Selecting a Dress Shirt (Part 2)

Last week we began our discussion of selecting a dress shirt, focusing on fabric and fit. This week we concentrate on collar styles, as well as cuff and color options.

Your collar style adds character to a dress shirt and can be categorized into four basic types: straight, spread, tab and buttondown. Straight collars are fairly conservative and available in traditional (stitched a ¼" from edge of collar) and European (edge-stitched) versions. A safe choice with any basic dress shirt, this collar style projects an aura of traditional elegance.

Spread collars are considered more updated than the straight collar but also elegant. As their name suggests, spread collars are cut at a sharper angle, leaving more fabric showing at the top of the shirt placket. The Windsor spread collar has a straight edge, while the varsity spread is cut with a slight arc. Spread collars are available in most basic dress shirts, but are particularly appropriate in contrasting collar and cuff dress shirts (a colored or patterned shirt with a white collar and cuff).

Tab collars resemble straight collars in cut, but the two sides of the collar are held together by two small pieces of fabric, each with one side of a snap tab. When snapped, this allows the points of the collar to lie flat on the body of the shirt, providing a very neat and precise look. Although the tab collar is becoming more and more difficult to find these days, some of our customers will wear nothing else.

The buttondown collar is perhaps the most prevalent and versatile collar style available. It is less formal than the other collar styles but appropriate for a wide variety of business and business casual situations. A buttondown dress shirt can easily be worn with or without a necktie.

Selecting a collar style is largely a matter of personal taste. There are a few things, however, to consider. If you are tall and lean with a thin face, a straight collar will further accentuate those features. If you would prefer to balance out these physical features, a spread collar would be a better choice. Conversely, a spread collar will accentuate a round face, a straight collar providing a bit more balance.

While the majority of men favor button (barrel) cuffs, we believe that French cuffs add a definite touch of elegance to a dress shirt. In addition, French cuffs allow a man to express his individuality through his selection of cufflinks. Colored and patterned shirts with contrasting white collar and French cuffs have become popular with Paul Fredrick's customers once again.

In addition to basic blue and white, dress shirts are available in a wide variety of colors and shades. We are most pleased to report to you that color is once again a driving force in men's dress shirts. Men should utilize dress shirt color to help express themselves and there is an abundance of opportunity to do so this spring. There are also a multitude of patterns to select from. Ginghams, glen plaids, stripes, tattersalls and checks are all excellent choices this season.