How to know if it’s a business shirt

We all know the situation; you are standing in a store looking at a great office shirt, but you are wondering is it actually appropriate for work. Well, here is a guide that will help you in the right direction while also keeping good taste and style in mind. This is written for the typical Western corporate office setting. FREE Men’s Button Down Dress Shirt Guide. 1. Color In order for shirts to be categorized as business shirts they must have the right color. A boldly colored shirt will make people focus on your shirt and not what you are saying. Business shirts should always be light in color and are not hard on the eye. That means no neon greens or yellows and definitely no bright reds.

The most common color business shirts are some shade of lighter blue, white, and pink. Other shirt colors that are not as common include light gray and yellow (toned down). 2. Pattern The key to a patterned business shirt is keeping it subtle. Bold contrasting stripes grabs all the attention from you and emphasizes the shirt. It also makes it increasingly difficult to match it well with ties. When I say bold it’s mostly in the colors such as green and yellow which is an extreme example. (e.g. strong stripes of blue and white still make great business shirts in some cases)

For the pattern it is also really important that the colors are light and that there are no more than three different colors on the shirt. In fact, the only time there can be three different colors on the business shirt is when wearing a checkered shirt. With white as the main base color the striped colors involve blues, grays, and at times brown and red. Most importantly the pattern must be easy on the eye, not too many things can be going on. Patterns that can not be considered work shirts are the ones with dark main colors and lighter stripes. The shirt typically needs to have a fresh looking color. 3. Pocket The question here is whether to have one pocket or no pocket. The two pocket style is not part of the typical business shirt and is quite passé. The no pocket style usually gives a more modern look which in turn also makes the shirt suitable for more social settings such as the night club. This works well with the young and slim man. Nevertheless, the truly authentic business shirt does have a pocket (and that’s on the left side). It just gives you that slightly more serious and professional look. Go for the pocket if you have a real corporate job. 4. Collar Specifically for business shirts most collars are acceptable; however here are two no-goes. The Mafia or Soprano collar – no one wants to do business with the mafia if they don’t have to. This long collar point has a tendency not to be taken very seriously in the office try to avoid it when not going out with friends and want to pull an attitude.

The Mao or Mandarin collar – this is really common sense. First off you will never be able to wear a tie with it. Secondly, it gives you somewhat of a casual look. The timeless corporate banker classic is going for the white and blue contrasting collar and cuff style. This somehow gives an awe of authority and respect. Personally I am a fan of it as it really shows confidence and professionalism.