Q. Even now that it’s early fall and getting cooler, when I go out on the weekends even to a fine restaurant, I see most of the men are still wearing patterned but short sleeve dress shirts. Is this fairly standard now? If so, I assume that they should not be tucked in. Which shirts do you think are most appropriate?
A. I’m afraid this really has become fairly standard for any times other than the coldest days of winter. As my regular readers must know, I wish that today’s men would not dress quite as informally as most of them are doing. Although I prefer long sleeve dress shirts, I have no real quarrel with short sleeve sport shirts (knit polo types). But I do feel that going to a “fine restaurant” warrants something a bit more polished than an untucked, patterned, short sleeve shirt. This is especially true when the man’s dinner partner is nicely dressed. It’s important to remember that dressing appropriately means that what you wear should suit not only the occasion, the location, and be flattering, but also should be in keeping with what others will be wearing.
I suggest you add to your closet collection several good-looking, long-sleeved shirts in solid colors, nice stripes, and/or attractive small plaids. They should be in what the clothing industry refers to as “woven fabric” (i.e., smooth shirting fabric, as opposed to knits).
These shirts can be worn casually open-at-the-neck without a tie or dressed up with a quiet solid-color tie. If you want a more casual look, you can roll the sleeves up a turn or two. I strongly believe that a rolled up long sleeve woven shirt is smarter looking than a short sleeve dress shirt. In fact, I’ve always said that a “short sleeve dress shirt” is a contradiction of terms. The reason: a dress shirt, by definition, is one that can be worn with a necktie, and a short sleeve woven shirt should never be worn with a tie (not even if you’re 6 years old). Also, do not assume your shirt should be worn untucked.
As to styling: When you are shopping for new shirts, be on the lookout for ones with the right collar. That is, look for shirts with preppy button-down collars or with smallish straight-point collars. Do not choose spread collars; they are too dressy to be worn in this casual (without a jacket) style. Another modern style note: today’s up-to-date look is a rather trim-fitting silhouette rather than the dated full-cut shape.
Besides smooth woven fabric, you also have the option of wearing more casual knit shirts. These can be polos (in short or long sleeves), henleys, quarter zips, and turtlenecks. All of these look fine worn tucked in or untucked.
Keep in mind that careful color coordination is not just for suit-and-tie dressing. Today’s colorful shirts work nicely when the color of the pants they are worn with echos/repeats one of the colors in the shirt’s pattern. On the other hand, unlike when dressed in a suit, it is not always necessary to mix and match the colors so perfectly – chinos and jeans go with almost every patterned shirt.
Please send your men’s dress and grooming questions to MALE CALL: Lois.Fenton@prodigy.net
