Types of Men’s Shirts: A Complete Style Guide

There are five shirts worth building a wardrobe around: the dress shirt, the Oxford, the check, the resort shirt and the overshirt. This guide covers what each one is, the fabric it should be cut from, when to wear it and how it ought to fit.

The humble shirt, the foundation of any man's wardrobe, built to give you that extra bit of confidence you need when it matters the most. For weddings, parties, and those christenings that start off tame but always end up becoming the rowdiest night out regardless; there's a variation of men's shirts designed to keep it all together, even when you've disposed of the tie.

But beyond the ubiquitous polo and the obligatory dress shirt for formal occasions, there's a whole world of styles and different types of men’s shirts out there, just waiting to be explored. We're talking about those pieces that not only make you look smart, but also whisper your personality, elevate your style, and make you feel like a million quid.

So, whether you're a seasoned style aficionado or someone who just needs a wardrobe refresh, allow us to delve deeper into the world of men's shirting, and all of the ways you can shop them at EQVVS.

For those high-stakes meetings, weddings, and occasions where you need something a bit more elevated, the shirt is your weapon of choice...

The Maths:

...and you could do it in a 30 quid number from the high street, or you could tot up the cost per wear and longevity of a designer shirt. Without wheeling out a chalkboard and laying it on thick with maths and numbers; paying a bit extra for a designer one at, lets say £150 and wearing it once a week costs you about £2.80 each wear. Or you could replace a load of £30 shirts 3 or 4 times a year.

The Materials:

Fabric-wise, designer shirts generally use premium fabrics like Egyptian Cotton, high-thread count cottons, and linens or silks, often with hand-finished features, finer stitching and sewing, reinforcements in crucial areas, and the general tailoring is a hallmark of quality.

Your regular shirts from high streets are considerable less durable, predominantly machine-made, they're less robust and likely to show imperfections.

Outside of the typical Oxford or Dress Shirt, even designer overshirts  have a lot to offer in terms of quality, with the use of organic cotton, with a high GSM, meaning they're durable and long-lasting.

How it fares in the Washing Machine: 

Provided you've washed according to the care label, a designer shirt will hold up, retain its colour and its shape in the washing machine, where your high street equivalent needs replacing after a twenty washes. Likely due to fabric piling, poor colour retention, and a shrunken or stretched out main body.

Sizing and fit: 

With tailoring comes a much more refined guide for garment sizing and fit. Where high street brands fall at the sizing hurdle is through the machine made, fast-out-the-warehouse production lines, and here the sizing becomes inconsistent. 

Don’t Forget the Details: Pay attention to collar styles (button-down, spread, cutaway), cuff styles (single, double, French), and pocket details.

The type of shirt collar you opt for, lends to how the shirt is going to fit, feel and look as a final outfit.

If you're suited and booted, with a four-in-hand knotted tie to finish, you'll want a classic, or point collar, with a narrow spread. For a Windsor knot, the same applies with a wider spread.

The buttoned-down collar, originally worn by English Polo Players, has since become a favourite in America, offering a traditional ivy-league, preppy look.

A band collar was pretty commonplace, originally sold because shirts and collars used to be made separately. So, back in the day men would secure a starched collar to the band of a soft shirt. Now it's more of a stylistic choice to go collarless.

Camp-collars (or Cuban collar), native to a classic resort shirt is inspired by the comfort of a pyjama shirt. The collar is split into two separate parts- resembling the notch lapel on a jacket. 

Cuffs are another detail worth knowing about. 

The buttoned barrel cuff is the everyday standard when it comes to cuffs. A clean and streamlined look that's ideal for office and smart-dress settings. 

A French (double) cuff is for cufflinks. The fabric folds back over itself and is secured by cufflinks. Whether you've got your own pair, or your borrowing from the old man, the French cuff is the popular choice for fine tailoring, black-tie and formal business events. 

When it comes to shirting, how it fits really is the 'dotting of the i's and crossing of the t's'.

For the laid-back and casual, an oversized shirt is going to go against most of the standard rules for shirts and fits. Do with that what you will. 

However, for those of us powering up for a day in the office, where business formal is the expectation- we've listed a handful of key shirting checks you should be doing in front of the mirror. 

1. Collar: When buttoned, you should be able to get two fingers comfortably between the fabric and your neck. 

2. Shoulders: The seam should run down to the edge of your shoulder, not as far down as your bicep and not pulling up towards your neck. 

3. Sleeves and cuffs: A slight taper from the bicep to your arm on the sleeves, without restricting the movement of your elbow. And cuffs should sit at your wrist bone. 

4. Torso and chest: The fabric across your chest shouldn't be so tight that it created a keyhole between the buttons, and offer just enough free movement across the chest without being too baggy. 

A fit guide overview: 

In Layman's terms, shirts, and tops on a wider scope, generally fall under the fits Slim, Regular and Oversized. Describing how they're designed to fit comes with the possibility of sounding condescending, but in short: 

Slim: narrow through the torso, they're cut close to the body and taper through to the waist. 

Regular: A classic, straight cut from pit to waist, looser on the sleeves, and generally offers more airflow around the midriff than a slim fit. 

Relaxed/Oversized: Often more of a casual, statement piece, an oversized fit generally drops at the shoulders, loose round the arms, and boxy through the torso. 

 The Power Player: The Dress Shirt

A dress shirt is a formal shirt with a stiffened collar, a plain weave and no chest pocket, cut to be worn with a tie and a jacket. Ideal for high-stakes meetings, weddings, christenings and any occasion where you need to channel some formality.

The Everyday Hero: The Oxford Shirt

Made from Oxford cloth, a basketweave cotton, and traditionally has a button-down collar, the Oxford is all about refined simplicity, it effortlessly transitions from casual Fridays to smart-casual events. A great one that's available in a range of colourways from the likes of Polo Ralph Lauren. 

The Country Gentleman: The Check Shirt

The check shirt as a category actually covers a whole host of styles including gingham, tartan, plaid, windowpane, buffalo check, madras and probably loads more. It actually spans trends on an even wider scale than just the country folk. Workwear leans into it as well, it's all round casual-dressing but certainly makes a statement.

The Laid-Back Luxury: The Resort Shirt

Gone are the days of the resort shirt being exclusively for the Benidorm stag-do. An ongoing trend over the last few years, the resort shirt often features a camp collar (aka Cuban Collar or Revere Collar). Think lightweight fabrics like linen or cotton, breezy silhouettes, and bold, vibrant patterns. 

The Modern Classic: Overshirts

An overshirt is a shirt cut heavier and roomier than a standard shirt, designed to be worn as a light layer over a t-shirt or fine knit. A sort of Shirt/Jacket hybrid, who can deny the versatility of a light jacket that also maintains the casual ease of a top? With a foot in the door of both the technical and military world of Stone Island, C.P. Company and Belstaff, and the Workwear charms seen across the Carhartt WIP catalogue, the Overshirt is a pretty versatile choice for smart/casual.

Natural fibres like Cotton, Wool and Linen are prone to shrinking from heat and moisture, where the hot temperatures of the washing machine cause the fibres to contract and expand and breaks the bonds holding the fibres together temporarily. When they rapidly dry, the fibres recoil tighter. 

To avoid shrinkage, best practice is to follow the instructions on the care label. Throwing a cotton shirt in a wash over 60 degrees will definitely shrink the fibres, but even a 40 degree wash can shrink an untreated cotton by as much as 5%, so overtime the fibres relax and contract and completely mis-shape your shirt.