What makes a good dress shirt?
If there is one vice that I do have, it is my love of fine dress shirts. I work long hours and put all of my dress shirts to good use, so I need them to stand up to the punishment. For anyone that wears a dress shirt at work, I recommend that you only buy high quality, well made dress shirts from the top shirtmakers in the business.
Anyone with any sartorial knowledge can tell you that the very best dress shirts in the world come from the United Kingdom. All ‘real’ dress shirts are made from fine cottons, imported from all around the world: poplin, sea island quality, 80′s, 100′s, 120′s, 140′s, 200′s, etc. Any dress shirt made of something else, especially fibers that are man made and not natural, like Polyesters and Nylons, cannot be taken seriously, and they won’t let your skin breathe either.
The major signs of a good, well crafted dress shirt are easy to spot:
1. Split back yoke (i.e. two piece yoke) – This is the part of the shirt that runs along the back of the neck and the shoulders. Manufacturers that mass produce shirts one after the other do not include this feature because of the added labor costs. It adds a small measure of comfort and assists in the proper wear and fit of the shirt over time. Another important aspect of this feature is the matching of any patterns at the joint of the split yoke. Lines, checks, plaids should all line up; depending on the shirt the pattern will run at an angle to the shoulders or simply straight across.
Shirtmaker: Turnbull & Asser
Shirtmaker: Turnbull & Asser
Shirtmaker: Charles Tyrwhitt
2. Side gussets (butterfly gussets) - These are small, but obvious, pieces of fabric sewn into the sides of the shirt at the bottom of each hem. They reinforce the stitching holding together the front and back panels of the shirt. These are necessary in fine dress shirts as the front and back panels generally have long tails that keep the shirt firmly situated, straight and proper looking. Some companies use different color gussets to trademark their image and create brand identification, while others simply use the same fabric that the shirt is made of.
Shirtmaker: Thomas Pink
Shirtmaker: Thomas Pink
Shirtmaker: Haines & Bonner - This is more of a casual shirt, notice the colored buttons and unique fabric.
Shirtmaker: Turnbull & Asser
Shirtmaker: Turnbull & Asser
Shirtmaker: Turnbull & Asser
Shirtmaker: Turnbull & Asser
3. Mother of Pearl (MOP) buttons – All of the famous shirtmakers use MOP buttons, or at least offer them as an option. Also, any buttons that are not white in color usually indicate a shirt that is made for other purposes, like a ‘party’ or ‘casual’ shirt. MOP buttons have a distinct look and feel to them and can be identified by a certain sound that they make when they are tapped against one’s teeth. If you have a plastic button and a MOP button, tap one on your front teeth and then the other, you’ll hear the difference. These buttons stand up very well over time and add that extra bit of ‘dress’ not present in cheaply made shirts.
Shirtmaker: Turnbull & Asser
Shirtmaker: Turnbull & Asser
4. No front pockets – Appropriate dress shirts generally do not have a front pocket, unless it is a custom made shirt and the customer requested one. Pockets are left for shirts that are more functional than ‘dressy’, and supports a feel of casualness.
5. Proper fit (‘tailored fit’) – Mass produced dress shirts have more of a boxed cut to the shirt, leaving large amounts of excessive fabric hanging around the waistline. Nicely made dress shirts, especially custom made dress shirts, will fit snugly, but not too tight. Some companies make a low end shirt that is a box cut to fit the masses and a high end shirt that is ‘tailor fit’ or ‘tailor cut’ to appear more expensive.
6. Patterns match at seams – This is a basic idea that stretches across all clothing. An example of this would be the matched lines on the two piece yokes shown at the top of this page. Lines should meet up, plaids should match, etc.
There are a few other symbols of a well made or custom made dress shirt, but these are less noticeable. Stitch length (average is 15 stitches/inch, some offer 20 stitches/inch), horizontal bottom button closure, two piece collar, lockstitched (cross stitched) buttons, single needle stitching, etc.
All of the top shirtmakers in the world maintain a shop on, or around, Jermyn Street in London. If you want a great mass produced dress shirt for a lower price, I would go with Brooks Brothers (Madison Avenue, NYC). Their non-iron shirts stand up very well to abuse and easily last for 5-10 years worth of wear. Their shirts do not include many of the features listed above, but the quality is still there and great for general use and presentation.
Below is a list of some of my favorite shirtmakers and many of them do custom made dress shirts (bespoke, made to measures, custom made, etc.), some are classic, classic shirtmakers, like Turnbull & Asser, while others are more trendy, like Thomas Pink and Charles Tyrwhitt.
