Best Men's Dress Shirts

Buying Dress Shirts for Men
Odds are that even the roughest of men will find an occasion on which they want to wear a dress shirt (basically a long sleeve, collared, button-down shirt), and knowing how to buy the right best shirt is important. Whether it's for the office, church, a wedding, or just to say that you have at least one dress shirt in your closet, you want to make sure that shirt fits and suits you best. And let's face it, knowing what makes a good dress shirt ahead of time will also mean you spend a lot less time in the mall or department store, not the place most guys would choose to spend an afternoon. But, what are the best men's dress shirts? How do you know what size of dress shirt you will need? Are there any features on a dress shirt you should be aware of? It's not all about just the look (although that's the part you are going to have to decide on your own), so let's see what you need to know as far as important dress shirt facts (some of the most popular men's dress shirt makers include Perry Ellis, Van Heusen, Armani, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Cole, etc. -- we'll see some of these below).

mens dress shirt

Size Matters in the Right Dress Shirt - Finding Your Dress Shirt Size

When it comes to finding the perfect dress shirt for you, make no mistake about it: size does matter. Dress shirts look best when sized perfectly to your frame. You can spend a lot of time in the store while someone takes all your measurements (which could be either embarrassing or fun, depending on your perspective) but it's a lot easier going in if you understand dress shirt sizes first. All dress shirts have two sizes on the tag at the back of the collar. These are the two sizes which will determine how comfortable that dress shirt is on you. The first number is the neck size. These are recorded in increments of 1/2 inch, from 14-18 1/2. The 14" sizes are small, 15" medium, 16" large, 17" X Large, and 18" and over 2X large. To get your measurement, simply put a tape measure around the largest part of your neck (the base). Remember to round up if it's not quite at an inch or half an inch measurement. When you try on a dress shirt of this neck size, make sure to do up the top button. If it feels uncomfortable, go up another size.

Sleeve Length: The second important dress shirt size
The second number on the tag of any dress shirt will be the sleeve length. Any guy who has ever worn a shirt with sleeves that are too short knows that this is probably the most important measurement on a shirt. To get your sleeve length, measure from the middle of the back of your neck, across the shoulder, and down the arm. Remember to have your arm at your side, with a bit of a bend in your elbow (you will probably need help for this part!). End the measurement right at your wrist bone, and then add another inch to get your sleeve length. Generally, the sleeve length will fit somewhere between 32" and 36", again going from small to 2X X large. There are also special Tall sizes for sleeve length in a man's dress shirt, which go up to 37" (obviously used by the taller man). Once you know your shirt size, you are pretty safe shopping online since the shirt you select will match your measurements - no need to spend 30 minutes in the dressing room at the mall trying on different sizes. Though not known for fashion, Amazon actually has a selection of more than 1000 dress shirts to browse among.

Other dress shirt size considerations and cuts, Dress Shirt Collars

While most dress shirts will come with just the two measurements, some will come with waist size as well. These are most common in athletic cut dress shirts such as the Guess Rockit design. The waist is measured while wearing another shirt, right wear the shirt line meets the pants. Keep a finger between the tape measure and the pants, and you have your waist size. We also mentioned different cuts in men's dress shirts, athletic being one. The other two are regular cut, which is loose fitting and full cut, which is very loose. The general rule when purchasing a dress shirt is that an unmarked package will indicate a regular cut shirt. Athletic cut dress shirts are designed for men who want to emphasize their physique; they are very form fitting in a masculine way.

Finally, you will want to consider the collar type when it comes to the perfect dress shirt for you (or your man). Collars come in a wide variety of shapes, cuts, styles, and colors, and it's important to know which ones best suit the face of the man who will be wearing the dress shirt. Point turndown collars have the triangles of the collar close together while cutaway (or spread) collars have the points much further apart. Cutaway collars are great if you want to look a bit wider across the shoulders. Button down collars do just that; use a button to fasten the collar points down. Pin and tab collars are more rare and designed for special accessories such as pins and bars, and to show off elaborate tie knots. Finally, the wing collar offers a more upturned collar as exemplified in the standard dress shirt of the tuxedo.

Most Popular Dress Shirt Brands for Men - Wrinkle Free Dress Shirts

There are many different dress shirt brands, made by well known companies such as Eddie Bauer, Van Heusen, Guess, Bean, and so on. If you like shopping at the mall, stores like Macy's or Nordstrom's are good place to do shirt shopping (or even Kohl's for less expensive shirts). You can find basic dress shirts starting out at about $20. As you move up to fancier designer names and fancier materials, the price of the shirt moves up similarly. A nice Ralph Lauren button down shirt might set you back $80 or more, a Calvin Klein dress shirt made of silk could be closer to $100. The good news is that mens clothing is still usually a lot cheaper than women's clothing, so you could in theory equip a professional men's shirt wardrobe for a few hundred dollars. For the business world, white is always the standard classic look (if you don't have at least one, nice, freshly-pressed white dress shirt in your closet at all times, get out to the store now!), though a variety of stripes, creams, and blues are also popular. For evening dress shirts, you can't go wrong with black -- if you're younger than 30, consider some graphics on the shirt, over 30 stick with solid colors with maybe some textures or stripes, but forget about the dragon print. And yes, untucked is the standard look these days. When it comes to labels, Oscar de la Renta, Jos, and Burberry are among the most fashionable according to esquire.com; and they have the price tags to prove it. While a Guess athletic cut shirt might only cost $40, a Zegna will run you into the $300 range. Still, you want to look your best and the higher end dress shirt brands do tend to be cut just right. A final note, seriously look into wrinkle-free men's dress shirts. The material used to make them is common among all designers now, and it will save you a lot of time. They don't need to be ironed; a few minutes in the dryer is all that is needed to remove wrinkles from these types of shirts.

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