The White Button Down Shirt

Consider it Sorted

The White Button Down Shirt

The white button down is the least interesting thing in a wardrobe and the one people replace most often, because fabric and fit decide everything. Poplin holds a line, cotton voile and linen soften, and the cut of the shoulder is what makes a shirt look flimsy or not. This edit sorts them by fabric, by twist, and by the plain version that goes with everything.

Poplin, cotton, linen and oxford

Poplin is the crisp one that stays sharp under a blazer, oxford is heavier and softens with washing, linen creases on purpose. Check the shoulder seam and the placket, since those are the two things a photograph will show. These are the fabric first shirts.

Cropped, corseted and tied

The twisted versions exist because a plain shirt is easy to make and hard to sell. Cropped hems, corset panels, tie fronts and asymmetric plackets all change the proportion without changing the shirt. These are the ones with a detail.

The plain white shirt

The plain white shirt is the one that gets worn twice a week and outlasts everything else in the drawer. No embroidery, no eyelet, no print, just the shape. These are the plain ones.

Our honest take

Buy the plain poplin first and only then the version with a twist. If it is see through under a flash, it will be see through in every group photo.