shirt Talk: first note
To be honest, shirts have not been a big priority in my sartorial journey until recently.
That’s not to say I didn’t appreciate or see the importance of a good shirt and that all the shirts I had were complete garbage. In any case I am now finally on the path to a small upgrade.
But let me explain this. I am still struggling with the notion that shirts are consumables that have a rather short life expectancy. As has been pointed out in earlier articles, I am not completely adjusted to the hotter and more humid climate in Japan and probably never will be. Thus, the dreaded collar stains are a lot more of a concern than they used to be when I lived in a cooler climate.
Secondly, I know, dry cleaners, warm water and so on, but having a shirt ruined by other unremovable stains is one of my biggest fears (sartorially speaking that is). This is also the reason you’ll see me wear striped shirts disproportionally often, as I find myself more at ease wearing them.
Lastly, I’m an avid gym goer which affects shoulder and chest size up and down quite a lot throughout the year. Usually not enough to make jackets unwearable, although the size jump from last year to this was the reason for me starting the upgrade of my suit collection.
With regards to shirts which I prefer to be fitted (not skinny), that line between sizes is a lot more precarious. This was the case with the fluctuation in size around my “normal” size last year and similarly the case with the size I am at this year, which is the size I will keep as my “normal” from now on.
In summary, the sudden gain in knowledge, the focus on suits etc. in the wardrobe upgrade and prior biases has not made it possible to keep up in the process on the shirt side of things.
And as a second summary, for me, the closer to the body an item is, the less willing I am to take a step outside the ready to wear realm.
Despite bespoke shirts still being quite a few steps away, I have at least started the process of upgrading the shirt part of the wardrobe. Keeping in mind my previous reluctantness with regards to shirts, I started my upgrade by approaching two brands I am familiar with and that I have nothing but good experience with, both in terms of quality and style.
The brands in question being Errico Formicola and Ring Jacket Napoli, both providing shirts I would put in the upper end of ready-to-wear in terms of quality and in case of the latter, craftsmanship.
I am quite close to having a good base with some variety but it should come as no surprise that even for shirts, Neapolitan tailoring became a hit. I will present shirts from these brands in the future as they seem to get quite a bit of interest from readers and viewers.
Stay tuned.
