A dress shirt (in American English), or simply shirt (also button-front or button-up shirt) is a shirt with a collar, a full-length opening at the front from the collar to the hem, and sleeves with cuffs. Dress shirts are predominantly used by men, since women usually wear blouses. The front opening is fastened using buttons or studs, and the cuffs close with buttons or cuff links. Dress shirts are normally made from woven cloth, and are often accompanied by a jacket and tie, for example with a suit or formalwear, but the shirts are also worn more casually without.
While the term button-down is sometimes used in American English to refer to shirts in general, it is still generally used, as originally, to refer to a shirt with a buttoned collar. In British English, a dress shirt is known as just a shirt , while dress shirt means specifically the more formal evening garment worn with black- or white- tie, also discussed below. Some of these formal shirts have stiff fronts and detachable collars attached with collar studs.
Components
A shirt has several components: one-piece back, usually pleated or gathered; one-piece sleeves with plackets at the wrist, or else short-sleeved (cut off above the elbow), though this is untraditional; a band of fabric around each wrist known as a cuff; the collar, a strip around the neck, which is normally a turndown collar, with the strip folded down away from the neck, leaving two points at the front, the width of which is known as the spread; a section of fabric behind the neck and over the shoulders known as the yoke, either one-piece or split in half vertically in the middle; and finally two front panels which overlap slightly down the middle on the placket to fasten with buttons (or rarely studs).
Collars
Main article: CollarThere are various different styles of collar, which is the primary indicator of the formality of a shirt. Those discussed here are all attached collars, not styles specific to detachable collars.
- Spread collars measure from around 3½ to 6 inches between the collar points, and the wider collars are often referred to as cutaway or Windsor collars after the Duke of Windsor. This city style is more formal, though it is common in Europe, and predominant in the UK.
- Point, straight, or small collars are narrow, with 2½ to 3¼ inches between the points of the collar.
- Button-down collars have points fastened down by buttons on the front of the shirt. Introduced by Brooks Brothers in 1896, they were patterned after the shirts of polo players and were used exclusively on sports shirts until the 1950s in America. It is still considered a more sporting style, and, particularly outside America, traditionally dressed men still do not wear suits with this style of collar.
The less-common styles below were all once common, but have waned in popularity.
- Eyelet collars require a barbell-style collar bar to join the small stitched hole on each point.
- Tab collars are point collars with two strips of fabric extending from the middle of the collar and joined behind the tie. These lift the tie, giving an arc effect similar to a pinned collar. The tabs can be closed with a metal snap, button or stud.
- Club collars have rounded edges, and were very popular in the first few decades of the twentieth century.
- The varsity is a type of spread collar in which the points curve outward from the placket of the shirt.
- Shirts designed to take a detachable collar have a tunic collar, which is a low standing band of fabric around the neck, with a hole at the front and back for the collar studs.
Contrast collar shirts are occasionally made, which are white collars on a coloured or patterned shirt. These are worn for a variety of reasons, such as to offset certain complexions; because of a tradition started by detachable collars, where it is impractical to have many collars in different matching colours; and finally because when a collar is replaced it is unlikely an exact colour match will be found. These collars are generally considered more formal than matching fabric.
Cuffs
Main article: CuffThe main distinctions between cuffs are whether they require buttons or cufflinks to fasten, and whether they are folded back ( double ) or single. The main resulting types are therefore
- barrel cuffs, the standard style fastened by one or two buttons according to taste;
- double, or French, cuffs, which are more formal, and have an extra length of sleeve folded back and fastened with links; and
- single cuffs, the most formal style, usually only worn with formal eveningwear, which are double cuffs without the fold.
In addition, there are some variations, for example barrel cuffs may be mitred, with the corner cut off at 45°. Less common styles include the Portofino , or cocktail cuff, which is a double cuff closed with buttons, first made by the Jermyn Street shirtmakers Turnbull & Asser, and later popularised by the fictional character James Bond in the films from 1962 onwards.
Other features
A high quality traditional shirt has long tails, extending almost to the knees at the back, and so has seven or eight buttons. The vertical strip of fabric running down the front opening is called the placket, and gives a more symmetrical appearance to the join between the left side, on top, and the right. This left over right order is also seen in waistcoat and coat fastenings, though women's clothing buttons the other way (right over left). The buttonholes, aligned vertically, are placed on the placket, though the top button and buttons at the bottom of stiff fronts are aligned horizontally. The buttonholes are one of the few places where the difference between hand and machine stitching can be observed while the shirt is being worn, and fashion designers sometimes use contrasting thread here or on the buttons themselves for extra impact.
To give extra fullness to the back, there are often pleats where the back panel joins to the yoke. On some fittings these are not needed, and handmade shirts may feature the extra fabric being worked continuously into the seam. In America, a box pleat is common (two pleats together in the centre), while in Britain the pleats are placed wider out under the shoulders.
The less casual shirts in England will have no pockets, but the standard shirt in America has a single one 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 (a pocket protector can be used). Less formal shirts may feature larger pockets, dual pockets, or pockets with flap closures; safari or other military styled shirts often feature two large pockets with buttoned flaps.
Short-sleeved shirts have a plain (no-button) hem above the wearer's elbow. They are considered a casual summer or tropical option, though many people wear only the traditional long sleeves in all circumstances.
Formal shirts
In the UK, the term dress shirt is reserved for a particular type of formal shirt. There are formal day shirts for wearing with morning dress, and the white dress shirts used as eveningwear.
A day dress shirt is fairly similar to a normal shirt, and is usually white, with a stiff detachable collar, though other designs, such as a fine horizontal blue stripe, are also appropriate. Double cuffs are most common. This sort of shirt is also required to be worn by some barristers and judges.
An evening shirt, for wear with eveningwear, for example as part of black or white tie has some unique features. In the U.S., this shirt is often called a tuxedo shirt or tux. shirt . The shirt is always white.
The shirt required for white tie is very specific. It should have a detachable wing collar and be fastened with shirt studs instead of buttons on the front. The studs are normally mother of pearl set in gold or silver, but black onyx inlay is also permissible. The cufflinks should match the studs. The shirt front has panels made of different material from the rest of the shirt which are the only parts seen under the waistcoat. The shape of the panels, one on each side, is either rectangular, or the older U-shape (designed to sit under the older 1920s U-shaped waistcoats, now largely replaced by the more modern V-shape). The material for the panels is either layers of thick plain cotton, or marcella (piqué) cotton. Marcella is more common, but a little less formal, though still appropriate, since it was originally designed to be used on formal evening shirts, as the ribbing can pick up more starch and create an even stiffer front. Traditionally, collarless shirts with a detachable wing collar fastened on with collar studs have been used, but all-in-one designs are occasionally seen, though this is considered incorrect and to give a poor appearance by many. Cuffs are single, and heavily starched (if the front is marcella, the cuffs usually match).
Black tie offers more leeway. Shirts may be soft (not starched), which gives the options of unstarched marcella or a pleated front, as well as the white tie shirts, which may also be worn with black tie. The collar is still so
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