In Search Of....The Great White Shirt...

[travis_nw8]

^ richard james' shirts are fun but dangerous in the wrong hands...

 

[PrinceOfCats]

^ richard james' shirts are fun but dangerous in the wrong hands...

It's not like I want one to go with my LV fur hoodie!

 

[i_<3_chanel]

i like my white shirts v.slim & slick
preferably w/oversized cuffs & collars . . for drama
v.hard to find . . . so i buy supersize XXL shirts
& tailor them evrywhere . . . leaving the bigger collars & cuffs

the last place i bought white shirts frm was the kids dept . . 9-10 yrs
* runner those guy rover ? shirts are lovely

 

[litchickuk]

best shirts of any color or pattern come from Thomas Pink

 

[travis_nw8]

an approprite article,,,


Times OnlineJanuary 28, 2006
How to get dressed

lisa armstrong
The white shirt

Is the return of the white shirt a harbinger of a seismic shift in our culture? An arrowhead to a future when the average age of the population is 97? Or is it simply the perfect garnish for 2006’s skinny, vaguely New Wavish-looking trousers, tulip-shaped skirts and pinafore dresses? Either way, it’s only fair to warn you that boring, conformist and frankly quite dull things are having a bit of a fashion moment. Navy-blue school uniform-style skirts and V-necks; black and white; trench coats – these are all huge this spring. And they’re fashion trends that even very, very sensible people who don’t do fashion can endorse.
The Sex and the City frivolity that gripped the land for several years in the early millennium – convincing otherwise sane women that it was perfectly OK to live their life wearing something shamelessly attention-seeking and potentially bankrupting – has passed. We now know what we always knew – that in fashion as in life, while beauty is an ideal starting point, function is quite a bonus, too. The sine qua non of usefulness has to be the white shirt. The last time it was big was the early Nineties, in the depths of a major recession. US Vogue put a bunch of white shirt-wearing glamazons on its cover and a Moment was born – or at least the supermodel was.

NI_MPU('middle');
This time we’ll wear white shirts not as a protest against Eighties excess, but against boho excess. Fashion’s about to get cleaner, more pared-down, and a lot more androgynous after years of pharmaceutical-strength femininity. The white shirt, with its crisp, no-nonsense, understated air of efficiency is the perfect summation of this. Call me fetishistic, but I relish a trend that validates one’s inner fussiness (also known as having an acute eye or being a connoisseur). Trying on 15 white shirts and discarding them one by one because they’re too boxy, too short, too fussy, too unimaginative, not very nice cotton or the wrong kind of white has a self-abnegating purity about it that’s probably as close as most of us will get to a state of Zen. A trend this minimal means that, unlike boho, which disguised its own flaws by piling on more and more until the onlooker was stunned into acceptance, there’s nowhere for mistakes and dodgy sweatshop workmanship to hide in a white shirt. That’s no bad thing – it may serve as a reminder of a time when clothes were not as cheap as chips and therefore required significant scrutiny before purchase. You may even find some miraculous white on the high street this summer. Then again you may discover that to achieve the full 18th-century splendour of Balenciaga’s elaborate lace ruffled white shirts, you have to buy Balenciaga, or that to come close to minimalist perfection, it’s necessary to shell out for Margaret Howell, or that to revel in beautifully designed, organically grown cotton, you’re just going to have to pay for a shirt by the new label Noir (find it in Harvey Nichols). Will your conscience permit you to spend £205 on a Margaret Howell (and much, much more for Balenciaga)? Or is your limit £20? Don’t you love it when a trip to Gap turns into a voyage of self-discovery?

 

[seeing_double]

I personally like my white shirts to have a little special something...

Balenciaga did some very nice ones with ruffle details for AW 05

...and who could forget the infamous Dior Homme bloodwound shirt

source: firstview.com

 

[trueblue]

This thread is great...

I'm looking for that perfect white shirt as well. I remember an article in GQ maybe a year ago about this. I think their picks were Helmut Lang (for their perfect button placement), Prada (for their perfect collar that suits almost any tie and is "pillowy"), and 2 others? I don't remember.

Anyways, I love the Dior Homme dress shirts from the pictures I've seen. The collar is sharp and small, just what I'm looking for, but the price...

Anyone have any similar alternatives? Or maybe a good source for a decent priced DH ? I need something for my slimk black suit and slim ties.

Thanks

 

[Steam]

This thread is a good opportunity for me to de-lurk.

I'm partial to shirts by agnes b. Slim fitting (but not hyperslim), very comfy, and IMO, great quality. Kenzo and Rykiel shirts are also very nice, and their fabrics feel like heaven to wear.

For more affordable brands, I should say Sisley. I chanced upon one of their shirts at a sale, and immediately snatched it up. It's quite slim, with sturdy collar and cuffs. I always get compliments when I'm wearing it.

 

[breathe0xygen]

There was a series of white shirts on the runway for FW 06-07
Hmm I think I need one...

all pictures from style.com
(Aquascutum, Boudicca, Celine)

 

[shadow]

I have one Anne Fontaine shirt, but it needed many alterations and basically they do not fit me properly .

The best was their zipped washing bag. You put your white shirt or t-shirts in and throw it in the washing machine. The bag protects the white cotton from going grey when washed with other things. I believe similar bags can be bought at other shops. It really works, I looove the pristiness of a new white shirt.

 

[jpolla]

one word- brioni

Yes yes brioni are such high quality. As someone else said, they may be better for a more dressed up approach. Brioni did the suits for the new bond film with daniel craig. Tailored suits from around £3000. QUite reasonable.

 

[Baizilla]

I've been in search of 'the great white shirt' for quite a while... It is just one of those essential pieces in every wardrobe, yet I haven't been able to find one...
So far these caught my interest...

Raf Simons F/W 06.07

Dries Van Noten F/W 06.07

men.style.com

 

[HiHeels]

thomas pink makes them too short and boxy.

for luxury of fit (smooth cotton, super long, narrow body), quality of style (three button cuff and strong collar), turnbull & asser.

 

[staticrix]

I'm looking for cute outfits where you can wear a white shirt to. like with shorts and a belt? Will that work?

 

[HiHeels]

the real question is when wouldn't a white shirt work

 

[Sonnytsunami]

oh the perfect white shirt.. that is such a hard task... i have been searching for it for ages.. and i never seem to find it... in the meantime i get to find and buy other gorgeous items while looking for the (in)famous white shirt!

 

[droogist]

two words- margaret howell- i'm a total convert for her well cut shirts

I second this - I recently bought one of her oxford shirts for women and the cut is superb. For once I can raise my arm above shoulder-level and not have the entire shirt come up with it.

 

[gallianoke]

Brioni and borelli!

 

[luckyme]

Baizilla, I think the dries one is an interesting white shirt. I like that you can tuck it in or wear it out. it also looks like a nice weight cotton.

 

[young_princess]

what's the price range for anne fontaine shirts? thanks!