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‘A man and his shirt’ – possibly one of the strongest bonds that menswear fashion knows. Think about it, without the shirt, where would that leave the suit? What would happen to the tie? And where the heck would that have left pre 17th century men? Well I’ll tell you exactly where that would have left them, extremely naked! Up until the mid 17th century a man’s shirt was worn purely as an undergarment. If ever even considered to be worn showing – even up until the very late 1800s – it would have caused more of a public commotion than a new music video from Rihanna. Thankfully, those days are passed and we as men are now free to casually parade about town, shirts on show and tails hanging out * ahem *. However, I do still have one slight niggling issue; if there was once a time where men wouldn’t even go to bed without donning a shirt, how is it that a shirt is now very often deemed too smart?
Random fact: The world’s oldest preserved garment is in fact an Ancient Egyptian dress shirt, thought to have dated as far back as 3000B.C.
Too many men that I meet seem to have acquired this strange little rule whereby you must only ever wear a shirt if you are attending a business meal, family christening, or Obama is coming round for tea. Take a tip from the gentlemen of centuries past and embrace a smarter casual look for the season ahead. I do understand that for men who are required to wear a shirt to work in ye old Monday to Friday routine, the thought of having to button one up on their Saturday off is literally stomach turning. However, with the styles, prints, colours and patterns available this season, we are a million miles away from that double cuffed, bank manager blue shirt that we so dearly love ironing on a Sunday evening.
So let’s break down the key casual shirt styles for the season ahead…
Printed Shirts
With an abundance of check shirts still dictating the majority of our high street rails and shelves, it makes it extremely hard for me to knock them too much without sounding like a very small, uneducated voice within a very large mainstream pond. However, with that being said, I never really was one to feel easily intimidated, so: it is finally time to ease up on the check shirts guys! If you to feel my pain, and do not want to see this audacious and out of control print dictate the shirt world for a 4th or 5th consecutive spring/summer season, this season belongs to us.
The array of (non-checked!) printed shirts on offer this season are better than I have seen for years and they look to carry over well into Autumn/Winter 2011, with amazing retro geometric prints and classic paisley formations on display at the recent London Fashion week. Short sleeved, long sleeved, oxford, dress and sheer; all areas have been covered meaning that no one – no matter how particular the preference – will be left out. For those of you that might feel slightly intimidated by the ‘loudness’ of an all over print, you can still get involved, just simply tone it down a touch by layering it under a pullover, cardigan or blazer in a neutral block colour.
Short Sleeved
No longer acceptable are the days of wearing your short sleeved shirts so tight around the biceps that we appear to have four of them, or the sleeves rolled up so high that they hit the capped sleeve mark. There has been a clear cut come through within the short-sleeved department this season and the word on the street seems to be for us all to just ‘relax’.
This season look for loose fitting short sleeves finishing closer to the elbow and teamed with more of a regular, straight cut on the body. By all means still wear your shirts tapered with some shape on the torso, but a super slim fit teamed with loose sleeves will only throw your proportions off and ruin the overall look that the shirt is desperately trying to portray. A lot of retailers are already producing short-sleeved shirts in this styling so as long as the collar fits, hopefully so should the rest.
Block Colour Shirts
I’m sure you’ve already been made aware of how big the block coloured trend is this season? And if you haven’t, where the hell have you been?! Quickly catch up here with Matt Allinson’s guides to colour (introduction, mixing monochromes and combining colours) and then report back. Shirts were always going to be a big player within the block colour trend this season, with a marvellous display of new colourful shirts to help smarten up our blocked outfits.
Sheer/Silk Shirts
A trend that has undoubtedly followed on from the huge success in womenswear, we are now seeing menswear shirts being made lighter, softer, and lets face it, more transparent. I have to admit, this is my favourite shirt trend of the season. There is a certain elegance about the way that a silk shirt falls and moves, and teamed with a sharp pair of tailored trousers/shorts or under a masculine cut double breasted blazer, it adds that contrast in textures which keeps our outfits fresh and interesting.
If you’re not quite yet brave enough to don a full sheer or silky number, there are options out there that just include elements of the two or are still made out of a cotton but have that amazing silk-like effect. Again, this was also another massive shirt trend on the Fashion Week catwalks for A/W 2011; Topman Design in particular had some amazing pieces that I literally cant wait to get my hands on.
Conclusion & Opinions
So there you have it, a break down of all the key styles in men’s shirting for spring/summer 2011. I think there are definitely a couple of styles there that are suitable for the majority (short sleeved and bold colours in particular) and will give you some separation from the rest of the casual looks roaming your local city. But what do you think?
- Can you see yourself adding any of these new types of shirt to your wardrobe this season? Or do you already own a few?
- Which trend will you be rocking, and what other pieces will you match with your chosen shirt style?
- Are shirts really suitable for those hot weather days?
- Have you got any interesting ways in wearing your shirts that aren’t ‘the norm’?
- Do you think we are going to be seeing a lot more smart casual looks this spring/summer in comparison to past seasons?
Let us know in the comments below…
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Chambray!!!! Surely a key one!
I usually choose roll sleeve shirts when I can find them, as you can keep the sleeves rolled up for a casual look, or roll them down and pair with a tie when you need to be a bit smarter. Of course, you can roll the sleeves up on any long sleeved shirt if you like, but I tend to find they just fall down again in a short while.
And I completely agree about shirts not having to be smart. A few years back I wore shirts almost exclusively (until I got bored of having to iron every morning), but now I wear t-shirts 75% of the time casually.
Another spring favourite of mine is the hooded shirt. For me it adds a little detail, especially if it’s a single coloured shirt that I’m wearing nothing over. Perhaps for the younger generation though, and it does go with the flow a little, but for me it adds the detail lost when not choosing a printed or patterned shirt.
I’ve seen a couple of shirts with elbow length sleeves that look quite good, may have to try one of those out!
I am in love with floral patterned shirts and contrast collar shirts.
Floral shirts are a great way to be celebratory of the spring/summer season, but I definitely try to avoid the more fruity color schemes.
Contrast collar shirts, usually the ones with a white colllar, are a great way to add some dimension to the look and it is also a subtle way to do some colorblocking aswell since the body and the collar are of the different color scheme.
@The Tweet: Chambray is definitely still a key shirt for S/S, I just didn’t mention it as it has been in trend for a little while now.
@Paul B: To solve your ‘keeping long sleeved shirts rolled’ up dilemma, why not roll them up to the height that you desire and then safety pin them from the inside. The safety pin shouldn’t be noticeable at all and your sleeves will be kept firmly in place.
@Danny Norris: I’m actually on the cusp of purchasing this little elbow length number:
http://www.asos.com/Asos-Black/Asos-Black-Short-Sleeve-Kimono-Shirt/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=1569850&cid=11721&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=20&sort=-1&clr=Brown
@Thom: Spot on!
Thank you all for your comments.
Ash
Thank god the dearth of checked shirts will slowly start to disappear.
Great article! I think more men are wearing shirts
rather than t shirts. My preferences are block colour or check rather than printed shirts- i am not keen on any of the floral/patterned shirts shown above but everybody has a different taste. I wear shirts to the office all week but don’t mind wearing them at the weekend as well in a more casual way
Although the checked shirt is as common as controversy in the Charlie Sheen household, I just can’t imagine any of the styles above contending with it. Okay, the originality of a checked shirt would be a measly 1/10 but versatility has to be a cool 7/10. For example you can add a bit of definition to almost any outfit with a checked shirt by throwing one over cheap cotton t-shirt and maybe adding a denim jacket into the mix, it works a treat and possibly adding a basic Topman necklace in for seasoning gives you a beautiful mess, layering at it’s best.
Also don’t worry this article didn’t fall on deaf ears (well blind eyes) it truly is a breath of fresh air and there very well may be a few acquistitions to my wardrobe after reading this.
@Paul B
Just no to the hooded shirts.
Excellent article, an i couldn’t agree more with you about the check shirts. Go out an all you see is guys in check shirts… so much so i refuse to wear mine anymore.
Got to agree with Sean about hooded shirts, not a good look in my opinion.
Where is the blue shirt in the very first picture from? Is it even a shirt as it doesn’t button all the way down…
@Alex: The shirt in the first picture is from Zara ( http://bit.ly/ffJj4g ) and according to them it is still classed as a shirt. This half buttoned trend also looks to be another big hitter for the Spring/Summer.
Love the shirts!
I was in NYC last week and picked up a white chambray shirt. I’ve been looking for one for ages over here. It’s perfect with a suit and tie, adding a little style by layering different fabrics that you don’t usually see but look great together. It’s great for summer too, with shorts or chinos, sunglasses, a brown leather belt and watch and deck shoes (I like Sebago for those, cheap deck shoes look and feel awful) for a more classy nautical look, like you’re just getting off the yacht in Panama or Bermuda.
That said, I made a conscious decision recently to give up on t-shirts and only wear shirts. You never see high-style icons like Nickleson Wooster in t-shirts, and there’s a reason for that. White or black plain T’s work well to anchor looks, but modern graphic t-shirts seem to go in and out of style on a day to day basis and you just can’t trust them to be reliable. They might look great one day, and awful the next.
I can’t say I feel the same way about printed dress shirts as of now… but maybe they will grow on me. I appreciate the post. I am knew to men’s fashion and fitted dress shirts is where I am beginning.