The many ways to wear a white shirt
Shirtmakers Turnbull & Asser teach us how to style this most versatile of garments
Words: Gentleman's Journal
The white shirt is likely a garment that will keep cropping up on the most significant days of your life. From your first day at school, through your graduation, to your wedding, most milestones are achieved from behind a crisp collar and seven or so buttons.
But although the white shirt is most commonly – and, arguably, successfully – paired with a suit and tie, there is a multitude of wardrobe options to keep this sartorial basic at the head of the pack. Allow Royal Warrant shirtmakers, Turnbull & Asser, to show you how to get white right.
Exemplified by T&A’s Slim Fit White Cotton Shirt with a Regent Collar, the classic white shirt is your typical suiting shirt. Exceptionally made, this is a shirt made to be worn with a tie; a solid foundation for a stylish outfit.
By going white, you can opt for a more exciting tie, or even a patterned or alternatively-coloured suit. This may be the most basic way to wear a white shirt, but its neutrality will ground your outfit and allow for expression elsewhere.
Levelling things up slightly, the white shirt is also intrinsically linked to the smartest of styles; black tie. Dinner jackets, tuxedos, whatever you want to call them, are all devised to showcase the abrupt breaks of black and white throughout the outfit.
And no shirt shines whiter that T&A’s White Sea Island Quality Cotton Dress Shirt. With a classic Turnbull & Asser collar, perfect for threading that bow tie through, this is the pinnacle of sartorial starting points. Its pleated front may limit the times you can wear it but, as we said, the white shirt isn’t as simple as your may think…
But white shirts, for all their pristine quality and sharp lines, don’t always have to be formal. Turnbull & Asser attest to this with their tellingly-named ‘Informalist’ range. Collegiate, walking the line between slim and regular fit shirts, and designed to look as good untucked or tucked in, this is a wardrobe must-have.
Pair with jeans or chinos, and a casual jacket – which will compliment the less-starched Canoe cutaway collar and give you the look of a man who means business, but can do off-duty just as well.
Another way to wear a white shirt is to dress it down in the office environment. It’s a dangerous game to play – you don’t want to end up looking scruffy – but Turnbull & Asser’s Slim Fit White Oxford with button-down collar hits the mark.
Try wearing it with sleeves slightly rolled up and a more textured tie, such as something knitted. The button-down collar gives it a slight preppy feel, but will keep things in place, and the shape will ensure you can leave your jacket at home.
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