Put This On

Q and Answer: Collar Stays

Yama asks: I’ve been getting frustrated with the plastic collar stays that come with most of my shirts. I see a range of higher-end options, from magnetic to brass to titanium and even 24k gold. Some company even sells collar stays that double as can openers. I just want my dress shirt collars to look nice, symmetrical, and “up.” What do you think is my best bet?

A dress shirt requires collar stays - they maintain the shape of the collar and give it the crisp, “finished” look that says “I’m dressed up.”

Shirts typically come with plastic collar stays, and for practical purposes, these are perfectly fine. They’re typically strong enough to keep your collar straight, while being flexible enough to prevent damage to the collar fabric.

You can also buy collar stays in brass, steel and even gold. These can be a touch of luxury for you that isn’t seen by anyone else, but they aren’t functionally necessary.

There are, as you identify, some stays that feature a very small, powerful magnet that you place under your shirt to keep the collar up without buttons. If someone makes these and wants to send me a review set, I’d be happy to try them, but I can’t bring myself to actually spend money on the whole affair. It seems a little goofy.

While I don’t really recommend spending money on metal stays, it can be a good idea to pick up a set of plastic stays. You should be able to buy them at any decent men’s store for five or eight dollars (try Brooks or Jos. A. Bank). It will include stays of various lengths. That way, you don’t have to try and keep track of the sometimes super-flimsy, transparent stays included with your shirts. I also have one of these in my dopp kit, along with some plain cufflinks, so I’m never left unprepared.

Q and Answer: Why are there two buttons on my cuff?

Alejandro writes: What’s the deal with the extra button on shirt cuffs? I’d always
assumed that it was so people with thicker/skinner wrists could have a
better fit at the cuff of the sleeve, but does that mean you should
cut out the extra button? I’ve always hesitated to do so because
sometimes it’s nice to have it on the wider button on the left cuff
when I wear a watch (I have skinny wrists).

Carl Goldberg, who runs CEGO Custom Shirts in New York, is a friend of ours (and my shirtmaker). He’s always complaining about how big the cuffs are on ready-to-wear shirts. He says your cuff should be just wide enough to slide over your wrist joint and fit over your wristwatch.

You’ve pretty much figured out the reasons for those buttons. Some people prefer a narrower cuff, some a larger one. Some people wear big giant stupid watches, some people wear normal, non-ridiculous watches. Some people have big wrists, some little ones. The buttons are your choice.

Our recommendation: if the smaller-size-cuff button fits, then go with that one.

One of the better values in low-price shirts is the British shirtmaker T.M. Lewin. The quality of the shirts is decent - generally considered to be similar to Brooks Brothers or other better mass-market American brands - and the styles and pricing are excellent.

Lewin is currently offering five shirts for a hundred pounds - which is about $150. If you’re looking for basic shirts for the office, this is a very solid deal. Unless you’re very big, make sure you buy the slim fit, which is very much a mainstream slim fit (i.e. not super blousy on an average man), not a fashion slim fit (tight on a skinny man).

novh:

Brooks Brothers | Extra-Slim Fit Navy Plaid with Cream Deco Flannel Sport Shirt

Now that’s a beautiful shirt.

(via youdontmeet)

questionableadvice:

~ Hint Hunt booklet, c. 1940s
via Kitsch-Slapped
“Hint Hunt was an old Armour Radio show broadcast on CBS and this booklet contains ‘367 prize winning household hints’”

(Thanks, William.)

It’s On Sale

Brooks Brothers Black Fleece Multistripe Oxfords

$75 from $250 at BrooksBrothers.com

oroszpeter

A wonderfully architect-y shirt and tie combination from Sir Norman Foster.  An example of the classic English style - solid suit, simple tie, loud shirt.

Q and Answer: Contrast Cuffs and Collar

Sascha writes to ask: What are your thoughts on contrasting cuffs and collars?  What’s the tradition behind this?

When a shirt wears out, it’s almost always the collar and cuffs that go first.  That’s why men wore detachable collars until sixty years ago or so.  The neck sweat in the collar and the fraying in the cuffs are almost invariably the early signs that a shirt is headed to the trash.

Of course, when the collar and cuffs go, most of the shirt is usually fine.  Even without detachable collars, many fine shirtmakers will replace the collars and cuffs of a shirt so you can get a few years more wear out of it. 

Sometimes the original fabric is available and still matches the body of the shirt, in which case, the collars and cuffs are replaced with identical substitutes.  Sometimes, though, it’s not - or the body of the shirt has faded through washing and no longer matches the brand new fabric.  Then, the shirtmaker will replace the collar and cuffs with the next best thing - plain white.

You can buy this look - associated with the kind of old money that has custom shirts and wears them so long the collar needs replacing - off the rack, as well.  It’s a very bold, very Anglo look, and it’s very commonly associated with Gordon Gekko in Wall Street. 

If you have an English sensibility - sober suits, bold shirts - and a job that calls for formality, contrasting collars and cuffs can look good.  They’re the kind of thing one might wear to deliver Mamet dialogue, if Mamet wrote a play about a trading floor or the back offices of a bank.  If you don’t, though, they can look a bit showy, or at worst, football-color-commentator-y. 

Q and Answer: How Do I Tuck My Shirt In?

Alex writes: I struggle to properly tuck my shirt in, and it takes a bit to get it just right. Got any tips for a nice and easy way of tucking in a dress shirt?

Put on your shirt before you put on your pants.  Put your pants on over your shirt.  If your shirt is oversized in the waist, you can give it a little bit of a fold at the sides.  Generally, though, there shouldn’t be toooo much poofing.  If there is, get your shirt taken in a bit at the waist - your tailor will charge you about ten bucks.

Q and Answer: Short Sleeve Shirt and a Sweater?

Johnny asks: What do you think about using short sleeve dress shirts for layering, say under a sweater?  I love the look of a collar under a sweater, but sometimes the long sleeves bunch up, especially under a slimmer sweater. If I knew, knew, I wasn’t going to take the sweater off do you think it would be appropriate?

It’s hardly the worst fashion crime you could commit, but I wouldn’t do it.  Short sleeves are for hot weather, and sweaters for cold, and when you wear a sweater, the cuff of your shirt should be slightly visible. 

Is bunching really that big of a problem for you?  Pull your cuff through all the way and you’ll be fine.