The Finer points: Choose your shirt’s cloth wisely

[alden]

This is the first in a series of posts to highlight some of the finer points of dress that the experienced members will know but might be good news for the neophytes.

Since we have been discussing shirting cloth recently, I thought it a good idea to remind our younger readers to choose shirting cloth that works well with the fabrics of their suits or jackets.

The default shirting for most men is cotton. But as much as cotton is universally approved there are times when other fabric types would do better because their textures render a more harmonious overall image with outerwear.

Linen suiting, as an example, has a special texture that works best with a linen shirt. You might find cotton fabric that mimics the texture of linen, but the standard clean cotton that works so well with the finely milled worsted wool, looks out of place with linen.

If you are a tweed lover, you might have learned to prefer a wool blend shirt of the Viyella variety to wear with your rustic treasures. The hefty nature of wool blends works in harmony with the wooly look of most tweeds. Once again, a fine cotton shirt, mainly a city shirt, looks forlorn and puny set up against a great Donegal or Shetland tweed.

Vary your shirting selection according to the types of fabrics you have in your wardrobe so that the most advantageous pairings are available to you. And remember to choose the material for your tie, if you are one of the happy few that still wear them, to combine with both the shirt and suiting material.

Cheers