About High Quality Dress Shirts
A high quality dress shirt is a piece of luxury that the well-dressed man cannot live without. Often handcrafted from the finest woven cotton, a high quality dress shirt is an essential garment for the burgeoning executive and the ambitious employee. Whether the bespoke dress shirt is sewn by European artisans or purchased off the rack at an upscale department store this item of clothing is the perfect complement to the formal tuxedo as well as the tailor-made three-piece suit.
Significance
High quality dress shirts are either tailor-made (bespoke) or purchased as ready-made from a boutique or department store specializing in suits and men's furnishing. High quality dress shirts are more expensive than basic shirts because of the attention to detail used to construct the dress shirt. The amount of stitching in the seams, use of handmade buttonholes, the precise measurements of neck, chest and sleeve, and the quality of materials used in construction of the garment are contributing factors in the high cost and legendary mystique attached to high quality dress shirts.
Types
The categories of high quality dress shirts vary by not only the types of materials used to create the shirts, but by the type collars, sleeve lengths and buttons used in the construction of the garment. The most expensive parts of a high quality shirt are the fabric used and the costs to construct the garment. Tailors refer to shirt fabrics as "shirtings." These fabrics dictate the quality of the shirt and also the occasion where the shirt is worn.
Although manufacturers for dress shirts commonly use polyester and rayon blends, cotton is the most popular fabric used for high quality dress shirts. Popular shirt fabrics for high quality dress shirts include: white pique cotton, silk poplin, broadcloth, pin-point, oxford, royal oxford, and cotton or herringbone twill. Egyptian cotton, Sea Island cotton or 100-fold, two-ply cotton is the preferred choice of high quality shirts due to its ability to breathe, its durability and unique capacity to keep the wearer's body cool throughout the workday.
Maintenance
High quality dress shirts must be laundered by a professional dry cleaner. To remove rings of dirt and grime from around the collar and inside of the cuffs, treat your shirt with a mild cleansing agent instead of bleach. Follow this spot cleaning of the shirt with a trip to the dry cleaning for professional service. Refrain from washing your shirt in the washing machine or drying it in the hot dryer. Find a professional cleaning service that specializes in high quality dress shirts to ensure the gentle removal of stains and to prevent shrinkage of the fabric.
Considerations
High quality dress shirts are not sized small, medium, large or extra large. Rather the sizing is based upon sleeve length, collar size and cuff. The types of collars available are: spread, button-down, tab collar, straight, curved, banded, Kent or London collar and mandarin. Popular designers of high quality shirts include: Thomas Pink, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Turnbull & Asser, Brooks Brothers and Ermenegildo Zegna.
Expert Insight
White shirts with collars are the most popular shirt worn for formal and business events. Executives in conservative environments: financial services, real estate, brokerage, government and law wear high quality dress shirt as an expression of their power, professionalism and sense of refinement.
Swedish shirt-making Company, Eton, created the world's most expensive, high quality shirt in 2008. This shirt, which retailed for $45,000, was made exclusively for a charity auction benefiting the children at Great Ormond Street hospital in London. The shirt was crafted from rare Egyptian cotton yarn and was adorned with 7 flawless diamonds.
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