Classic designer shirts for men
When talking about classic designer shirts for men, we mean the sober and traditional style, even better if white. The collar must be traditional French or Italian style, with ironed and starched wings, firmly folded over and with the top button closed. These are the bon ton rules for black tie dress code that requires the use of a tie or bow tie. From this starting point, classic designer shirts for men can take on their own character and personality thanks to accessories and added details. Must-have models arrive from Prada, Zegna and Alexander McQueen. Let’s discover together how to make a classic designer shirt for men into something unique and match it with elegant outfits such as English morning dress, tailcoats, and dinner jackets.
Classic shirts for men, in perfect British style
The ideal shirt for English morning dress is regular or slim-fit, with a classic collar and double cufflinks. It must be strictly pure white, starched and perfect: that’s how the English wear it! The sober style of this shirt goes perfectly with a double-breasted or traditional waistcoat, closed with buttons in full view. To finish it off, a long morning coat and formal trousers. Generally, the white shirt for morning dress and the ‘lighter’ Black Lounge version should be smooth and plain, with no frills or decoration. Remember that the British moniker ‘morning dress’ says it all: strictly for morning events, and certainly never to be seen after 6pm.
A classic designer shirt with a tailcoat and dinner jackets.
The other two formal options for men are dinner jackets and tailcoats (also known as frock coats). The latter stands out for the long jacket that splits into two tails to trail down over hips and thighs. The shirt worn with a tailcoat usually comes with a band in silk and satin to highlight the man’s waist. Another type of classic shirt that goes well with a tailcoat is a cotton twill weave, usually regular and basic-fit in Egyptian cotton, decorated with a pleated front or ornate frills. A tailcoat can be worn in the evening but also during the day, if the invitation indicates white tie dress code. Simpler and less fussy, a white shirt with a dinner jacket: the absolute epitome of stylishness for men.
How to pair and wear a classic shirt
An elegant classic shirt for men must be worn like a second skin, and (above all) enhance the jacket it is worn with. A regular and basic fit is perfect whether with morning dress with lateral cuts and mid-length tails, or with a more casual Black Lounge morning dress, rounded at the front and straight at the back, without the typical tails. Also with a classic dinner jacket, a shirt must be as simple as possible, without frills and frippery. For special occasions, if you want to turn your tailcoat up a notch, you can jazz a shirt up with ruches, pleats or silk and satin bands, coordinated or with sober and natural shades.
Elegant shirt and accessories
A formal item like this can be enhanced with a pair of golden, silver or mother-of-pearl cufflinks, even embedded with diamonds in the style of millionaire footballers and jet-set rappers. Ties and bow ties must be coordinated with the jacket and personally selected according to the stature and figure of the gent in question. For an even more elegant touch to the entire outfit, add a folded silk handkerchief to the top jacket pocket.
