Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

Dress shirt

In American English, a dress shirt is a predominantly men's shirt with a collar, a full-length opening at the front from the collar to the hem, and full length sleeves with cuffs. The opening fastens closed along a placket using buttons or studs, and the cuffs close with buttons, cuff links or silk knots. Some very formal shirts have separable collars attached with studs. In British English, this garment is simply known as a shirt, while a dress shirt is specifically a smarter shirt of the fashion, worn with black tie or white tie. The majority of this article discusses dress shirts in the American English sense. Dress shirts are normally made from woven cloth, and can be worn with a jacket and tie (including suits and formal wear). Less-formal variations on the standard pattern are also common. An alternative term is button-front, button-up or in American English button-down shirt (which refers to a collar with buttons in British English). The analogous garment to a men's dress shirt for women is a blouse.

Components

A traditional tailored shirt has the following components:

Collar: The flaps of the collar are known as points; the open space or gap between the points (when the shirt is fastened) is called the spread;
Yoke: This is the most difficult part of the shirt to construct. This is the shaped section at the shoulders, which connects all the other parts of the shirt. A split yoke has two pieces sewn together to help shape it to the shoulders.
Two sleeves;
Two cuffs;
Two front panels;
Back;
Second Back; and a
Placket.

Collars

Spread: a collar that measures from around 3½ to 6 inches between the collar points. The wider collars are often referred to as a Cutaway collars or Windsors after the Duke of Windsor. The spread is the most formal collar for the lounge suit.
Point or Straight also known as the Small: a collar that appears narrow, with 2½ to 3¼ inches between the points of the collar.
Tab: a point collar that has two loops of fabric extending from the middle of the collar, which meet behind the tie; It is designed to give the tie an arc effect. The tabs can be closed with a metal snap, button or stud.
Eyelet: a collar which requires a barbell-style collar bar
Club: a collar with rounded edges, very popular in the first few decades of the 20th century.
Button-down: a collar, that buttons to the front of the shirt at its points. Introduced by Brooks Brothers in 1896, it was patterned after the shirts of polo players and was considered a sports shirt until the 1950s in America. It is still considered a more sporting style, and, particularly outside America, some people may still avoid wearing suits with this style of collar.
Varsity: a type of spread collar in which the points curve outward from the placket of the shirt.
Tony Collar: an extremely formal collar in which the entire collar covers the wearer's neck and also encloses the top part of the tie, usually the entire knot.
Tall: this collar is bold enough for the dress down-down fashion. If you have a large neck, the tall collar helps to minimise the effect. It often fastens with two buttons.

Contrast-collar shirts are occasionally made. In almost all cases, if there is a contrast collar it is a spread collar in white on a coloured shirt, typically blue. The shirt fabric is often an end-on-end or pinpoint fabric in which there are white threads along with coloured threads. Contrast collars are also often found on striped shirts where there is a white stripe in the shirt body. White collars on shirts that are not white is an aesthetic reference to the mostly-obsolete detachable collars, which were made separately from shirts. White collars on other than white shirts are considered more formal than colored shirts with matching collars.

Placket

This is the front portion of the dress shirt where the buttonholes are sewn. There are a few variations for the placket that can be found on dress shirts. Especially on bespoke dress shirts, there are more different placket styles to create an individualistic detailing.

It is recommended that plackets are made approximately 1.5 inches wide and runs along the center line of dress shirts. It should give a clean finish when shirt sides are buttoned together. The stitching on the placket should be fine such that they are close to being invisible. Usually the placket is made by having the fabric folded backward at the edge and the buttons and buttonholes sewn on it to keep the placket intact.

Cuffs

There are many types of cuff, many of which are:

Barrel: a cuff that is fastened by one or more buttons. Sized shirts (ie 15½ x 34) have only one set of buttons whilst an average shirt (i.e. 15½ x 33-34) has two sets of buttons arranged horizontally along the cuff.

Turnback or Portofino: a double cuff that is closed with buttons. First made by the Jermyn Street shirtmakers Turnbull & Asser and later popularised by the fictional character James Bond in the films starting in 1962.

Double or French: a cuff that is twice as long as a barrel cuff and is folded over itself. A Double cuff can be closed with either a cuff link or a silk knot.

Single: a normal length cuff that is closed with cuff links or silk knots (worn with morning dress, Dinner jacket, or white tie)

Mitre: this cuff is named after the bishop's hat. The Mitre is a daytime cuff, but differs from the button cuff as it has a slight fold at the end.

Other features

There are almost always at least seven buttons on the front of a dress shirt, inconsequential of size or measurements. Eight buttons are standard with high-end shirts. A vertical band running down the front opening that contains the buttonholes is called the placket; it is located on the wearer's left side, to fit over the button row on the edge of the right half of the shirt; this is the reverse to the women’s blouses.

There are often pleats on the back of either side of the shirt or, less formally, a box pleat on the centre of the back. Pleats are also found on the sleeves just above the cuffs. The more formal shirts in England will have no pockets, but the standard shirt in America has a single subjectively discreet pocket on the wearer's left side, which is a sewn-on patch with a plain upper hem, optionally with a single button for closure. This small pocket is large enough to hold a pack of cigarettes or a few pens and a pocket protector if the wearer feels it necessary. Less-formal dress shirts may feature larger pockets, dual pockets, or pockets with flap closures; military styled shirts oft feature two symmetrical large pockets with flaps and button for fastening closed.

A more formal feature that can be found is a white collar and white cuffs on a coloured or striped dress shirt, which is mentioned above under the heading ‘Collars’. These types of shirts are most appropriate when worn with a jacket-and-tie combination.

Short-sleeve shirts have a plain (no-button) hem above the wearer's elbow, though it has been said that the term ‘short-sleeved dress shirt’ is a paradox. Short-sleeve shirts are considered to be casual, though it is not uncommon for them to be worn under jackets or coats where the lack of sleeves is less obvious; short sleeve shirts are useful in warm weather, though their use is less useful if the wearer substitutes a lighter fabric, of course the short-sleeve shirt is again useful if also in a light fabric.

Western-style shirts often feature slash pockets and snap fasteners throughout instead of buttons.

Materials

Shirts are made of woven cloth, most commonly: cotton, linen, polyester, polyester blends, and silk are also used; silk is more usually for more formal occasions frequently with black or white tie. Some standard formal options are cotton broadcloth and cotton poplin. A wide variety of fabric textures are available for less-formal garments, including: Oxford cloth, corduroy, denim, flannel and twill.

Formal and Casual Usage

A dress shirt is ironed to remove any wrinkles and can be treated with starch for added smoothness and stiffness. The hem is tucked into the trouser. For most modes of formal wear, a coat and necktie or bowtie are compulsory. In this case, the top button of the shirt is fastened, so the tie can fit snugly around the wearer’s neck with a neat appearance. Standard colours for dress shirts are shades of white and light blue. In informal attire, solid pink, yellow, grey, ecru, and fine stripe and check patterns are common and acceptable at many formal meetings. The dress codes of black tie and white tie have highly specific requirements for shirts.

Casual usage is highly variable. A wider variety of colours and materials are worn. Many men omit the necktie and may eschew ironing the shirt and tucking the shirt into the trouser, this is only in very casual attire. It is common to leave the top button unfastened. Dress shirts are a typical garment of smart casual attire, a position shared with polo shirts. Casual dress shirts are sometimes referred to as 'sports shirts'.

Dress Shirts for Black Tie and White Tie

In the United Kingdom, the term 'dress shirt' is reserved for a particular type of formal shirt, the shirt is always white, and the shirt should be worn with eveningwear. In the U.S., this shirt is often called a 'tuxedo shirt' or 'tux shirt'.

The shirt required for white tie is very specific. It should have a wing collar and be fastened with shirt studs instead of buttons on the front. The studs should be either gold or silver with a mother of pearl inlay, the wearer may discern what their dress studs are made from; black onyx inlay is also permissible. The cufflinks should match the studs. The front panels of the shirt are heavily starched and polished so that they are stiff. Traditionally, collarless shirts with a detachable wing collar fastened on with collar studs have been used, but all-in-one designs are increasingly common. An even more formal alternative to the piqué shirtfront is a shirt with heavily starched front panels of a plain material, fastened in the same manner. Such shirts are now uncommon. Cuffs will ideally be single, but heavily starched and polished.

Black tie offers more leeway. Shirts may be soft (not starched), and often have a regular collar (turndown collar). In past decades, particularly the 1970s, ruffled-shirt fronts were fashionable, although they are now out of favour. Dress-studs are optional; they are usually black. Cufflinks are generally black (ideally silver with a black onyx inlay), but can alternatively be an old school, college, or regimental design; cuffs are generally double. Cufflinks can be replaced by silk-knots.

Sizing

In the United States, sizes of dress shirts traditionally consist of two numbers like 15½ 34 (the second number is often below the first on the label). This example means that the shirt has a neck that is 15.5 inches in girth (measured from centre of top button to center of corresponding buttonhole) and a sleeve 34 inches long (measured from midpoint of the back and shoulders to the wrist).

However, in response to economic pressures to reduce the number of sizes needed to be manufactured and stocked, sizing is now frequently seen with average sleeve lengths in the form of three numbers like 15½ 34/35. This example means that the shirt has a neck that is 15.5 inches in girth and a sleeve 35 inches long. However, the cuff frequently features two buttons, allowing the cuff diameter to be tightened so that the cuff does not come down over the hand. This allows the shirt to fit the shorter length.

Since the sleeve and neck size don't take into account belly size, most shirts are cut wide to accommodate most body shapes. Shirts cut for flat stomachs are usually labeled, "fitted", "athletic fit" or "trim fit." The terms for fuller cut shirts are more varied; sometimes they are explained at a shirt maker's website.

Casual button-front shirts are usually sized as small, medium, large, XL, etc. The meaning of these ad-hoc sizes is not standardized and varies between manfacturers.

Differences between the UK and the US

Standards for the style of shirts differs from in UK and the U.S. The most accepted style of collar in the UK is the spread collar, while in the U.S. the point and button-down collars are more often seen on dress shirts. The French cuff is much more popular in the UK than in the U.S. Many shirts in the U.S. feature a centre back box pleat, where in the UK it is common to find the side pleats. The breast pocket is a common feature on dress shirts in the U.S., but not popular amongst the English shirt makers. The colours, patterns, and stripes are often subtler in the U.S. than in the UK, where people more freely wear bold stripes and checks.

Notable makers of dress shirts

For 60 years, U.S. designers and manufacturers of neckties and dressshirts were members of the Men's Dress Furnishings Association but the trade group shut down in 2008 due to declining membership due to the declining numbers of men wearing neckties.