (grayish hair, ruddy skin tone, (3) I wear grey and blue suits (two of each) with a tan suit for warmer weather months, (4) I am in a somewhat conservative field and like to dress "quietly into the day" to quote ASW, (5) I live in DC so there are four seasons to consider.
My tentative roster of purchases is as follows:
"¢ two soft white shirts with French cuffs for more formal evening occasions, speaking engagements, etc.;
"¢ a soft white pinpoint Oxford with barrel cuffs because I like some texture in my shirts;
"¢ a light blue broadcloth with white collar and French cuffs;
"¢ a medium blue end-on-end with barrel cuffs;
"¢ a relatively tight light blue Bengal stripe on white with barrel cuffs;
"¢ a medium blue micro-check with barrel cuffs;
"¢ a medium blue small box tattersall check on white with barrel cuffs;
"¢ a light pink broadcloth with white collar and French cuffs;
"¢ a Champaign end-on-end with barrel cuffs;
"¢ a dark red blue Bengal stripe on white with barrel cuffs; and
"¢ a bottle green medium check on white with barrel cuffs.
Seems like a reasonable balance to me. Of the ten daily shirts:
"¢ five are solid and five are patterned; and
"¢ half are blue with five other colors represented with one shirt each.
Do you give my tentative roster of purchases a thumbs-up or would you make changes? If so, how so and why?
Thanks ye sartorial brothers ....
The pertinent considerations are (1) I must wear a suit four days a week; Friday's are "casual" and I don't need a bespoke shirt for those days, (2) I am a "summer" (grayish hair, ruddy skin tone, (3) I wear grey and blue suits (two of each) with a tan suit for warmer weather months, (4) I am in a somewhat conservative field and like to dress "quietly into the day" to quote ASW, (5) I live in DC so there are four seasons to consider.
My tentative roster of purchases is as follows:
"¢ two soft white shirts with French cuffs for more formal evening occasions, speaking engagements, etc.;
"¢ a soft white pinpoint Oxford with barrel cuffs because I like some texture in my shirts;
"¢ a light blue broadcloth with white collar and French cuffs;
"¢ a medium blue end-on-end with barrel cuffs;
"¢ a relatively tight light blue Bengal stripe on white with barrel cuffs;
"¢ a medium blue micro-check with barrel cuffs;
"¢ a medium blue small box tattersall check on white with barrel cuffs;
"¢ a light pink broadcloth with white collar and French cuffs;
"¢ a Champaign end-on-end with barrel cuffs;
"¢ a dark red blue Bengal stripe on white with barrel cuffs; and
"¢ a bottle green medium check on white with barrel cuffs.
Seems like a reasonable balance to me. Of the ten daily shirts:
"¢ five are solid and five are patterned; and
"¢ half are blue with five other colors represented with one shirt each.
Do you give my tentative roster of purchases a thumbs-up or would you make changes? If so, how so and why?
Thanks ye sartorial brothers ....