There are two important things to think about when you think about shirts. First and foremost, they must fit you. That means you should have them made for you, even if you are the guy they made the ready to wear pattern for (no rational man should be satisfied with the selection of fabrics and collar styles at his local retailer).
Made to measure and bespoke shirts are unique in the world of classic men's clothing in that they are available from a variety of sources for no more than the cost of comparable ready to wear shirts. Any man spending more than $75 apiece on ready to wear shirtings should immediately find himself a shirtmaker.
And that in turn leads to the other important thing to think about, which is how many shirts are required. At the low end, the size of an inventory is determined by the number of shirts worn each week, and how they are laundered. Men who send their shirts out to the laundry usually need a two week supply of shirts so half the inventory can be ready to wear while the other half is at the laundry.
In turn that leads to one of the rules about shirts. There should be more than one of each basic shirt, so there is one to wear that's appropriate for the occasion and season while the other shirt of that type is at the laundry.
Most shirting weaves are fine for year-round wear but some are strictly seasonal. Year-round fabrics include poplin, broadcloth and end on end. Warm weather fabrics, loosely woven to promote air circulation, include voile and linen. Twill, royal oxford, oxford and many herringbones are for cooler days.
But back to how many. In The Man's Book, Thomas Fink proposes that the number of shirts required for a purpose is equal to the square root of the number of days involved. That solves to 19 shirts for a 365 day year. Men can add sophistication to that number by dividing their local year into temperate, cold and hot periods. Count work days to calculate a work wardrobe comprised of spread, cutaway, point and tab collar shirts, and weekend and holiday days for a casual wardrobe. Buttondown collars are useful for casual hours because they stand up better without a necktie, or under a sweater. Round each number to the next highest integer and add them together. The total is your shirt requirement.
Men with wardrobes in excess of a couple dozen shirts can skip this exercise and use the time saved to ponder other mysteries of the universe.
Friday, January 26, 2007
How Many Shirts?
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9 comments:
Hello. I've in the past paid more than $75 for a MTM shirt because I needed a new shirt for an interview. I am a student and time is at a premium; I also can't afford to take trips to meet shirt makers nor would have the time. I reside in atlanta do you know a shirt makers that are in atlanta or visit for business, if you do I could use their services? Do you offer any solutions since you think that is not wise?
According to the itinerary on their web site, mycustomtailor will be at different Atlanta locations May 2-4 and then again on May 20-22. Prices range from $50 to $175 per shirt.
www.mycustomtailor.com
I admit it. I'm a shirt junkie - my closet is bursting with shirts. I do need to do some thinning out and visit a custom shirtmaker.
Each time I look in my closet it reminds me of a scene from The Great Gatsby:
"He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them one by one before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel... shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple green and lavender and faint orange with monograms of Indian blue. Suddenly with a strained sound Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily.
"'They're such beautiful shirts,' she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. 'It makes me sad because I've never seen such--such beautiful shirts before'"
I just found your blog and I love it.
I love the square root rule and I extend it a bit.
252 business days implies
Business Wardrobe:
16 shirts
8 suits (Half as many as shirts)
8 Odd Trousers
4 Sport Coats (you need one for each decade you are old or half as many as you have suits.)
24 Ties = sum of suits + shirts
(You might not always wear a tie with a sportcoat.)
3 Over coats
Black, Brown, Rain
2 Umbrellas (English Cane style)
Black, Green
2 Brief Cases
Black, Brown
6 pairs of Shoes (midpoint of suits and jackets)
2 Winter boots in black and brown
4 Laceups in Black and shades of brown and various patterns.
Weekend Wardrobe:
10 Shirts
1 Country suit
1 Black Tie Suit or Tux
1 Hacking Jacket or country Jacket
1 Overcoat/country jacket (I could be convinced of two, but one Barbour is fine)
country weekend shoes
1 Boot for work
1 garden boot of rubber
2 loafers in black and brown
1 water shoe
Great Blog!
Now that's what I call a detailed list, MajTJKingKong!
I may have missed something or the fellow who is off-duty has no need for pants. ;)
(Except with the tux)
How many jeans,flannels,khakis,jodphurs or wilderness-proof slacks might come in handy?
Hi, may I ask for a proportional breakdown of the 16-19 shirts as you did for the excellent article on ties? What proportion of patterns should I strive for as a professional in a conservative industry? Does 50-30-20 (solid-stripes-checks) sound reasonable? What about the proportion of shirts that are white-based as opposed to other shades? Much gratitude from a devoted reader.
-2 white as you won't normally wear them during the day
-2 ecru solid & semi-solid
-4 blue solid and semi-solid
-1 pink poplin or oxford
-6 stripes, including a blue banker's stripe and a maroon banker's stripe
-4 checks
I have about a hundred Italian made shirts=far too many. I agree with 20. No more than that
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