Formal versus Casual: Shirts

Deciding what to wear depends on how formal the occasion will be and choosing your clothes to be equally formal. This way you don't show up wearing black-tie when every one else is wearing a sport coat. It's just as awkward if you are the only guy wearing jeans and a golf shirt, when every one else at the party is wearing a suit.

So let's start with dress shirts, where the level of formality is determined by color, sleeves and collars. The most formal color is white, followed by blue. Yellow, gold, pink and lilac are a bit less formal. Shirt colors like red or green, especially if they are dark or saturated colors tend more toward the casual side. In general, lighter shades of a color, like a pale mint green, are less casual. If you're going to be interviewed on television, a light or medium blue is a good color because it makes your face look more healthy by contrast. The pink and lilac colors don't appeal to some men, but they can be very complementary to a man with a darker or tanned face. These colors can also complement a man with red hair and a light complexion. Patterned shirts with checks or stripes on a white or colored background are less formal and can be just the thing for a casual event.

The most formal collars to wear with black tie are the wing collar and the starched turndown collar. Both of these are a good match for the formal bow tie that you tie yourself. The pre-tied bow tie looks too perfect and doesn't express your personality the way a self-tied bow tie does.

The next formal collar worn with a suit or sport coat is the spread collar. The spread collar has a wide opening for the necktie, with the points spread any where from 4 to 6 inches. These are popular in England and look great with a tie using a large Windsor knot.

Another good choice is the point collar, which is one of the more popular collars in the USA. The point collar spread that holds the knot of your tie is narrower than the spread collar.

One of the most popular collars, and the most sold in the US, is the button down collar. The button down collar is more casual than other types so it's great with sport coats or sweaters. The button down is not formal enough for many job interviews, but it's great for day to day business wear and casual socials events. A well made button down has certain curve that causes the collar to bulge out just a tiny bit from the buttons.

The most casual sleeve is a regular barrel cuff with one button. More formal shirts or custom made shirts often use a barrel cuff with two or even three buttons in a straight line. The most formal shirts, again more popular in England are the double or French cuffs that have no buttons at all. Instead a stud called a cufflink is placed through the holes in both sides of the sleeve. The French cuffs are a great touch to add snap to any suit. These are also a great touch for more formal social events.

By keeping a variety of these colors, cuffs and collars in your shirt collection, you can dress up or down as you need to for different social events.