OCBDs

[Tirvine]

One of the reasons not to lose weight is having to restock your wardrobe. Thanks to Noom my neck size has gone from a 16 1/2 to a 14 1/2, and I have been at my goal weight for a year and am very confident I shall stay there. In lockdown it is no big deal if your collars are too big, but when "in person" church resumed it became inescapably clear that my shirts were too big. I have already ordered a basic white. My dress shirt wardrobe includes one white spread collar for dressier wear (with dark suit for weddings and funerals) and four OCBDs. My odd jackets are navy blazers (summer and winter weight), grey herringbone, and large glen plaid tweed. Clearly a blue OCBD and a blue university stripe. I am pretty traditional (fine with pink, could not do lavender), and ties tend to be either repp or madder or challis. I am retired but still have plenty of opportunities to wear jacket and tie. I also wear khakis (cords in the winter) and OCBDs as my casual clothing. I am open to ideas other than oxford cloth like gingham, tattersall, tape stripe broadcloth, etc. What are others' ideas?

A side comment. I love seeing all of the cool watches but wonder if watches do not merit their own forum. Are watches really haberdashery? After all, pens have their own!

 

[tankerjohn]

Congrats on maintaining your goal weight. That's the hardest part for most of us! Sounds like you have an excellent capsule wardrobe. I am very fond of Brooks Brothers OCBD and they happen to be on sale at the moment. I have also had a good experience ordering a broadcloth shirt from Proper Cloth. Since you asked for other material recommendations, I do like my linen and seersucker shirts in the summer heat. Tattersall is perfect for fall and winter and looks great with tweed or under a chunky sweater.

 

[tankerjohn]

BTW, I could go either way on breaking out watches as a separate forum. Watches are quite adjacent to wardrobe and most of the menswear enthusiast website contain watch content. So it makes sense to have it in the Haberdashery. But you could say horology is a separate hobby as well. Of course, horology would include clocks and other types of chronometers that aren't necessarily related to wardrobe. So sure, why not?

As frequent contributor to the Nib, I do find that we have plenty of content over there to fill out a separate forum and don't think stationary is necessarily adjacent to menswear. Maybe a little. The Venn diagram overlaps, certainly in my case. But pens, ink, and paper are a different thing.

 

[Doc4]

I am pretty traditional (fine with pink, could not do lavender)

I'm more of a risk-taker with the colours, but like a traditional look too. Sometimes I feel like a nut, sometimes I don't.

I actually think that lavender is "easier" for the traditional conservative guy to wear than pink. Hmm. But for you I could suggest a light yellow for the warmer season, and a light grey for the cooler season.

I am open to ideas other than oxford cloth like gingham, tattersall, tape stripe broadcloth, etc. What are others' ideas?

Linen or linen-cotton blend for the warmer season.

 

[Tirvine]

I am thinking a tattersall would beca great addition.

 

[Doc4]

I am thinking a tattersall would beca great addition.

That can be a great way to add a bit of that yellow I had mentioned before!

 

[ByMyBeard]

Ok...someone please enlighten me on what an OCBD is...

 

[Doc4]

Ok...someone please enlighten me on what an OCBD is...

"Oxford cloth button down".

A shirt with this kind of collar ...

... made with "Oxford cloth".

Oxford (cloth) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[tankerjohn]

I actually think that lavender is "easier" for the traditional conservative guy to wear than pink. Hmm. But for you I could suggest a light yellow for the warmer season, and a light grey for the cooler season.

Depends on your skin tone. I have light, pinkish skin. Pink and yellow shirts wash me out. Lavender would probably be fine. In general, I do better with cool colors.

 

[Doc4]

Depends on your skin tone. I have light, pinkish skin. Pink and yellow shirts wash me out. Lavender would probably be fine. In general, I do better with cool colors.

Good point.

Wear what looks good ON YOU.

 

[Doc4]

Good point.

Wear what looks good ON YOU.

@tankerjohn ... I had been thinking of "easier to wear" on the psychological level rather than colour wheel, for that conservative gent for whom dress shirts are "always white ... and maaaaybe light blue if you are living on the edge."

I remember myself, having to overcome the "pink is for girls" rule decades ago ... but there is no such rule for lavender.

 

[tankerjohn]

@tankerjohn ... I had been thinking of "easier to wear" on the psychological level rather than colour wheel, for that conservative gent for whom dress shirts are "always white ... and maaaaybe light blue if you are living on the edge."

I remember myself, having to overcome the "pink is for girls" rule decades ago ... but there is no such rule for lavender.

Aha, I see. That makes total sense. Although, pink OCBDs have been an Ivy/trad thing for quite, no? Was that part of the subversiveness of the original scene, like wearing suits made from the working man's seersucker? Being a child of the 80's myself, pink, er, ehem salmon, shirts were never a problem for me in theory. But in practice, just aren't my thing.

White and light blue shirts basically look good on everybody, which is probably why they became the conservative standard. I look around any professional environment I'm in and it seems at least half of men are blue shirts and khaki pants. A well fitted blue OCBD with a good collar roll is a nice way to "stand out while blending in", so to speak.

 

[tankerjohn]

Oh...lavender. Well, I don't know, I think of lavender as at least as girly as pink. Even the name as a feminine flair. We manly men call it purple. Light purple maybe. Purple OCBDs seem a little harder to come by, at least from the major traddy retailers like Brooks, Bean, and Lands End.

 

[ByMyBeard]

RE: Lavender. I somewhat jokingly claim this as my absolute least favorite color. I actually find it more feminine than pink for some reason. Anyway, for my wedding, I told my Bride she could choose any color BUT lavender. When we built our house, I again said no lavender. I let her choose all the colors. Went in for a tour after painting, went down in "my" basement, and before we stepped into the "exercise room", she got this "oh excrement!" look on her face, apologized, and then stepped me into the lavender room. Apparently, she was thinking more of our daughters dancing in there than me trying to work out.

Edit: I have no issues with anyone choosing to wear/like whatever color they want. Lavender is not MY thing. Do what you want, and I won't judge you about it. Just don't ask me to wear a lavender shirt myself.

 

[Doc4]

Although, pink OCBDs have been an Ivy/trad thing for quite, no? Was that part of the subversiveness of the original scene

1. I'm not an "Ivy/Trad" expert by any amount so I will have to take your word for it.
2. The one thing I think I can say with some certainty is that Ivy/Trad is pretty much a regional thing pretty much limited to New England and perhaps (maybe, perhaps, dunno) down into the New York area.
3. The "subversive" aspect you mention would confirm the inability of others outside Ivy/Trad to accept as "normal" whatever it is that Ivy/Trad adopts as its own "subversive normal".

Being a child of the 80's myself, pink, er, ehem salmon, shirts were never a problem for me in theory.

I think of lavender as at least as girly as pink. Even the name as a feminine flair. We manly men call it purple. Light purple maybe.

Faded purple.

A well fitted blue OCBD with a good collar roll is a nice way to "stand out while blending in", so to speak.

Amen, brother.

"Standing out while blending in" is a great way to aim at looking great without looking out of place.

 

[Tirvine]

I am, for better or for worse, what I refer to as TNSIL (trad/natural shoulder/ivy league), in my case with an unavoidable measure of preppy tossed in (boys' school in Virginia in the early to mid 1960s). The psychological baggage of not wearing things classmates would mock has tremendous staying power. Lavender may have style, but I just can't. Ditto for green. Even yellow is on the bubble. I think there is consensus on the essential nature of a blue OCBD. It is as essential as khakis and a 3/2 navy blazer. I think I'll also get a blue university stripe, a pink, and a pink university stripe. Fall and your ideas will get me to add tattersall, probably a red/blue on white broadcloth. Right now, however, tattersall is almost as hard to imagine as tweed, hundred degree weather having already come to ATX. It has me thinking more about shorts and polos!

 

[AimlessWanderer]

My shirt choices tend to be solid colour, and by colour I mean not white. While I do own white, it's the least frequently worn. I don't to look like I work at wherever we're going...

Navy blue, a bold mid blue, maroon, black, bottle green, loud pink, tan/beige, are all good for me. I will occasionally wear stripes, depending on the width, but wouldn't wear a dressier shirt with any kind of check pattern. In fact, I'd be unlikely to wear a check patterned shirt with anything other than jeans, or equally casual trousers. I do have a couple of exceptions, but again, not frequently worn.

 

[Tirvine]

Very few OCBDs have the right roll of the collar and traditional "got to iron it 'cause it ain't wrinkle free or wrinkle resistant" cloth, and none of them seem to offer ecru. Too bad. It was a very versatile option.

 

[Natsoi]

For me, a big consideration is if you will be wearing a jacket with the shirt or not. That allows you to have more adventurous colours which are then toned down by the jacket.

I will admit that as I have aged I have become more austere in my taste of clothing.

 

[tankerjohn]

Very few OCBDs have the right roll of the collar and traditional "got to iron it 'cause it ain't wrinkle free or wrinkle resistant" cloth, and none of them seem to offer ecru. Too bad. It was a very versatile option.

You want Mercier and Sons. They're got the "must iron" material, nice collar rolls, and ecru. Spendy, though. I don't own any, but hear they're nice.