Grey Shirts

[Melcombe]

My dear late father always suggested that grey shirts were the height of sophistication. I never really took that idea on board when much younger since my school uniform to age 13 included a grey cotton flannel shirt (Clydella, I think they were called). For similar reasons Ive always felt ill at ease with corduroy shorts (conkers in pockets of course) and jumpers with knitted stand-and-fall collars.

I do however love a bargain - don't we all? - so in Ede & Ravenscroft's sale I acquired a grey end-on-end shirt, which is in itself a lovely piece of chemiserie.

But it doesn't really go with anything in the line of a plain charcoal or navy suit. Or at least to my mind it doesn't. Even ties are tricky : green or black are ok, but anything blue or red seems odd.

This is all quite strange. Am I in need of an eye test - or a sartorial preference bypass op? I can't say on reflection I've seen too many plain grey shirts in shop windows or being worn, so maybe others find the same?

I think Dad's views might have referred to what was current around mid 20th C, but thinking about it, I never actually saw him wearing one either..

Is a grey shirt the equivalent to a car with yellow paintwork - nice concept with dire reality - or should I just get over myself?

[hectorm]

My dear late father always suggested that grey shirts were the height of sophistication. ..But it doesn't really go with anything in the line of a plain charcoal or navy suit. Or at least to my mind it doesn't. I can't say on reflection I've seen too many plain grey shirts in shop windows or being worn, so maybe others find the same?

Sophisticated or not, I have not found a wide role for plain grey dress shirts in my wardrobe and I currently own only a couple of them. Both RTW (now that I think of it I realize that I have never commissioned one custom made shirt in that color).
Having experimented in the past, I have now narrowed the jobs of these grey shirts to much defined functions. One of these shirts is a rather heavy Oxford button down which I find a good correspondence for my light grey/dark grey herringbone tweed sack jacket and flannels or black wide wale cords. In this case the good match is a solid black grenadine or knit necktie. The other shirt -in a more delicate cotton- I think very appropriate to wear with my charcoal suit and some foulard-patterned black background necktie. Not a very uplifting combination but a useful one especially when travelling since it makes a good transition from business to night outings.

[rodes]

I have one, a pale, end-on-end with white spread collar and like it. Tend to wear it with a dark blue suit, especially the one navy chalk stripe that I own. Indeed I commissioned the shirt mainly for wear with this suit. I really like the suit but, find it non-versatile with shirts (and ties), really looking smart only with plain white. The plan worked.

[Concordia]

The closest I'd want to get is a pale grey grid or hairline stripe on white. It might be an interesting mix with a French blue suit. Bonfanti has a few.

Even there, I'd want to be quite sure about what I'd do with it. Whereas nearly any sort of blue I'd find an obvious use for.

[hectorm]

Tend to wear it with a dark blue suit, especially the one navy chalk stripe that I own.... I really like the suit but, find it non-versatile with shirts (and ties), really looking smart only with plain white.

It´s true that any shirt other than a bright white one changes the nature of a blue chalk stripe suit. Even wearing an ivory white shirt would really tone it down a couple of notches.
But that doesn´t mean the suit cannot be somewhat versatile. Wearing it with a light blue shirt makes me feel more relaxed and less board room. I have also worn it successfully with a gingham shirt on days off just for city strolling.

[davidhuh]

But it doesn't really go with anything in the line of a plain charcoal or navy suit. Or at least to my mind it doesn't. Even ties are tricky : green or black are ok, but anything blue or red seems odd.

Dear David,

I have my 3 shades of grey (linen shirts, no worries) - they work with navy and burgundy. I don't wear them very often though and will hardly extend the selection... I have to think too hard to make it work, which is not a good sign.

Cheers, David

[J.S. Groot]

(Light) gray shirts pop up quite frequently in old Apparel Arts/Esquire drawings - along with a host of other colours that are rarely seen today (including green and brown).

Although I would be vary of solid gray shirting, I see no reason why patterned gray shirts shouldn't work well with a variety of suits and jackets. When they appear in the drawings of old, if my memory serves, they are often combined with garments in brown and tan shades. Green seems a like a well suited candidate too, especially given how green and blue is often not the best match.

Of course, the conceptual level of AA/Esq is one thing. Putting it into practice is something else entirely. I've just commissioned a shirt in a light gray POW poplin. Admittedly, it is my first, however, I plan to get a lot of use from it as gray generally agrees with me. We'll see.

[Concordia]

If nothing else, you won't have to wash it very often.

[davidhuh]

If nothing else, you won't have to wash it very often.

[hectorm]

I see no reason why patterned gray shirts shouldn't work well with a variety of suits and jackets... Putting it into practice is something else entirely.

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to drop by Charvet and venture up the elevator into the 3rd. floor. Although a clear minority compared with whites or blues, the array of available grey shirting is still mind boggling. At least 30-40 bolts (yes, bolts, not swatches) of just the most beautiful shades and patterns in grey. Browsing through that treasure it´s impossible not to fall in love with some of these fabrics and into the trap of selecting something extraordinary that will be difficult to match with your jackets. I saw some examples of which I wouldn´t mind to have the shirt first and find the jacket later....

[Melcombe]

I see no reason why patterned gray shirts shouldn't work well with a variety of suits and jackets... Putting it into practice is something else entirely.

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to drop by Charvet and venture up the elevator into the 3rd. floor. Although a clear minority compared with whites or blues, the array of available grey shirting is still mind boggling. At least 30-40 bolts (yes, bolts, not swatches) of just the most beautiful shades and patterns in grey. Browsing through that treasure it´s impossible not to fall in love with some of these fabrics and into the trap of selecting something extraordinary that will be difficult to match with your jackets. I saw some examples of which I wouldn´t mind to have the shirt first and find the jacket later....

I quite understand that line of thought : my grey shirt is lovely in itself - the end on end fabric is very even (I dont like the slubby e-o-e you often see), lustrous and comfortable. Then you try it with a blue coat. Then a grey. Then despair begins to settle...

I think I have found the optimum companion - in my brown herringbone (thornproof) tweed. Just about enough contrast in colour and texture, plus a green grenadine tie. And then it just about scrapes home.

Lesson learnt : there's a reason you never find good white shirts in the sale : they - unlike the contents of the sale rail - DO go with everything.

[Luca]

my grey shirt is lovely in itself ...Then you try it with a blue coat. Then a grey. Then despair begins to settle...

Somewhat off-topic but this is what I have found with a lot of "great-looking" ties and pocket squares.

[Frederic Leighton]

[...] At least 30-40 bolts (yes, bolts, not swatches) of just the most beautiful shades and patterns in grey. Browsing through that treasure it´s impossible not to fall in love with some of these fabrics and into the trap of selecting something extraordinary that will be difficult to match with your jackets. [...]

You are an aesthete, Hectorm!
I think I feel the same in museums, libraries and at cheese counters.

[...] my grey shirt is lovely in itself - the end on end fabric is very even (I dont like the slubby e-o-e you often see), lustrous and comfortable. Then you try it with a blue coat. Then a grey. Then despair begins to settle... I think I have found the optimum companion - in my brown herringbone (thornproof) tweed. [...]

Melcombe, I have seen grey shirts in the very even, lustrous fabric you describe (although not end-on-end) successfully paired with a stroller ensemble. Very fine self-herringbone and Bengal stripes, the latter with white collar and cuffs. Grey shirts could come handy when exploring the mysterious and magical land of Morning Trousers.

Somewhat off-topic but this is what I have found with a lot of "great-looking" ties and pocket squares.

I can relate to this, Luca. Since the arrival of my new linen pocket square - improved size compared to the first one - all my other pocket squares have reached retirement. Then I pull the drawer to pick a tie and can't help but observe how happy I would be with 18 identical b/w-houndstooth silk ties.

[hectorm]

There's a reason you never find good white shirts in the sale : they - unlike the contents of the sale rail - DO go with everything.

White shirts may go with everything .....side by side jackets and ties on the counter.
But not with a pale face that needs to be illuminated and invigorated.

[rodes]

The more I think on this question, the more sense the grey shirt seems to make. I would even go so far as to advise a man who wears a coat and tie every day to have at least one. It is a smart and acceptable alternative for the white. Every one who wears a suit daily probably has at least one, perhaps two, in dark blue. With this suit the pale grey is quite stylish.