Skip to content

Free Worldwide Shipping Over $99

Wish Lists
Cart
0 items

Popular Products

Mens Adjustable Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt - Genuine Leather Automatic Belt with No Holes

Mens Adjustable Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt - Genuine Leather Automatic Belt with No Holes - Brown

Product Description: Amedeo Exclusive introduces the Adjustable Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt for men. Made with genuine leather. One size fits most and no more making holes in your belts! This classy Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt for men will last LONG. Perfect Fit : Belt...
£48.00
£48.00
Perfect Fit No Holes Automatic Genuine Leather Buckle Belt For Men - Amedeo Exclusive

Mens Adjustable Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt - Genuine Leather Automatic Belt with No Holes

Product Description: Amedeo Exclusive introduces the Adjustable Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt for men. Made with genuine leather. One size fits most and no more making holes in your belts! This classy Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt for men will last LONG. Perfect Fit : Belt...
£63.00
£63.00
Men's White Belt Silver Buckle Standard Leather - Amedeo Exclusive

White Mens Adjustable Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt - Genuine Leather Automatic Belt with No Holes - White

Product Description: Amedeo Exclusive introduces the Adjustable Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt for men. Made with genuine leather. One size fits most and no more making holes in your belts! This classy Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt for men will last LONG. Perfect Fit : Belt...
£63.00
£63.00
Men's Black Belt Gold Buckle Standard Leather - Amedeo Exclusive

Black Belt Gold Buckle Mens Adjustable Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt - Genuine Leather Automatic Belt - Black and Gold

Product Description: Amedeo Exclusive introduces the Adjustable Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt for men. Made with genuine leather. One size fits most and no more making holes in your belts! This classy Ratchet Slide Buckle Belt for men will last LONG. Perfect Fit : Belt...
£63.00
£63.00
Cart
0 items

Shirts

GUIDE TO MEN’S BUTTON-UP SHIRTS

by Majid Jahangir 17 Aug 2022

The button up shirt is one of the most important pieces in any man’s wardrobe.

But, just like with any other piece of clothing, if your shirts don’t fit properly, they’re not going to do you any favors.

Shirts that fasten in the middle – you know, with buttons – are called button up shirts.

Button Down Vs Button Up Shirts:

Kinda like how all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares, all button-down shirts are button-ups, but not all button-ups are button-downs. A button-up shirt is any shirt that you close with a row of buttons in the front, while a button-down shirt is a button-up specifically with buttons at the end of the collar points that fasten the collar to the body of the shirt. This was designed originally by polo players in England back in the 19th century so that their shirt collars wouldn’t flip up while playing. Because of their origin in sports, button-down shirts are considered informal.

What different kinds of Shirts are there, and when is each appropriate?

Below, I’ve ranked four common button-up shirt types from least to most formal. Informal shirts can be worn while hanging out with friends, going to a dance party, cute coffee dates, etc. Formal shirts should be worn to weddings, fancy events, or for more traditional business settings. For the sake of brevity, this guide does not include even more formal options like tuxedo shirts.

The informal work or utility shirt

Button up dress shirt

 

This is the type of button-up shirt I wear most often. It typically has two pockets (often with their own buttons), and is made from thicker, less structured cotton, chambray, denim, or flannel. The collar is soft, not stiff. Sometimes the collar points include buttons, and sometimes the shirt features a chin strap (extra bit of fabric and an extra button at the top of the button placket). This shirt is extremely casual; wear with jeans, cords, shorts, etc. If you want to dress it up with a tie you can, but make sure it’s cotton or linen, as silk should be reserved for formal shirts. You can wear a handkerchief around your neck with one of these shirts, too, leaving the top button unbuttoned.

The classic button-down shirt

Button up Shirts

 

I wear this kind of button-up shirt often as well. Usually they have a single pocket on the left with no button, and they commonly have a box pleat in the back. Their collars are soft and unstructured, and the collar tips have holes to be buttoned down to the shirt (keep these buttoned). These shirts are often made from a thicker type of cotton with a weave called Oxford cloth, hence some of these shirts being referred to as “Oxfords.” Wear with jeans, chinos, cords, or shorts; a cotton or wool sweater; or a casual sport jacket or blazer. Don’t wear a button-down like this to anything actually formal, but if you want to, you can dress it up for everyday wear with a cotton or linen tie.

The business shirt

Button up Shirts

 

Business button-up shirts usually do not have a button-down collar, and it’s collar and cuffs are stiffer. They’re usually made from a thinner soft cotton twill or poplin weave, and are often found in blue tones in solid colors or with a subtle pattern. Wear them with dress slacks and a jacket, or dress down a little with chinos. This shirt is medium formality, and can be worn in business settings, or at less formal events. If you’d like to add a tie, silk is a good choice.

The dress shirt

Button up Shirts

 

button-up Dress shirts are the thinnest of the shirts shown here, as they’re made to be worn under a suit jacket. They usually don’t have pockets, and their collars are stiff and sometimes spread wide like the example above, though often dress shirts have a slightly less formal point collar. They may have collar stays, which are plastic or metal pieces inserted into small pockets under each collar point to keep them stiff (remove collar stays while washing and ironing). The cuffs are either buttoned, or have button holes for cufflinks.

How is each kind of shirt styled?

Casual button-up shirts with flat hems are made to be worn untucked, while U-shaped hems should be tucked into your waistband (line up your shirt seam line, and your belt buckle if applicable, with your pants fly). If you’re wearing your shirt unbuttoned over a tee or tank top, leave it untucked; if you’re wearing a blazer, sweater, or vest over your shirt, tuck your shirt in.

If your tie is tied, make sure your top button is also buttoned (you can always loosen your tie and unbutton the top button when it’s time to relax or if you’re out dancing). To roll up your sleeves, unbutton all of your arm buttons and fold each sleeve three times; then, if you want to, you can push the roll up past your elbow. When you’re done, don’t forget to button all the buttons back up again.

As with any rules, feel free to break them once you know them.

What about fit?

A good fit is hard to find! A button-up shirt fits correctly when:

  • The shoulder seam lines up with the edge of your shoulders
  • The cuff ends at the base of your thumb where your palm begins (so it completely covers your wrist)
  • You can fit two fingers between your neck and the collar
  • There’s enough room to move around in the body while being snug and not baggy

If you’re a smaller person and men’s small sizes are still too big, try the kids’ section — I’ve helped a few friends find really well fitting shirts in boys size 12, 14, or 16, and (bonus!) they are usually priced a lot lower. Unfortunately for more curvy folks, I think “women’s” shirts often have a better fit around the hips and chest, but it’s hard to find them without darts, pleats, or frills.

Button up dress shirt

I’ve had good luck finding more masculine shirts in the women’s section of J. Crew, and GAP’s “boyfriend” type button-up shirts can be good too. For more formal shirts, Brooks Brothers has great women’s options, some of which are more masculine cut. If you’re looking for a good quality shirt on a budget, check out J. Crew’s sales (and sign up for their email list), or go straight to J. Crew Factory. I usually get my shirts in the $20 to $25 range there.

How do I care for my shirts?

Certain button-up shirts are easier to care for than others. I tend to stick to cotton, since I’m not a fan of the feel of synthetic materials and most “no iron” button-up shirts feel funny to me. I usually wash my Oxford/button-down/work shirts on cold, then hang them to dry (I would not recommend putting any of these types of shirts in a dryer, though I know a lot of folks do). I don’t often iron my button-up shirts because I’m lazy and they’re generally casual enough that it doesn’t really matter, but you should absolutely iron a button-up dress shirt.

930 x 520px

SPRING SUMMER LOOKBOOK

Sample Block Quote

Praesent vestibulum congue tellus at fringilla. Curabitur vitae semper sem, eu convallis est. Cras felis nunc commodo eu convallis vitae interdum non nisl. Maecenas ac est sit amet augue pharetra convallis.

Sample Paragraph Text

Praesent vestibulum congue tellus at fringilla. Curabitur vitae semper sem, eu convallis est. Cras felis nunc commodo eu convallis vitae interdum non nisl. Maecenas ac est sit amet augue pharetra convallis nec danos dui. Cras suscipit quam et turpis eleifend vitae malesuada magna congue. Damus id ullamcorper neque. Sed vitae mi a mi pretium aliquet ac sed elitos. Pellentesque nulla eros accumsan quis justo at tincidunt lobortis deli denimes, suspendisse vestibulum lectus in lectus volutpate.
Prev Post
Next Post

Thanks for subscribing!

This email has been registered!

Shop the look

Choose Options

Recently Viewed

Edit Option
Have Questions?
Back In Stock Notification
Terms & Conditions
What is Lorem Ipsum? Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum. Why do we use it? It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using 'Content here, content here', making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for 'lorem ipsum' will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like).
this is just a warning
Login
Shopping Cart
0 items