Tips: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Men's Shirt

We do not recommend synthetic or artificial materials : they will keep you warm, they age badly, and some skins have trouble tolerating them. In addition, they are (very) rarely beautiful, all the more reason to leave them on their racks.

A small exception can sometimes be made for elastane, which helps make fitted shirts more comfortable.

If cotton bores you (which is completely understandable), there are a multitude of very interesting alternatives for making beautiful shirts.

For example, wool is an ideal material for making a shirt : it is insulating, breathable, retains few odors... and above all offers a beautiful, quite elegant visual effect.

Linen is also a real possibility. When well woven, linen fiber is slightly more tensile than its counterparts. In addition, linen brings a unique texture to a fabric. If you are looking for materials that tell a story, linen is your best friend .

If you are willing to invest heavily, there are also some very beautiful models with silk in the composition: the touch, the comfort, the light capture ... There is something to satisfy the most aesthetes among us. The only real drawback of the material would be its exorbitant price, which is why you can hardly find 100% silk shirts. It is also not the easiest material to maintain.

The different shirt fabrics

As you might expect, there are a multitude of different weaves to make beautiful shirts. Let’s see which fabrics are essential.

Poplin

If you are looking for a light and thin material , you can turn to poplin . The weave of poplin has a warp thread that is finer than the weft thread. Almost all poplins that we find are made of cotton, although there are also poplins with other materials.

The weave of a poplin is ultra tight, which increases the durability of the shirt. It is also what gives it that silky feel.

There is also a variant: the thread-on-thread poplin. This is a classic poplin, but where the selected threads are of different colors, which gives an additional relief to the fabric.

The Oxford

Thicker than poplin, Oxford offers an interesting texture and robustness. The result of weaving two colored warp threads and two white weft threads, Oxford offers a fine checkerboard appearance, very elegant.

While some oxfords fit easily into a dressy, formal look, this weave is generally more common on casual shirts.

The twill

Literally the translation of “sergé” in English, twill is this weave recognizable by its bias stripes, which are obtained by offsetting the weft thread and the warp thread. It is a regular and textured fabric, which fits perfectly into a casual workwear style.

A significant bonus is that twill is an easy fabric to iron. You will no longer have any excuses for coming to parties with a wrinkled shirt.

Chambray

Chambray fabric is a kind of thicker and more textured poplin. Made of linen or cotton, chambray is a fabric with a soft roughness and above all a heavy secret: the threads are already dyed before being woven. When you look very closely, the different colors of threads are distinct, which gives this mottled look when you see chambray “from afar”. A real aesthete's material.

We can mention other fabrics, less widespread but just as charming, such as:

The jersey

Jersey is not a fabric in the strict sense (it is actually a knit, like you see on a sweater, for example) but it is also found on some shirt models. The strong point of jersey? It makes the garment more elastic (and therefore comfortable) and it does not fray.

Flannel

Ideal for the cold season, flannel is a fabric whose surface has been mechanically scraped to offer this pilled and fluffy appearance. It is a soft, warm fabric, which offers a truly beautiful original texture.

The pin-point

Pin-point is a more dressy variation of oxford. They are constructed in the same way, but with a finer thread, which gives a less raw finish. It is an excellent alternative if oxford and poplin bore you. A small subtlety, only the weft threads are dyed.

The pique

Recognizable by its very marked relief, the piqué (also called the cannelé, not to be confused with the entremet) is an atypical fabric because the knitting is done in an irregular way: with each passage of warp thread, two weft threads are skipped. Thus, the piqué fabric is thicker, because it contains a surface thread and a ground thread.

After discussing the cut, material and weave, it is time to look at the technical specifications.

As previously mentioned, the shirt is a top that requires special care in its making, so there are some subtleties that are not necessarily known to the general public. Here, we will learn how to spot them, and appreciate them.

The titration

Yarn count (also called “thread count”) is a ratio used to indicate the quality of a shirt’s yarn. It determines the fineness of the yarn based on the weight-to-length ratio.

The finer the yarn used, the higher the thread count; the higher the thread count, the softer, stronger, but also more creasable and expensive the fabric. While shirt fabrics range from 16 to 200 count, fabrics used in clothing are usually 80 or 100.

However, don't overthink it . Don't worry if you don't know the fabric count, and avoid at all costs thoughts like "Given that this fabric has a thread count of 161 x 53 and the other one has a thread count of 152 x 46, which one is better?"

This is the best way to choose your shirt in a very cold and tasteless way, when for a garment that you are going to wear next to your skin, your feelings are what matters most.

Twisted and double-twisted

If you talk to a minimally qualified shirt salesman, the notion of twisted or double-twisted quickly comes up.

What is this ?

Twisting is simply the process of "twisting" two (or more) yarns together to form a thicker, softer, and stronger yarn. You may have heard of "double twisting": two single yarns twisted together to form a single yarn, for added strength and silkiness.

For example, when you see a 100/2 fabric, it means that it is a fabric of count 100 (therefore in the usual counts in ready-to-wear) double twisted (it is the "2").

A real double twist is in the warp AND in the weft. That is to say that the vertical AND horizontal threads of the fabric are double twisted. Except that it is, most of the time, impossible to see it with the naked eye. Which makes it a purist detail!

Choosing a suitable collar

A good pass

For a slightly more elegant shirt, it is important that the collar has some shape.

In this case, the collar may hide reinforcement stays that keep the tips straight. Made of metal or light plastic, they can often be removed if they bother you when wearing them.

There are two main ways to construct a collar: iron-on and interfacing. While the interfacing collar remains the noblest of the two, today there are many perfectly respectable iron-on collars, which have become the majority.

The part in contact with your neck is ideally a lining: this is where the difference will be made.

If you are a purist of details, the canvas collar will suit you better. The three panels of the collar are sewn by hand, providing a very light drape, a little "je ne sais quoi ..." that will satisfy the most picky. However, canvas collars are only found on high-end tailored shirts, which require a hefty budget.

On casual shirts, you'll find softer collars, with lighter constructions, potentially without fusing or interfacing. This is where you'll find button-down shirts, which have a "soft" collar but are held in place by buttons.

Choosing the right collar

This is one of the reasons why the shirt is an exceptional top: overusing a collar is good for your health. A marked collar will allow you to situate your style, and especially to highlight your pretty face. Let's learn here to differentiate the different styles of collars, so that you can shine in society.

Choose the size and nature of the collar according to the size of your head and neck. The collar is there to balance everything:

If you have a rather large head in relation to your shoulders, we recommend generous collars with points that fall downwards. For example, French or American collars are perfectly suited to this type of morphology.

If your face is rather narrow, choose short, open collars: a collar that is too big would be disproportionate, and a collar that is too closed would accentuate the narrowness of the face.

If you have a rather round face, it is advisable to opt for longer collars than the previous ones. A smaller collar would make the head appear larger than it is.

If you are hesitant about which collar to choose, we advise you to... try it! If the proportion rules seen above guide you in your choices, you must keep in mind that each morphology is different. So, no matter its nature, if a shirt with a particular collar catches your eye, go for it.

If you are fascinated by the science of the pass, we have written extensively about it here: you will find an ultra-complete compendium, sharp recommendations and ideas to break the monotony of passes . Quite a program!

How to Make a Good Shirt

As you might expect, a shirt is not the easiest garment for a manufacturer to make. It is therefore important to know the right details so that you are sure to make the right choice, and not fall into the traps of bad shirt manufacturers.

The first sign that doesn't lie is the quality of the seams. If your shirt has one panel larger than the other, and creases form because of the crooked seams, you can already move on.

Pay attention to the seams

Look closely at the visible seams. While some small imperfections are not to be excluded, the precision and sharpness of the seams can guide you on the intrinsic quality of the part you are analyzing.

The most meticulous will appreciate counting the number of stitches per centimeter: a decent shirt is often between 5 and 6 stitches per centimeter. Beyond 7 centimeters, you are in the presence of a very well-made shirt.

Learn to differentiate between the two main types of sewing: double-needle sewing, which clearly shows two parallel lines of stitching, and the more refined French seam, which shows only one line of stitching.

There is no major difference between the two in wear, with the double needle seam being the most common as it is easier to manufacture. The French seam, on the other hand, is more often found on high-end shirts.

Have a good back

Some shirts have pleats in the back (also called gussets) that further cinch the shirt at the kidneys or upper back, depending on the position of the pleat.

The wrists

Much like the collar, the cuff of your shirt is an important part of the shirt: it cannot be neglected. The shirt is worn, the cuff of the shirt should cover yours without ever tightening it.

A shirt worthy of the name will have the button loop lightly topstitched, preventing threads from going in all directions.

Another detail not to be overlooked is the capuchin tab: this small addition of fabric is there for several reasons. It allows you to easily roll up the sleeves of your shirt, and it is opened to iron the shirt more easily.

Let's be clear, it's also a finish that's highly appreciated by the shirt-wearing community: a beautiful capuchin tab with neat stitching automatically adds style.

In terms of length, the ideal sleeve covers the wrist, but no more.

The buttons

Another visible detail on a shirt is the buttons! As with the fabric, we strongly recommend opting for buttons made of natural materials, which are more elegant than their plastic counterparts. However, buttons made of natural materials (such as mother-of-pearl, horn or wood) are less durable, so you will have to choose between: prettier but potentially breakable buttons, or less elegant but more resistant buttons.

It all depends on how you'll use it. If you want to wear this shirt once a month, go for mother-of-pearl. If you want to wear the shirt once a week, go for plastic.

Reinforcement swallows

Don't neglect the bottom of your shirt! Whether it's rounded, straight or slit, pay attention to the quality of the fabric cut and the quality of the seams.

Another important point, the swallows! This small insert protects the join of the front and back of the shirt, which helps prevent tears after several wears.

They are even more important if you choose a fitted shirt: as soon as you sit down, all the tension of your movement will rest on this fragile seam.

What to keep in mind

As you will have understood, buying a shirt seems simple, but buying the one that really suits you is less easy .

Don't worry too much about the fineness of the thread, the type of cuff or the weft thread... Trust your impression when trying it on :

• Does the shirt fit me well (shoulder seams/volumes)
  adapted)?
• Do I find it comfortable?
• Do I like the material?

This is really the main thing. The other parameters are secondary.

Of course, studying the making of a garment allows you to recognize the quality where it is found, but buying a garment also involves your imagination.

It is over time that we can see what makes the “personality” of a shirt through the collar, the fabric, the cut, etc.

Little by little, you will discover that you like certain details more than others and this is how your own clothing sensitivity emerges.

If you are looking for more advice on shirts, you can check out this article where we discuss casual shirts , this article where we discuss shirts with attractive prices , or check out our dedicated page .

And here are our own shirts!

If you're looking for shirts cut from fabrics that tell a story, then you should sit down and take a look:

We went to find traditional chambrays in Japan, flannel in the Vosges, Oxford in Alsace, and seersucker in Italy. Smooth and sad fabrics like rain, no thanks.