Putting it all together

[Matt Deckard]

That looks great Baron. A man after my own tastes. Good job. I love the tweed combos. When I was younger i never thought blues could go with brown... must have been my Indiana Jones aesthetic love pushing through at the time, now it's hard to not put the colors together.

Stay cool.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

My main current sartorial tinkering revolves around playing with textures. Dainty silk ties and light billowy gabardines coupled with the rougher tweeds like Cheviots and Donegals provide me with inordinate pleasure . . .

bk

 

[Orgetorix]

Very nice, BK. Did you wear BD collars before you lived in the US? I've always thought of them as an American thing.

 

[Martinis at 8]

There is a logistical sense when getting dressed. there are patterns that work together and ones that do not.

Believe it or not, plaids and stripes do work together. In the next few posts I'm going to show you examples of balance in color and pattern matching.

Nice ensemble. You actually pulled it off nicely with those blue socks.

M8

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Did you wear BD collars before you lived in the US?

yes. Most of my modern-bought shirts from before i moved to the US were button-down.

bk

 

[Jovan]

I find it ironic that Charles Tyrwhitt refers to button downs as "American-style shirts" given its actual history...

 

[Orgetorix]

I find it ironic that Charles Tyrwhitt refers to button downs as "American-style shirts" given its actual history...

Do you know a different "actual history" than I do? I understood that one of the Brooks brothers introduced them in the US when he saw English polo players' collars (sans buttons) flapping about as they played.

 

[Jovan]

Sort of. What I read was that a Colonel Pinkerton Portly suggested buttoning down the collars when this was a problem. Then Brooks Brothers saw this and brought it to the States. Hence, "the original polo button down collar" as they call it.

EDIT: See this link and click on 1896. http://www.brooksbrothers.com/aboutus/heritage.tem

 

[Marc Chevalier]

"Pinkerton Portly"? Why does that sound like it's right out of a comic novel? lol

.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Sounds like a Henry James character. Can anyone tell me if Col. Pinkerton Portly was overwrought and whiny?

bk

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Google, Yahoo and Ask searches reveal nae a hair o' a "Pinkerton Portly." I reckon that Jovan was hoodwinked.

.

 

[Tomasso]

Can anyone tell me if Col. Pinkerton Portly was overwrought and whiny?

Yes he was, but in his defence he suffered from the gout, Portly did.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Too much eating while spying.

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[Orgetorix]

Sort of. What I read was that a Colonel Pinkerton Portly suggested buttoning down the collars when this was a problem. Then Brooks Brothers saw this and brought it to the States. Hence, "the original polo button down collar" as they call it.

EDIT: See this link and click on 1896. http://www.brooksbrothers.com/aboutus/heritage.tem

Maybe I'm missing something, but it doesn't mention anything about overweight ex-military spies.

John Brooks, grandson of the founder, made fashion history by introducing the button-down polo collar shirt. His design inspiration came after attending an English polo match where he observed the players' shirts secured with buttons to keep them from flapping in the wind. The shirt became an instant success and soon one of the best-selling Brooks Brothers items.

 

[J. Brisbin]

I've been following this button-down conversation with interest. The next logical question, then, is what material should one look for? I generally just buy my shirts in broadcloth because I like the feel better (and it looks better), but most button-downs are Oxford knit, right? Are there broadcloth button-downs? Or cotton?

I saw a shirt the other day in the thrift store that had a button flap that went under the tie knot. I thought this was interesting. The shirt was too small for me, but that would certainly give you a more stand-up collar.

 

[Orgetorix]

I've been following this button-down conversation with interest. The next logical question, then, is what material should one look for? I generally just buy my shirts in broadcloth because I like the feel better (and it looks better), but most button-downs are Oxford knit, right? Are there broadcloth button-downs? Or cotton?

The classic button-down is made of Oxford cloth, which is woven--not knitted. Broadcloth is a close cousin, just woven slightly differently, and it's equally suitable for a buttondown collar. I'd stick with plain weaves like broadcloth or poplin, or simple fabrics like pinpoint or oxford. The buttondown is the most casual type of dress shirt collar, and so it should be done with plain, casual fabrics. Fancy things like basketweaves, dobby, twills, and gabardines, as well as anything with a shine, should probably be avoided.

Incidentally, there's a really helpful guide to the different kinds of shirting fabrics here.

I saw a shirt the other day in the thrift store that had a button flap that went under the tie knot. I thought this was interesting. The shirt was too small for me, but that would certainly give you a more stand-up collar.

It's called a tab collar, and you're right. It does the same thing as a collar pin or bar, making the tie knot stand out more from the collar.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

yes those collar tabs work great for that "pinned" look . . .

bk

 

[Jovan]

Maybe I'm missing something, but it doesn't mention anything about overweight ex-military spies.

I realize. I read somewhere else that the one who suggested it to the polo players was that man.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I saw a shirt the other day in the thrift store that had a button flap that went under the tie knot.

J. Brisbin, the tab collar was popularized by the Prince of Wales in the '20s, and really hit its stride in the U.S.A. in the early '30s.


The tab collar was revived in the late '50s-early '60s, and then reappeared in the late '80s to mid '90s.

.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The classic button-down is made of Oxford cloth, which is woven--not knitted.

Very true. Interestingly, though, there were buttondown flannel work/hunting shirts sold in mail order catalogues in the 1890s! These flannel shirts had buttons on the collar points, exactly as the Brooks Brothers ones do.

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