My personal preference is to never wear a button down with a 'formal' suit. I wear suits for work every day (and I am trying to single-handedly get the 3-button suit to make a comeback) and will not use a button-down with them. There's no true right or wrong answer, but as has been more elegantly stated before this post, most people will equate the button down to a more casual look.
Dress shirts- are button down collars not "formal enough?
- Thread starter Kepcic821
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I love button-down shirts. They are difficult to procure here though..!
The thing about fashion rules is ... if you break them, you don't go to jail. You may end up looking less well "put together" than you hoped, but the police won't arrest you.
That said, the general "rule" is that button-down shirts are too informal to wear with a suit ... but okay with sports jacket, slacks and tie. IIRC, in the north-east USA, there is a "fashion sub-culture" for whom these shirts are perfectly fine worn with suits. (Kind of like cowboy boots with suits in Texas ... looks good in the local place, silly elsewhere.)
That said, the general "rule" is that button-down shirts are too informal to wear with a suit ... but okay with sports jacket, slacks and tie. IIRC, in the north-east USA, there is a "fashion sub-culture" for whom these shirts are perfectly fine worn with suits. (Kind of like cowboy boots with suits in Texas ... looks good in the local place, silly elsewhere.)
button down collors always go with khakis for me. I won't wear them with a suit. For me i actually like khakis, button down collar with no tie, and a blazer. Casual but still nice enough to go most places that would require a suit.
IMO button downs are more casual compared to the traditional collar stays. I do wear them with khakis and a sport coat, which is what I wear at the office. If I was wearing a suit everyday I'd go with collar stays. However that is just my opinion. If you like the look and it fits your style, ties, and such, all the more power to ya!
I didn't realize I was part of a subculture! Fight the power! Wear white before Memorial Day!
Um, that fashion subculture pretty much IS the power
That's true. I won't even talk about the polar vortex our secret society invented so we could short labor firms based on poor employment reports this winter. Wait until you see what we have in store for this summer. And all this because we like button down dress shirts!
+1 for this. button downs were originally casual and for weekends/leisure. Over time, they moved into the business suit world. Watch Mad Men, you never see those guys in suits wearing button downs.
- Thread starter
- #30
just to be clear, the "button down" shirts of which I speak ARE dress shirts. That is to say, they aren't Oxford shirts. I have several 100% cotton Armani and Hugo Boss dress shirts which have "button down/snap down" collars. Are most of you guys saying that I shouldn't really wear these Armani and Boss dress shirts with a suit because they have button down collars? I just wanted to be clear that I am not talking about a casual Oxford type shirt in this thread. I am talking about "legitimate" dress shirts which happen to have button down collars.
I think everyone gets that. What I and a lot of other are saying is that a button down collar makes these casual shirts, not 'legitimate' dress shirts, regardless of who makes them or the material they are made of.
A button down shirt with a button down collar is called a Oxford shirt. Originally worn as a sports shirt. So your collar will not be flapping around and hitting you in the wind. Just as adding a pocket on the front made it a sports shirt, so you can carry stuff you would normally put in your jacket pocket. Keep in mind this was all around the turn of last century when everyone wore a suit and tie every day. But being no one wears a shirt like this doing physical activity anymore its really up to the person wearing it to decide. I remember Michael J fox wearing them in the TV show Family Ties. IF you want to wear them with a suit, go for it.
My two cents worth.
Johnny
My two cents worth.
Johnny
Well put. In the northeast US, it is very common to see a button shirt with a suit and a tie. In other parts of US, it isn't done as much.
i would never do it here in Los Angeles.
Um, that fashion subculture pretty much IS the power
LOL.
Okay, "subculture" not so much ... "regional variant" more like. If your family has owned half of New England for five generations, I'm talkin' 'bout you!!
If you live on an island with your wife "Lovey" and five other castaways, I'm talkin' 'bout you!!
The button-down collar makes the shirt more informal. Just because Armani makes it ... or whoever ... doesn't change that. Armani makes jeans too ... that "Armani" label doesn't turn them into dress pants. (Okay, bit of an extreme example. But the point is don't get hung up on who made it or how much it retails for ... look at the garment itself.) While a very coarse fabric could potentially make a "button down" shirt inappropriate for even sportsjackets, a more refined fabric is not going to take away from the buttons on the collar.
By "snap down" collars ... do you mean with a snap that (a) holds the collar point close to the shirt body, and (b) once snapped in place is undetectable to the casual or observant passerby? In this case, I think you are on safe grounds wearing this with a suit.
I recall this argument some years ago in GQ magazine. There was much discussion and dissent back then.
I also recall that some time ago when I worked in Manhattan I was surprised that so many of the Wall Street Lawyers wore button down shirts with ties.
I also recall that some time ago when I worked in Manhattan I was surprised that so many of the Wall Street Lawyers wore button down shirts with ties.
I always wear normal dress shirts, but I'd rock a suit with a button down. However, I'd never pair it with a tie. I guess you could wear one of those funky neck scarfs though. I always wanted to try one. Like this:
Yep, that right there! ^^^^
Neckerchiefs are made for button down collars. Ascots on the other hand...
When I lived in Washington DC people wore OCBDs with ties all the time.
Here in Paris, such shirts are known as "col américain" and are never worn with ties.
I guess it depends!
Here in Paris, such shirts are known as "col américain" and are never worn with ties.
I guess it depends!
I tend to wear them with a linen jacket and knit tie or knit tie and some odd jacket (tweed or just regular wool) but never with a suit. Generally, I prefer my button down collared shirts to be worn with sans tie, topmost button undone, and with an odd jacket and trousers for a casual day when I don't feel like wearing one of my smart shirts, three-piece tweed suits, and the like.
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