Dress shirt

A dress shirt, also called (incorrectly) a button-down shirt, is a men's shirt with a collar and a full-length opening down the front from the collar to the hem, fastened closed with buttons and a placket (American English usage). In its standard form, a dress shirt has long sleeves with buttoned or double cuffs, is made of lighweight woven cloth, and is designed to be worn with a suit and necktie or as part of formal wear. Less-formal variations on the standard pattern are also common.

In British English, these items are simply described as shirts, while the term dress shirt has the more-specific meaning of a variety of highly formal shirt worn either with black tie or white tie.

The analogous garment to a men's dress shirt for women is a blouse.

Usage

A dress shirt is ironed free of wrinkles and may be treated with starch for added smoothness and stiffness. The hem is tucked inside the waistband of the trousers. For most modes of formal wear, a coat and necktie are mandatory. In this case, the top button of the shirt is fastened, so that the tie can fit snugly around a gentlemen's neck with a neat appearance.

Some examples of traditional conservative color combinations that are acceptable in nearly any circumstances are a plain light-blue shirt with a navy-blue tie, or a shirt with blue and white bengal stripes and a red- or wine-coloured tie. Black tie and white tie dress codes have highly specific requirements for shirts.

Informal usage is highly variable. Most men omit the necktie and may eschew ironing their shirt and tucking the hem in. It is common to leave the top button unfastened.

Types

There are many different types of dress shirts a man can buy. The less-formal versions are rarely worn with a suit and tie.

Materials

Dress shirts are made of woven cloth, most commonly cotton; linen, polyester, polyester blends, and silk are also used. Some standard formal options are cotton Oxford cloth and cotton poplin. A wide variety of fabric textures are available for less-formal garments: corduroy, denim, flannel, etc.

Collars

Regular (technically a point collar) : a collar that appears narrow.
Cut-away : a collar that is more cut away towards the shoulder — the degree varies; the Windsor collar is very cut away indeed, originally to complement the Windsor knot.
Button-down : a collar, usually narrow, that buttons to the front of the shirt at its points. Not suitable for more formal occasions, but common in semi-formal and casual shirts. The term button-down is often used to describe dress shirts generally, which is incorrect, as it refers solely to the type of collar.

Cuffs

Single (technically barrel cuffs) : the normal cuffs for dress shirts. They overlap each other and button to stay.

Double or French: these cuffs are both more traditional and more fashionable and are fastened with cufflinks.

Short-sleeve shirts have a plain (no-button) hem above the wearer's elbow. Short-sleeve shirts are considered casual wear.

Other features

There are almost always seven buttons on the front of a button-down, regardless of size. 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 overlap the button row on the edge of the right half of the shirt (this is the reverse of blouses).

There are usually pleats on the center of the back and on the sleeves just above the cuffs. The most formal type of shirt will have no pockets, but the standard dress shirt has a single 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 just large enough to hold a small piece of paper or a few pens and a pocket protector. Less-formal dress shirts may feature larger pockets, dual pockets, or pockets with flap closures.

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

Sizing

In the United States, sizes of dress shirts consist of three numbers of a form like 15½ 34/35 (the second group 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 center of top button to center of corresponding buttonhole) and a sleeve 34 to 35 inches long.

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

Dress shirts in the United Kingdom

In the UK, a dress shirt is a particular type of formal shirt, always white with French cuffs to be worn with eveningwear. In the US, this shirt is often called a tuxedo shirt or tux shirt, although this is considered somewhat vulgar.

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. 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 shirt front is a shirt with heavily starched front panels of a plain material, fastened in the same maner. 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 have fallen out of favour recently. Studs are optional and are usually black. Cufflinks are generally black (ideally silver with a black onyx inlay), but can alternately be an old school, college, or regimental design.

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