Collar, cuff, sleeves and cuff- this is what the men's dress shirt has always consisted of. Not a lot has changed to the piece of timeless clothing, other than becoming a more cut fit over time. In the UK it's called a shirt, and in the United States it's referred to as the Button-down or the dress shirt. Here we discuss all the details of the men's dress shirt, from top to bottom.
A collar band, sometimes referred to as a collar stand, is a strip of fabric that forms the inner part of the collar and attaches the collar to the shirt. The top button is part of the collar band. The band's width determines the rise, or height, of the collar. A collared shirt can be made without a collar band. This creates a collar that must always be open, -- typically, a shirt with a large collar such as the style that was popular in the "Disco" era.. Men's dress shirts may have a different fabric on the inside of the collar band for a contrasting effect.
A shirt collar is the piece of a dress shirt that is attached to the collar band and fits around the frame of the neck. Fine dress shirt collars are stitched around the edges to stiffen and hold the folded material in place; this stitching can be up to 1 centimeter in from the edge. Traditional high quality men's dress shirts will have the top stitching a couple centimeters in from the edge, while low quality collars will often have the stitching directly on the edge. Interfacing material is used to attach the two pieces of fabric and make them stiffer. On low quality dress shirts, the interfacing will often show "bubble" marks after a few washings. The various types of collars you will find on a dress shirt are: Traditional point, curved point, round point, Buttondown and hidden Buttondown. These collars can have different point lengths or spreads to significantly alter the style.
Tailors refer to the extremity of the collar as the collar point. On the reverse side of this extremity you will sometimes find collar stays- collar stays are pieces of metal or plastic that will allow maintain the rigidness. Though they are not found on all shirts as some clothiers prefer to focus on the interfacing to maintain the inflexibility.
You will notice that different men's dress shirts have different distances between the collar points, and this is referred to as the collar spread. The different collar spread will significantly alter the style of the manner of the shirt. If you have a fat neck than it would makes sense to minimize the spread between the collar points, where if you have a slim neck than you may want to increase the spread. By doing this you are balancing the weight between the neck and the collar, enhancing the visual appearance of your neck in a positive light. Remember, you're men's dress shirt should compliment you.
The convenience of the men's dress shirt is that it can be completely opened from the front, and this is covered by a part called the front centre placket. There are different styles- most common being the bluff font, and less popular but also very nice is the twin stitching front and the fly front. A typical front center placket has six buttons, and on a tall fitting you will find 7 buttons for the extra length. This can be made by attaching a separate piece of fabric, or by folding the fabric onto itself.
A pocket on a dress shirt is self-explanatory- it's simply for holding items. Your decision to have a shirt with or without should be based on whether you liked to put items in it- pens or such. Some people find a pocket will increase the style of a shirt, especially if you find a plain shirt a little to boring. Only at the most formal settings should you consider a shirt that does not have a pocket.
Long sleeve is the norm for dress shirts, though short sleeve dress shirts can be found. Especially in warm climates you will find short sleeve even around the office. Never wear a short sleeve under a jacket, or at a more formal environment. In a relaxed environment you may roll up your sleeves to make them into short sleeves, and it often looks fairly stylist.
There is also a small placket found on the sleeve, from the collar up about one quarter of the sleeve, providing and opening. This is called the sleeve placket, and it can be found with a button or button-less. The purpose is to make for a proper fit on the shirt.
The attachment between the main part of the shirt and the sleeve is referred to as the armscye. The armscye is basically the sleeve hole, and depending on the brand it can vary drastically in size, and because of this many people find generic, un-tailored shirts are very difficult to have the armscye fit properly.
The cuff forms the end of the sleeve, and usually has button, possible two on it. The mark of a men's dress shirt is a fairly well defined cuff. The cuff does serve the purpose of closing the sleeve, and making it fit properly, although it is also designed to be stylish.
The Straight French Cuff, and the straight double cuff, are longer than traditional cuffs and are worn folded back on themselves with a 90 degree angle on the corners. Traditionally, men's dress shirts with these cuffs were only used with a lounge suit or formal jacket, which are worn in very formal settings. Nowadays, it is common to see French cuffs on a dress shirt in a business setting, especially in Europe, or even rolled up on the arms for a night out on the town. French cuffs on a dress shirt require cuff links.
If you can't decide which cuff to have on your dress shirt than a great option would be the convertible cuff. This cuff converts between a barrel and a french, either to be used with the buttons included or with cuff links. It looks just as a normal barrel cuff, though once folded onto itself it functions just as a french cuff, without sacrificing any of the style.
The Yoke is the strip of material sewn across the shoulders to attach the front and back pieces of the shirt. Dress shirts normally have a one-piece yoke, though two-piece yokes can occasionally be found on traditional British dress shirts. The two-piece yoke is divided directly behind the neck, allowing the pattern to be lined up at a 90 degree angle to the pattern on the front of the shirt, while making the pattern of the yoke on the back intersect, producing a "V" shape to the dress shirt.
Dress shirts need flexibility for movement, and this is partly done by including pleats along the back. By having pleats it allows extra fabric to be on the back, so when the arms are moved around the extra fabric extends to provide freedom of movement. It is also an option to make the dress shirt without any pleats. Those that find there is too much excess fabric on the back of the shirt may prefer pleat-less. Most common pleat is a box pleat, then a knife pleat, and finally something called gatherings. Gatherings are basically many small pleats, where the fabric is slightly scrunched up between the back and yoke.
The bottom cut comes in two popular variants. Most common is the tail cut, also referred to as the round bottom. In this cut, the front and back of the shirt are longer than the sides of the shirt. This gives a front and back "tail" and curved sides, a design intended to give the shirt more style when untucked -- though the tail cut bottom can also be worn tucked in. The other variant is the square cut, and it is designed for a shirt that will be tucked in most of the time. The square cut, as its name suggests, is square/straight along the bottom.
A less common feature on dress shirts is darts. The purpose of darts is to remove excess fabric on the back of the shirt, thus making it follow the curvature of the back. This feature can compliment those with arched backs and slim figures. Some custom shirt makers do not use darts, though people that do wear darts appreciate the fit they provide. Most body shapes do not require darts on their dress shirt, but those that do will find it makes a huge difference to the style.
Usually offered from custom tailors is a monogram on your dress shirt. A monogram is a lettering on your shirt, usually the initials of your name. A monogram is a nice personal touch that will often emphasize that your shirt has been custom made for you- really a sign of quality and workmanship. If you decide to get a monogram on your shirt you may want to consider getting it somewhere discreet if it is for office wear.
The men's dress shirt has been around for a long time, and will continue to do so. It's doesn't blow around in the winds of trends, but has lasting power due to it's functionality and class. Now you should have a strong understanding of all the features of a dress shirt, and will be able to make a more educated choice in what shirt to where, when to where it, and what shirt fits your body the best.
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