We make the bulk of our shirts in dressy cottons these days, and with good reason. We like to think our approach to framing the face with the right collar and “dressing the hand” with a properly fitted cuff is the most flattering presentation for an individual in professional clothing. Yet these principles remain just as valuable for casual wear, as proper collar design for wearing shirts open-neck is similarly necessary. Our casual shirt offerings tend to be cut from more seasonal fabrics – slubby linens and chambrays for Summer, nappy cashmere blends for Winter. Yet there is a particular year-round casual shirt fabric that I consider highly under-appreciated in the bespoke realm, and that’s the classic lightweight dark-shade denim.
A great denim shirt becomes a more interesting and unique garment the more often its worn. It’s the only shirt that can truly evolve into a different type of item, allowing you to wear it differently in the third or fourth year than you might have styled it fresh off the press. I’ve just recently added a new spread collar shirt into the mix (below) which will find a typical home with dressy separates, and perhaps even with a tie in a dark monochrome outfit. After a few years this newer shirt will have developed its own unique character, and my then 6-year-old button-down will have become a true knockaround piece – an old favorite revealing its rich history.
We love pairing well-worn denim denim with flannel and tweed in the Winter, and linen and cotton in the Summer. The more depth of texture in the trousers and jacket, the more natural the pairing with denim.
Photos by Christopher Fenimore
The first wear of a brand-new denim shirt
Three-year old denim