Formal shirts

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The traditional English formal shirt is a garment which features cuffs, a collar and a vertical opening down the middle with a line of buttons. Called a 'formal' shirt in the UK it's named a 'dress' shirt in the US.

A 'formal' shirt should classically be worn with a tie or bow tie for formal occasions, but can be worn with an open collar for casual occasions. The below images are provided from 'Charles Tyrwhitt'.

The above shirt is an example of a plain formal shirt.

There are however a large variety of formal shirts, to the untrained eye they may look very similar, but there are distinctive designs. Formal shirts are typically classified by a few key ingredients, the type of collar, and the pattern of the material.

The main major distinction is sleeved and sleeveless shirts. After this we get into the various material patterns. Which can be categorised into three designs,

1. Plain
2. Check
3. Stripe

We then get into the variety of collars available. Below is listed some of the most common,

Windsor

Designed to fit a Windsor style neck tie. The Windsor knot is larger than an average tie, so the spread of the collars is larger to fit this style of tie.

Tab

Includes a fastening at the rear of the neck tie so as to keep a even collar shape.

Wing

Designed for use with a bow tie, the collar is much smaller, with just two small tabs to provide plenty of horizontal room for the bow tie.

Straight

One of the most common collars which is able to accommodate a wide selection of neck ties which are narrower than the full Windsor knot.

Button-down

The end of the tabs of collars features buttons to fasten down. Helps to keep the collars from becoming misplaced and uneven.

Mandarin

Of oriental heritage. The collar does not fold down, and therefore you cannot wear a neck tie with this style of collar.