As a versatile item, white shirts are undoubtedly the favorite of trendy men and beautiful women. Due to the style, there is really no choice in design! Although the design is simple, it is not easy to choose a high-quality shirt, it is a “technical job”, let’s talk about how to choose a satisfactory white shirt!
Before that, let’s talk about the definition of a white shirt. First of all, it must be pure white and cannot have any variegated; Secondly, as a daily item, it is mainly for casual gatherings, not very grand and formal occasions, and does not need to use cufflinks, so shirt cuff styles with cufflinks (called Musketeer cuffs or French cuffs) are not in my discussion; The last brand is important, but it is not the deciding factor, even if the brand is not famous, as long as it has some basic qualities of a good shirt, it can sell for a high price.
What are the basic qualities, roughly speaking, it mainly depends on fabrics, buttons, tailoring, craftsmanship and other aspects. Just these 5 points, pack you to pick the best white shirt!
1. Fabric
Generally speaking, it is mainly pure cotton, followed by blends and linen. It’s not that the latter two are bad, and some high-end shirts will also use cotton and silk blends, limited to space, so I will skip it.
Mainly talk about cotton fabrics, the characteristics of good cotton are long and fine, breathability and luster are very good, it is best to choose island cotton or Egyptian cotton, collectively known as Egyptian cotton, growing in Egypt origin is the real Egyptian cotton. Generally, the cotton grown in the United States and Peru is called Pima cotton, and in many places, the long-staple cotton grown in the South American island region and Australia is also called island cotton. These 3 kinds of cotton actually belong to a large category, and ordinary people can’t distinguish between fabrics. Xinjiang, China, also grows cotton varieties imported from Egypt, and many Egyptian cotton on the market is this, but the quality is much worse.
Second, the number of threads
The thread count refers to the thickness of the line, marked by S, and 100S is also called 100. The higher the thread count per unit area, the thinner the thread and the thinner the fabric. Short-staple cotton cannot be woven into high-threaded fabrics, which is the benefit of Egyptian long-staple cotton. Ordinary shirts are generally within 80, good shirts are more than 100, and by 140 is already very thin and thin, and it will fit the body when worn, and it is not easy to take care of.
3. Buttons
The accessories of the shirt are relatively simple, ordinary shirts use polyester buttons, slightly better use ordinary shell buttons, top brands generally use high-grade shell buttons. Most high-end shirts use 1.8mm fritillary buttons, and some use 3.5mm fritillary. The optimal thickness is 2.5mm, which is comfortable to the touch, and the slightly concave buttons have a better gloss and feel, and some brands will engrave their own logos. Some will design the clasp on the inside, called a hidden button, which I personally do not like very much, and it feels slightly frivolous.
Fourth, the version
Personally, I think that the fit cut is particularly important, because the shirt is not as good as the jacket sweatshirt, loose inside can be kitted clothes, wearing shirts are worn close to the flesh, directly reflecting the figure, fit becomes the most important indicator. Generally, good shirt brands will be divided into different versions, such as classic (classic version), regular (ordinary fit), slim (slim fit), extra slim (extremely slim version), etc., if it is thin, suitable for the latter two versions, the first two are basically missing.
Some brands of shirts will be made more tight, suitable for tall and thin hipster men, such as Dior Homme, d2, etc., white Dior shirts are a must for every hipster man!
5. Process
The pins are above 18 pins per inch (top requirements are 22 pins per inch). Fine stitches are very demanding on fabrics, wires and sewing machines, otherwise the top stitching of 22 stitches per inch cannot be made, and some top luxury goods will also pay attention to handmade buttonholes and hand-stitched those.
All in all, the purchase of a good white shirt to integrate many factors, neither can only look at the number of threads can not only look at the fabric, the higher the number of threads is easy to wrinkle, the fabric is too luxurious (such as adding diamond powder) for ordinary consumers and a little unattainable, the fabric in addition to pure cotton, blended general cotton silk, cotton wool or cotton linen, cotton polyester basically do not need to be considered.
I recommend buying shirts is best to try on clothes in physical stores, firstly, some brands of the same color shirt are divided into different styles, and some domestic counters have Asian “special editions” but foreign ones do not; Second, the main thing is to see the effect, although the white shirt does not have a pattern style, but it is quite particular in the collar, cut, buttons, cuffs, etc., and I don’t know which one I am suitable for if I haven’t tried it.
Finally, a few shirt brands are briefly introduced:
Ermenegildo Zegna
SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT “CHINESE ZEGNA, EUROPEAN CANALI” IS NOT UNREASONABLE, ZEGNA IS VERY POPULAR AND WELL-KNOWN IN CHINA, EVEN IN THE UNITED STATES FEEL THAT THE PRICE IS A LITTLE HIGHER THAN CANALI. Its cut is slim, but the fit is on the small side, suitable for thin people. In recent years, the brand has become more and more fashionable, suitable for young upstarts and elites. Since the domestic price is too high, it is recommended to buy abroad.
Turnbull & Asser
Founded in 1886 in the UK, it is a long-established shop on Jamie Street (the mecca of top shirts) with a history of more than 130 years. The brand’s status in the hearts of people who understand shirts is relatively high. In the movie “The Great Gatsby” (1974 version), the protagonist’s wardrobe shirt is T&A’s; The shirt worn by Bond in Quantum of Solace 007 is also from the T&A. The shirt style is classic, aristocrats, rich people, politicians all favor the brand, such as Prince Charles, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Reagan, Bush and Jaynke, noble son Lapo Elkann, etc.
CHARVET
Charvet shirt customization shop was founded by Christophe Charvet in Paris in 1838. Charvet may not be well known domestically, but it is second to none in the French shirt scene. In his book On Taste, Mr. Peter Meier writes about his bespoke experience at Charvet. Charvet is also recommended by aristocrats, tycoons, politicians, such as the Duke of Windsor, President Charles de Gaulle, President Kennedy, etc., who have the ultimate pursuit of shirts.
IV. KITON
Italy’s top formal wear brand, known for the quality of its fabrics, 90% of the fabrics are exclusively provided by the world’s best fabric producers for Kiton, there are many precious fabrics are bought, handmade content is very high, because of the adherence to tradition, classic, so the style, color matching are more conservative, suitable for mature and stable business people.
5. BRIONI
Italian clothing brands, Brioni and Kiton are the two most representative top menswear brands in Italy. Brioni shirts are very fond of high-count cotton, although not handmade, the glossy high-count fabric with delicate, neat, dense needle walking is the perfect example of machine manufacturing. The domestic price is relatively high, the foreign price is cheaper, and the discount is much higher than KITON, and it is highly recommended to buy abroad.
Luigi Borrelli
Italian clothing brand, also known for its handwork. Borrelli is usually handmade and the fabric used is usually high-count cotton. The brand is the most handmade among some niche brands. The shoulder line and collar are all hand-walked. Borrelli’s most distinctive feature is the extra-thick mother-of-pearl button, and the firm collar is very high-end and elegant. It is suitable for mature, steady, low-key and pragmatic business people.
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