The Unassailable Appeal of the Oxford Cloth Button Down Shirt

Nobody expects that life will stay the same once you have a baby. But exactly how things will change, you can never predict. For me, I figured I’d find myself wearing dry-clean-only garments a little less, and machine washable things a little more once our son was born.

That’s been true for me in the 2 months since Stirling arrived. But what I didn’t expect is that my tastes might change. Where as before, I was insatiably interested in tailored jackets (often at the expense of shoes, shirts, watches, ties and trousers), now I’m finding that I can direct my attention toward those neglected areas and find a lot of pleasure in them in a way I didn’t before.

One way this has manifested is a renewed interest in the Oxford cloth button down shirt. “Yeah yeah yeah, old news—tell 2013 about your obsession with the OCBD, Moss.” But I keep reading that Ivy is supposedly making a resurgence, with Noah and Rowing Blazers at the forefront, reinterpreting it in the age of sneaker culture. As beloved Nashville musician Ben Folds crooned, “They get nostalgic about the last ten years, before the last ten years have passed.”

Who cares what the fashion cycles are doing—it’s never been a better time to buy Oxford shirts. Brooks Brothers has “restored the roll,” Drake’s sells a button-down that somehow outdoes the source it’s based on, Kamakura continues selling their classic collar as well as a more pointed unlined sport version, O’Connell’s keeps on trucking as always with their traditional version, and online custom shirt makers Proper Cloth and Ratio each have full, beautiful collar rolls that you can put on a shirt with perfect measurements to fit you. And there’s always Mercer & Sons, who will accommodate your preference for a shirt that doesn’t fit like a sail by adjusting the body pattern down 2 full stops compared to your collar size. If that’s your thing.

Of course I’ve always been into the OCBD—it’s a menswear rite of passage. But true to menswear geek form, that’s usually meant obsessing about collar point length, spread, band height, interlining, cuff lining, pocket or no, and the list goes on. Not that those details aren’t important—but they’re all secondary to really one thing: does it roll? And secondarily: does it fit?

Thankfully, those Brooks Brothers “restored roll” OCBDs can get you really close on the second question (if not right on), and a definite yes on the first—while hitting almost all of the other check marks of the obsessive (i.e. no interlining in the collar, cuffs or placket; no pocket; a good point length; and a traditional, more pointed-style collar spread). I just ordered a Brooks Brothers standard-blue OCBD in the Milano fit (their slimmest). In the past, I’ve felt their standard blue Oxford cloth is a bit too muted—grayish in its hue, relatively dark in its brightness value. Those things are both true—but man I’ve found a new appreciation for it. Generally speaking, I prefer brighter, or lighter, blue shirts—my favorites are my Eidos broadcloth, my ProperCloth linen-cotton Oxford cloth, and the Proper Cloth wide-stripe Pima cotton Oxford I got this summer. But the classic Brooks blue, particularly in the winter months, paired with British khaki chinos against a brown tweed, or under a navy cashmere sweater, or with an olive Sykloil Barbour jacket—it just feels right.

My friend Zach recommended I go with Ratio instead of Brooks—their Fitzgerald button-down can be made completely unlined, and sports a more pointed look, and has longer collar points than Brooks. They stock a blue Oxford fabric almost identical (if not indeed the same as) the Brooks, and it’s made at the same factory in North Carolina. I plan to try Ratio, but I couldn’t resist the undeniable appeal to having a classic Brooks OCBD that I can pass on to my son some day. That 7-pleat shirring at the cuff carries meaning for me.

Speaking of the traditional collar shape, I’ve come up with a classification system. The more point-collar on one column, with the more spread-collar on the other. Neither is more correct than the other, as you can find historical photos of either. It seems that some time in the mid 20th century, they became more spread. Kamakura and Proper Cloth base theirs on that look (and Spier and Mackay apes this shape as well). Antonio Ciongoli says he copied his dad’s mid-50s Brooks OCBD collar shape for Eidos’ button-down shirt, which he named Aldo (after a nickname of his dad’s). I have one of those, and it’s nearly identical to Proper Cloth’s in dimensions (except it’s unlined completely, and has a button at the back).

On the other hand is the more pointed collar shape—which Brooks has been making for some decades now (only now it’s unlined once again of course). Kamakura now sells one like this, completely unlined, calling it a “sport” model. Ratio has this more pointed look, as does Drake’s, who quite honestly has my favorite collar shape of anybody in this column (it’s a shame it’s just so expensive). And other classic retailers, like Mercer’s and O’Connell’s of Buffalo stick to this shape, as well. 

I appreciate both shapes, but generally lean toward the spread shape of Kamakura and Proper Cloth. Your own taste will vary—too big, too spread, like some European designers make it, and it becomes a caricature. Anglo-Italian’s collar shape goes about as far in that direction as it can go without becoming costume-y. I’ve been coveting their wide-stripe blue Oxford shirt for some time now.

My ideal OCBD line-up

Standard, muted blue Brooks OCBD. The color is most at home with a winter palette, with tweeds and Barbour jackets, ancient madders and flannel trousers. Wears well on its own, too.

Light or mid blue from Ratio. Their collar can be made unlined by request, and it’s a fantastic expression from what I’ve seen. It’s like the Brooks collar of today, but just a little extra.

White from Spier and Mackay or Ratio, made to order unlined. I like Spier’s slightly more spread expression. But Ratio’s is great, as I said, and their provenance (at the same factory as Brooks Brothers), for a small increase in price, makes me feel good. 

Blue university stripe from Proper Cloth or Kamakura. I’m picky with university stripes. Brooks standard blue stripe uses that regular dusty gray-blue color for the stripe, so it just looks dingy to me. Others tend to go too light, like a sky blue, and it lacks contrast and punch. ProperCloth’s light blue heavy oxford is a fantastic color blue, that contrasts very well, and their stripes are ever so slightly wider than the typical, which makes the color pop even more. Kamakura comes out with various blue university stripes and usually has one with a good, contrasty blue like this one.

Light blue wide stripe oxford from Anglo Italian, Drake’s or Brooks. Anglo’s in no way is a classic OCBD collar shape but in this configuration it’s so incredibly handsome (sadly it is out of stock, but I’m hopeful it’ll return as they’ve restocked it before). Drake’s makes a great one too. Brooks does seasonal stripes and their light blue from last year was great (perennial Styleforum and eBay seller Steve Smith even has some for sale in a few sizes). I wish I had gotten one but I’m hopeful it will make a comeback this spring.