Collared and Cuffed

We attended an event over the weekend for which we needed to dress up, and as I was planning what to wear I got to thinking about how my taste in dress shirts has changed. I used to choose dress shirts with a traditional point collar, as I am still a believer in the "rule" that one should not wear a button-down collar shirt with a suit (I'm totally okay with it when wearing a sportcoat and trousers).

I used to dislike spread-collar dress shirts, though at this point I can't remember why. I started noticing pictures of men dressed up—in catalogs, in magazines, at red-carpet events—and I realized that a spread collar shirt is an excellent way to elevate one's outfit just a bit more. It's classic and classy, and you don't have to worry about using a certain kind of tie knot; as long as your knot is well-formed, it will look just fine with a spread collar. (I don't really care for the cutaway collar, though; it's just a bit too dandyish for me, and it does require a Windsor or other chunky knot to look right.)

I also came to realize that a dress shirt doesn't need a pocket. I am someone who prefers my casual shirts to have a pocket, because I end up using it frequently, but if you're already wearing a suit then you have at least two or three inside jacket pockets available to you, so the dress shirt pocket is superfluous, and a dress shirt just looks cleaner and sharper without it.

Regarding one's cuffs, a lot of more style-conscious men now prefer their dress shirts with french cuffs, which is perfectly fine, but I find this is often just an excuse to wear whimsical cuff links. I am guilty of this (I own cuff links made from old typewriter keys), but I also have a pair that came with a shirt that are just pairs of buttons with about half an inch of thread between them (the thread is wound around itself a number of times to make it stiffer and easier to handle), and I have come to appreciate the quiet dignity (and low cost) of plain silk knots.

However, I've found that there are occasions when I feel that cuff links are a bit too dressy, and I prefer the look of a two-button cuff. I don't mean the kind that allows for a narrower or thicker wrist, but two buttons side by side with two buttonholes. It's more distinctive because it's less commonly seen, and even if no one else notices, I still know it's there.

It's possible to find all these attributes on one shirt, but it takes some sleuthing. The best source I have found for reasonably priced shirts with all these style options is Charles Tyrwhitt (and they are almost always running some sort of sale or promotion). But when I go bargain-hunting for dress shirts in Marshalls, I know that I'll probably have to compromise on at least one of these details.

Ralph Lauren shirts tend to be widely available at discounted prices, and I like them quite a bit, but I have yet to find one with a two-button cuff. A while back I found a USA-made shirt by Ike Behar for $20, but it had a pocket; I bought it anyway. A striped shirt by Tommy Hilfiger was exactly like one I was looking to replace, but it had a point collar. Again, for only $20 it didn't matter so much. Now I just need places to wear them...