Tips

Men's clothing: history of a shirt

Throughout most of the nineteenth century, all gentleman's underclothing was made of linen. The word «linen» became a generic term for a man's underwear. The dress shirt functioned exactly like the modern T-shirt by keeping sweat away from the outer garments while protecting the body from the coarse outerwear materials. However, propriety demanded that only its collar and cuff be visible, hence the term «showing linen» meant that white linen at the neck and hand was a sign of gentility. As recently as the late 1940s, it was as shocking for a man to expose his dress shirt in polite society as it would have been for a woman to walk into a restaurant wearing nothing over brassiere.

Traditional dress shirt had detachable white linen collars, starched rigid and worn high. The demobilized servicemen returning home from the Great War were apparently in no mood for restrictive civilian clothes. In the manner of impetuous young people everywhere – whether the Lost Generation or Generation X, Y or Z – gentlemen of the Jazz Age embraced change. Their sartorial rebellion was expressed in the form of fine shirts that draped naturally over the body, with soft collars that folded back from the neck.

F. Scott Fitzgerald paid homage to the new style in the Great Gatsby, when Daisy Buchanan famously buries her face in a pile of Jay Gatsby's luscioushued English shirts and sobs uncontrollably at their overwhelming beauty.

The modern dress shirt's shape developed during Victorian times as men donned tight waistcoats, forerunners of the modern vest, thus rendering the full-cut shirt obsolete. Once the current dress shirt's body shape was established, the collar became its most distinguishing and fashion-sensitive feature.

Wardrobe staple: dress shirt

White dress shirt should be the staple of any man's wardrobe. For starters, there is no dressy occasion when wearing a white dress shirt is a style faux pas. It always looks good, provided it is made of fine cotton, it is clean, it fits you, has all its buttons intact, and has met an iron at some point in its recent history. True, it can seem an unadventurous choice, particularly with a business suit, but there is no shame in embodying a fine tradition. Worn with jeans and a sport jacket, a crisp white shirt is as dashing a statement as ever.

The dress shirt should type with an outfit's style and level of formality. While differing collar styles connote varying degrees of derss-up, so do certain shirt fabrics. Smoother or more lustrous materials are dressier. The sophisticated dresser would not normally pair a sporty button-down with an elegant navy suit.

A shirt's formality begings at the collar, its most prominent and defining feature. The stiffer the collar, the more formal its intentions. The more open the collar's points, the dressier the presentation. A contrasting white collar automatically adds ceremony, softer collar configurations such as the button-down or unstarched long point rank lower on the formality scale.

The cuff also contributes to the overall effect. The formal shirt's stiff single cuff, which accompanies the white tie and tailcoat, presents the most formal arrangement.

Colored dress shirt

Dress shirts of colored fabrics appeared in the 20th century. At first it drew the upsurge of indignation as the wearers were suspected to conceal the lack of cleanness. The prejudice was over when colored shirts with contrast white collars and cuffs came into being. Thus, a shirt sitting somewhere between negligence and formality appeared, and its elegance is still highly appreciated. Attachable collar is one of the inventions of that time: it allowed to wash fashionable men's shirts more seldom.

Men's shirt shop... or not only men's?

Nowadays everyone can buy a man's shirt. However, traditional man's shirt shop offers women's dress shirts, akin to the men's, as well.

A shirt as a staple of men's and women's wardrobe has a fine future. Classic and fashionable men's and ladies' shirts haven't been replaced with T-shirts and Polo-necks that appeared in the 20th century. Nowadays you can find new shirt designs, shirt elements, colors. Modern technologies allows to manufacture shirts of unique nano-fabrics. Probably once we will be able to buy just the same shirts as those worn by the main characters in sci-fi thrillers!

In order to make a good choice and buy a fine men's shirt one should consider all the body peculiarities of the future wearer.

Find your best fit.

Choose the right collar for your shirt.

Unlike other less visible accoutrements such as hosiery or shirt cuffs, the shirt collar is an integral and highly revealing gesture of personal style. Keeping in mind that the face is that destination where one's dress should be escorting the attention of the beholder, think of the face as a picture and what surrounds it as the frame.

If a shirt's collar is too small, the head will appear large; if the collar sits too low on the neck, it will make the neck look longer than it is. The length and spread of the collar points should complement the head's contour and size.

Classic collar will extend and narrow a wide countenance. Is not recommended for narrow faces for it will only accentuate its narrowness. Goes well with double-breasted coats and pinstripe suits. Small tie knots are suitable for this collar style.

Standard collar is the most neutral and fits almost everybody. It can be worn with any kind of a suit or sport jacket.

Spread collar with its broadly spaced points will counterbalance a long and narrow face. Goes well with any tie knot due to the free space between its points. Unfortunately, very few men's clothing shops offer such shirts that is why all the sharp dressers have to command the services of the bespoke shirt tailors.

Wide spread collar goes well with long necks and oval, narrow shape faces. It has a broad spread between its points. Looks better worn with large knots, such as Windsor knot. You can buy a men's shirt with wide spread collar in our online custom shirt shop.

Long-necked men require taller collars with wider neckbands that raise the collar's height, while short-necked men need lower-sitting collars with a more forward slope.

Dress shirt fitting tips

• 1. Collar points have to touch the chest and should never stick up when you move.
• 2. A necktie has to hold the collar fixed and should cover the upper button. It should be placed right between the collar and the lapels of a suit jacket without any gap between the knot and the collar points.
• 3. Lapels of a suit jacket should cover the collar points.
• 4. Collars must be snug around the neck, so that two fingers can be slipped comfortably between the neck and the neckband.
• 5. The shirt cuffs should end slightly lower the wrist bone.
• 6. Custom dress shirt should have enough room for a wristwatch to fit inside.
• 7. A shirt cuff should extend at least 1-2 cm past the jacket sleeves.
• 8. The length of your tie should be such that the point rests in the middle of your belt buckle.
• 9. Dress shirt's front panels should not open when you sit down. If it happens, the shirt is too small at your chest.
• 10. 1.The seam connecting the yoke and the sleeve should not drape over your shoulder. If it happens you need a smaller size.
• 11. 1.The tail should never pull out of the trousers. If you will tuck your shirt in, your shirt length should be not less than a half your height minus 7-10 cm.

The Solid-color and Patterned Dress Shirt

A man can buy a shirt of any color. The main rule is that it should go well with a suit and a tie. As a rule, the smoother a fabric, the more formal a shirt. Shirt of a smooth dense ribbed fabric with its wonderful natural luster and clearly visible colors and patterns on it, has the most formal look.

Less formal is a weave of dark and light threads, which make the fabric seem one-color from far and textured up close, but actually it is neither one-colored nor textured.

Although pure white has traditionally been the color of choice for a basic dress shirt, medium blue actually flatters more men's faces than white. Television producers will advise male guests to don a blue dress shirt to compensate for the studio's strong lighting, which tends to flatten and weaken the complexion.

Meduim blue enlivens all men's skin tones. Any color or texture placed on or near a fine-quality medium blue dress shirt automatically appears warmer and richer.

With a summer tan, the depth of blue can be increased to play up the heightened color contrast between skin and hair.

Pink is sometimes viewed as too feminine a shade for men; however, the pink oxford button-down has been a linchpin of Madison Avenue lore for fifty years. Pink also flatters the rosy-cheeked visage.

Yellow or gold tones are highly desirable but similarly undervalued dress shirt colors. Unlike blue, they do have a drawback. Men with sallow skin need to steer clear of these shades. Gold is frequently used as an accent color in many patterned neckties, so if a man has flecks of blond hair, echoing it under the chin is an opportune way to illuminate the face. In fact, the bold yellow or gold striped dress shirt and blue blazer with gilded buttons has been known to add spring to any man's gait.

Stripe fabric is less formal, however, a man can hardly find a shirt of such fabric in a usual men's shirt store. You can buy a striped shirt in our online shop «Rubashka-na-zakaz», where we offer a wide range of high-quality fabrics.

The thicker the stripes are and the larger is distance between them, the less formal is a shirt. It is very difficult to look great in a shirt with more than 1 cm background between its stripes.

The combination of a trouser belt with a shirt or a tie color or with a pattern on either of them, is desirable. If the belt buckle is small and is not to be seen by others in your opinion, let your shirt hand slightly over the belt buckle.

Fabric weaves

• Common weave is a simple over-under weave, which provides quite tight fabrics with a relatively smooth surface.
• Poplin is a tightly woven fabric which employs a fine warp yarn interweaving a thicker weft thread. The fabric is smooth and soft, and thus appropriate for every-day wear. Looks great in any color.
• Oxford cloth employs heavy thread of high density and rough texture, but nevertheless is soft and durable. It is least dressy, the most appropriate for casual style, button-down shirts in particular.
• Royal Oxford is the more refined and superior variation of Oxford family of fabric. Due to the finer weave the fabric is flossy and soft, has an exceptional texture and sheen.
• Twill is characterized with herringbone texture. Such fabrics are wrinkle-resistant and durable. Twill shirts are extremely beautiful and look dressy.
• Pin-point is woven like Oxford fabrics but of finer yarn. It is lighter and smoother; produces a more formal effect to a custom shirt.

How to choose a tie

Ties come in a bewildering selection of colors and designs. You can design your own tie in our online shop “Rubashka-na-zakaz”. The function of a tie is to provide a contrast to the wool of the suit material; this is often done more happily by light reflecting off the silk than by color. It can also be done by texture, which is the reason for the success of knitted silk ties.

All good ties are cut on the bias. This means that you cut across the material diagonally. It is important to know this because some ties, mostly expensive, are cut on the straight; that is, along the grain of the material. This method, of course, uses less cloth. It is desirable to have a tie cut on the bias because there is then more “give” in the material when you pull it round your neck; it also makes a neater, more regularly shaped knot.

The trend in ties is to get more and more narrow. The narrower the tie the better appear ends that are squared off rather than pointed. This applies particularly with horizontally striped designs.

A tie is more than the finishing touch to the costume: it is an integral part of it. You should never choose the cloth for a suit without considering what tie you are going to wear with it.

Perhaps the most important thing to focus on in choosing a tie is the pattern. The first point to remember is that you can never go wrong with a solid tie (assuming it matches your shirt and coat). If you are in doubt over a certain type of pattern, the best idea is to have no pattern at all. If you do decide to choose a tie with a pattern, some of the basic designs include stripes and polka-dots and geometric shapes.

If you are wearing a brightly coloured shirt, you need a more sombre tie to balance it out. This is also the case if you are wearing a dark or quietly striped shirt - if you choose a brighter tie, you will complement the shirt nicely. If you are wearing a lightly coloured shirt, you can wear a tie in a darker shade of that same colour. If your shirt is pale blue, you can choose practically any colour of tie as this is the most flexible colour for work. Don't let your shirt and tie compete with each other, which is what happens if they are both bright or vice versa.

Don't overdo patterns either. If your shirt and tie both have a stripe pattern, your jacket should be plain, or if your jacket has a pattern too, then keep your shirt simple.

It is also critical to think about the material when you choose a tie. It needs to be strong enough to make a good knot. Silk makes the best kind of tie, but without a good lining, silk ties can be to thin to make credible knots. Ties made from a fabric that blends silk with polyester can also be nice, and ties are also commonly made from wool or cotton, though those fabrics typically do not wear quite as nicely.

How to tie a tie. Tie knots.

«A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life»
Oscar Wilde

1. 
   1. Small.
   It is the simplest method of tying a man's necktie. Its great advantage is its use with heavy fabrics and/or with close-cut collars. Do not use it on collars that are long or wide-spaced.
2. 
   2. Four-in-hand.
   The four-in-hand knot remains the preferred knot for most facial types and for the world's most elegantly attired men. The exact derivation of the term is still unsettled. At one time, it was thought to be a reference to the Four-in-Hand Club, founded in England in the 19th century by young men who adopted this type of knot for their faces. It is the simplest knot to execute and its thinner frame fits into all shirt collars without pushing its points away from the shirt body. Its slightly asymmetrical set also helps the presentation appear less fussy.
3. 
   3. Kelvin.
   This is an elegant-looking knot that is relatively narrow and slightly asymmetrical, and can be worn with ties of just about any material or thickness, preferably with a classic collar dress shirt.
4. 
   4. Victoria.
   This knot is nearly identical to the four-in-hand knot, although it includes one extra pass of the wide end of the ties across the knot. This makes for a slightly larger knot, therefore it is best-suited for ties made of thinner fabrics.
5. 
   5. Half Windsor.
   The half-Windsor knot is easier than a Windsor knot, but more difficult than a Four-in-Hand. It gives a neat, triangular knot for standard shirt collars and works particularly well with lighter fabrics. And it is suitable for just about any occasion.
6. 
   6. St. Andrew.
   This knot typically includes a deep dimple, and a large, narrow and slightly asymmetrical knot. Best suited to ties made of thick fabrics, this knot is considered slightly "funky" and is not appropriate for most conservative occasions.
7. 
   7. Plattsburgh.
   This is a good-looking knot that is symmetrical and wide, and tapers to create a triangular look. Is best when worn with spread collar shirts.
8. 
   8. Windsor.
   The Windsor knot is wide and triangular, designed for wide spread shirt collars. It is not a good knot to use with ties of thick material, but, when well executed, is stately and elegant.
9. 
   9. Hanover.
   Hanover is a large symmetric knot. It has a triangular shape and is a little larger than the Windsor knot.
10.  

Cuff links

In the modern business-formal climate, the French cuff and its attendant cuff link are markers of professionalism. They add formality, polish, and – chosen well – subtle wit. The options are vast, so observe a few ground rules:

• If you need just one all-purpose pair, simple silver disks or squares are classic and appropriate for any occasion.
• Colored links should match a color in your tie or shirt. Avoid clashing patterns on links and cuffs.
• Wear novelty links (typewriter keys, working miniature clocks) at your own risk.

How to care for a shirt

	Wash in warm water (should not exceed 40°C or 105°F).
	Iron, dry or steam, on medium. Maximum sole plate temperature of 150°C.
	Do not tumble dry.
	Do not bleach.
	Dry clean. Any solvent except trichloroethylene.

Always wash your dress shirt after you purchase it. If you wear it right after buying, it will feel stiff and could still contain chemicals. Use a trusted detergent and machine wash your shirt on the gentle cycle in lukewarm water. It’s best to wash your custom or bespoke shirts by hand. Dry cleaning can give your shirts a yellowed appearance, so if you want your shirts to last, avoid dry cleaning as much as you can.

Ironing

• Begin to iron your dress shirt by beginning with the underside of the collar. Smooth away from the collar points towards the back of the neck. Continue by ironing the front of the collar.
• Next, iron the yoke area from the neck outwards, and then iron the pleats in the same direction of the fold.
• Iron the cuffs of your shirt inside out as well. Put the sleeves down flat and iron upwards toward the shoulders.
• Don’t forget to iron the other side of the shirt sleeve before moving on to the next sleeve!
• Iron the body of your shirt by starting at the top and moving downwards towards the hem.