• Home
• /
• Lifestyle

What's a man to wear to office? Here's insight on, yes - shirts

Want to be a dandy dresser who everyone compliments? It's not that hard. Do some research. And pay more attention to fabric and cut

Most of our time is spent at the office, yet we often give more importance to the clothes we wear on the weekend, or for an evening out than to our work clothes. The staple of a man's wardrobe is his shirt, and while you can never go wrong with a white Oxford shirt, there is much more to office wear than this staple. The reason the white shirt is associated with business and professional men is because it requires laundering after every wear, whereas a blue collar that the 'workers' wore does not need such attention or care. But all that's changed now - the blue collar is very much a part of men's professional wardrobes.
The first thing to look at when buying a shirt is fabric. If it feels good, it's probably good. A good work shirt should be thicker than your dress shirt, yet soft to touch. Next, look at the buttons and the stitching, often the telltale signs of a badly-made shirt. Single stitching is always preferred. Buttons should never have a plastic look, and should be well fastened into buttonholes, and have no hanging threads.
Collars and the fit come next. Before you go shirt shopping, know your neck and sleeve length size to the half inch - and when buying cotton shirts, always allow for shrinkage. The collar is basically an extension of your face. As a general rule, if you have a rounded face that is on the heavier side, long collars work better and you need to avoid button-down collars. Find a brand that works for you. Of course, you can splurge on a Thomas Pink or a Berluti. But there are fabulous high street options too.
sujata@khaleejtimes.com
Sujata is KT's fashion editor. She makes it her business to stay on trend