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Red Stripe Pure Silk Bow Tie

$45.00

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Red Bordeaux Pure Silk Bow tie

$45.00

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Black Check With Stripe Pure Silk Bow tie

$45.00

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Blue Navy Strip Pure Silk Bow Tie

$45.00

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Champagne Pure Silk Bow Tie

$45.00

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Berlin Light Blue Formal Shirt

$79.00

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Paris Deep Blue Formal Shirt

$79.00

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London Pink Formal Shirt

$79.00

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Geneva Blue Check Formal Shirt

$79.00

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Paris Lavender Formal Shirt

$79.00

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Rome Grey Stripe Formal Shirt

$79.00

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Rome Blue Stripe Formal Shirt

$79.00

Shirt Sizing

Long Sleeve Shirt

Long sleeve dress shirts are a classic.  They are can be worn at any occasion and serve the highly practical purpose of helping to protect you from the elements like sun exposure.  In the cooler months, the long sleeve dress shirt can give you a bit of extra warmth as well.  The long sleeve dress shirt when rolled up can create a more relaxed, casual, dress down and masculine appearance.  During colder months, singlet or undershirt may be worn underneath the dress shirt to create greater depth.

Shirt Types

Collar Stays Shirt

Collar stays are hidden as they are inserted into the underside of the collar of your dress shirt.  As they are out of the way, most people don’t even know of their existence, let alone their function.  Collar stays are usually made of metal or plastic and are inserted in the flip side of your shirt collar to keep your shirt collar straight and flat against the collarbone.  Collar stays help to keep your dress shirt collar in place for nice and neat appearance.

Collar says are either removable or sewn into your shirt collar.  The upside of a sewn in collar stays is you don’t need to remove them when you laundry your dress shirt, which also means there is less chance of misplacing them.  However, the downside is when you dry or iron your dress shirt.  Plastic collar stay which have been sewn into the collar may melt and lose their shape when put through the drier or when ironed, thereby adversely impacting the appearance of your collar.  If you have removable collar stays, make sure you look after them so you can use them again after your dress shirt is cleaned.

Shirt Fabrics

Twill Weave Shirt

The twill dress shirt has a wonderfully unique weave which is simply stunning.  The twill weave consists of a pattern that creates a diagonal parallel rib on the fabric.  This weave gives the twill dress shirt added texture and thickness, without adding too much weight to the overall fabric.  Generally, the regular twill dress shirt will feel smooth when you touch it.  It also feels slightly lighter than the broadcloth dress shirt and the oxford dress shirt. 

A fascinating aspect with twill fabric is that there is a front side (also called the technical face) and back side, unlike the plain weave which have not front or back sides.  When the twill fabric is sewn into a dress shirt, the front side of the fabric always faces out.  The pattern of the twill fabric is more pronounced and vivid on the front side, so your twill dress shirt is always made with the front side facing outwards for the world to see.

The beautiful diagonal ribs on a twill fabric is generated by the passing of the weft. Compared to the oxford fabric where the weft and warp simply form intersecting weaves, in the twill weave – what happens is the weft or thread that goes over and under the warp is done in a distinct fashion. This particular method of construction helps the twill dress shirt to drape nicely over your body.

Shirt Colors

Blue Dress Shirt

The blue dress shirt is your ultimate corporate dress shirt.  No other shirt color has a closer association with the corporate world, thereby making the blue dress shirt your safest bet for the office.  You can never go wrong with the blue dress shirt.  Although back in the day, the white shirt was a symbol for high society and color shirts like blue were within the realm of the working-class, this distinction is no longer relevant.  Now, blue gives you a squeaky clean professional image.

The color also blue gives off a calm feeling, which can subconsciously affect how people perceive you when they see your blue dress shirts.  Blue a neutral color which people trust and like.  If you are a big fan of blue but prefer an alternative to a solid blue colored dress shirt, do try the checkered blue dress shirts.  Just remember to choose a checkered pattern that is subtle to ensure you achieve an understated look in the office.  When it comes to office attire, you the clean, simple, understated look wins hands down. 

Shirt Anatomy

Shirt Yoke

The dress shirt yoke is the panel of fabric on the back located below the collar.  It covers the entire shoulder length of your dress shirt from left to right.  The split yoke is often taken as a sign of a quality dress shirt.  The split yoke is comprised of two pieces of fabric sewn together, joined in the middle, to create the yoke.

There is still much ongoing debate on the merits of having a split yoke or unsplit yoke.  You may prefer the yoke is simply for style reasons. You may belong to the group of men who argue that the split yoke is better for a number of reasons other than simply style.  In the case of a striped dress shirt, it is said that a split yoke will make your dress shirt more stylish by letting the diagonal lines meet when sewn together at an angle.  It is also suggested that this will improve the fit of your dress shirt.  As having a split yoke often requires more work, the split yoke is often associated with more expensive and quality dress shirts.

All Michelozzo formal shirts from our ready to wear collection and made-to-measure service features the split yoke.

Shirt Anatomy

Shirt Plackets

You may be wondering what a dress shirt placket is.  It’s basically the panel of fabric that runs down the middle front of a dress shirt and your shirt buttons run along this panel.  Plackets comes in a number of styles, with some styles exuding a greater sense of formality than others.     

The three main types of plackets are: 1. French Placket, 2. Standard Placket, and 3. Concealed Placket.

The French placket, also known as seamless the placket, is the most popular. The seamless placket is plain and does not have any distinct stitching to set apart from the rest of your dress shirt.  The French Placket is preferable as it is both stylish and works perfectly with dress shirts that have French Cuffs.

The standard placket is characterized by the raised fabric that this produced by stitching. 

The concealed placket has the distinct characteristic of hiding the buttons under an additional layer of fabric, providing a neat looking appearance. If you want a very formal look, you may consider choosing the concealed placket.

Shirt Anatomy

Shirt Cuffs

One of the most important part of a man’s dress shirt is the cuffs.  Your dress shirt cuffs are also the part that people take notice of when you reach out to shake hands.  In short, a shirt cuff is an extra layer of fabric at the lower end of the sleeve of a dress shirt.  Cuffs serve the highly practical purpose of protecting the shirt from fraying.  If fraying does occur, the cuffs can be fixed or replaced entirely without having to make major changes to the rest of the shirt.  The dress shirt cuffs is almost like a replaceable spare part.

Shirt cuffs are generally split open at one edge and then fastened together with buttons or cufflinks, so the hand can slide through and then fit snugly around the wrist.

Although there are a multitude of cuffs available for your to choose from, the most popular and widely accepted are the barrel cuffs and French cuffs.

Barrel cuffs – also known as button cuffs, have buttonholes on the one side and buttons on the other. Since they are not overly formal, they are ideal for the office and any other occasion. and suitable for various other occasions. Barrel cuffs can have a round, square or angle cut.  They can come with a single or two buttons on each cuff.

French cuffs – also called links cuffs, have buttonholes on both sides which are closed using either cufflinks or silk knots.

Shirt Fabrics

Pinpoint Shirt

The pinpoint dress shirt share many similarities with the oxford dress shirt.  Although debatable, some people believe that the pinpoint dress shirt is essentially the modern version of the oxford dress shirt. The pinpoint fabric is similar to the oxford fabric.  The main difference is the thread count and weight of the fabrics.

Generally speaking, when you touch a fabric that has a higher thread count, the fabric will feel softer compared to one that has a lower thread count.  In addition, the lighter weight may be due to the use of finer threads, which can help make fabrics feel softer.  The pinpoint dress shirt with its higher thread count and lighter weight may be why some prefer it over the oxford dress shirt.  Some regard the oxford dress shirt as have being less soft than the pinpoint dress shirt.   The pinpoint dress shirt is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a neat and tidy look that is easy to maintain. Like the oxford dress shirt, the pinpoint dress shirt now come in numerous blends.  Cotton is now blended with synthetic fibers like polyester, lycra and rayon.  The existence of synthetic fibers can help increase the durability of the shirt and extend its lifespan.

Shirt Fabrics

Broad Cloth Shirt

The name “broadcloth” comes from the fact that, historically, the broadcloth fabric was manufactured or woven in widths that is wider than the more common 29 inches. 

A broadcloth dress shirt tend to have a higher thread count than other fabrics, making the broadcloth one of the more preferred fabrics for dress shirts.  The benefit of having a higher thread count is the fabric will feel softer and more luxurious when you touch it.  By simply running your hand over the  broadcloth material, you will instantly get a feel for how intricate the broadcloth fabric is.  Therefore, the broadcloth is often associated with being high in quality.  Due to its higher thread count, quality and its more luxurious feel, the broadcloth fabric is generally more expensive compared to other fabric types.

Generally, worsted and woolen broadcloth fabrics have a sheen finish, making them especially popular among shirt aficionados.  When you wear a dress shirt made of high quality broadcloth fabric, it will feel as if a piece of velvet is draped over your body. The broadcloth fabric is tightly woven and has fine ribs woven into it which helps to add to the broadcloth’s luxurious finish.  The broadcloth fabric can be woven from various a mixture of fibers and blends, and may also come in lighter or heavier weights. However, in general, broadcloth tend to be slightly heavier than other cloth weaves. The broadcloth’s plain shirt weave with its smooth finish makes it a perfect material for creating custom dress shirts.

The broadcloth fabric also provide greater warmth, especially when worn under a suit jacket, blazer or sweater.  So you may not be surprised to know that broadcloth dress shirts are quite popular in countries with cooler weather.  Broadcloth dress shirts are especially suited to the spring and autumn seasons.  The high quality broadcloth is a favorite in the textile world which appreciates its high quality and durable characteristics.  The broadcloth unique properties makes it an ideal material for dress shirts, bed sheets and all sorts of upholstery.