I'll give you the shirt off my back ... just so I can buy a new one

It started when I was young, I'd be fastidiously ironing my school shirt before school - desperate to get out every crease. I've been addicted to shirts for as long as I can remember. Not just any shirts though, I have my favorites.

Designer shirts

Characterized by their label and the aspects of their brand. The creme de la creme, perfection riding on my shoulders - designer shirts are my all time favorite. The quality is second to none; you see it when the shirt last two and three times as long as regular branded shirts and you feel it when the seams hold strong with every pull.

Apart from the workmanship, their fashionable cuts are always ideal and who doesn't like turning heads in the street.

European shirts

As mentioned above, I am a fan of tailored slim fit shirts. The Europeans were the ones who made this cut famous. So much so, it is also referred to as a 'European cut'. Not only are their cuts supreme, so to are the elegant fabrics they choose.

Dress shirts

Previously limited to formal occasions in the company of suits and ties, these have become the bread and butter of my wardrobe. I have a dress shirt for nearly every occasion.

A crisp white shirt with slacks for a classic look in the office and a patterned dress shirts partnered with chino's, embracing casual Fridays. These shirts are generally worn tucked in, but come the weekend I'm teaming them with jeans and even shorts during the summer for a very relaxed, yet chic look.

Alternative shirts

No one likes to blend into the crowd do they? Neither do I.

I'm always on the lookout for the next style trend in shirts. Whether it be contrasting sleeves or pockets, extreme tailoring, distressed fabrics, heightened collars or the now mainstream double collared shirts (see below) ... I'll try anything once.

Contrasting fabrics has been a popular trend in matching shirts and ties of late and the trend is seemingly continuing into shirt fabric choices. Whilst not infiltrating the dress shirt market just yet, casual shirts are readily available with contrasting materials being used for various parts of the shirt.

Double collar shirts

As mentioned above, I am always looking for a unique style, the double collar is my latest fetish. As the name suggests this is a shirt with two collars, or at least the appearance of two collars. The collars are typically contrasting in color and or pattern and give any shirt a unique twist on a classic dress shirt.

Long gone are the days when a shirt is just a shirt - They're an art form.

5 ways to revamp your wardrobe

If your clothes are looking a little worn and tired it's high time you revamped your wardrobe and brought it into the 21st Century. Whilst you might have invested in high quality clothes that are still going a decade later, they are probably looking a little faded and frayed around the edges and in dire need of updating. Trends come and go and there are some really stylish clothes available right now. Choose from well cut denim, crisp cotton t-shirts, cargo shorts, fashion shirts and tailored jackets that look great dressed up or dressed down. Here are five easy ways you can give some of those old clothes the heave-ho and refresh your style effortlessly.

1. Take everything out of your wardrobe for review

Come on, that means everything. The rule is that if you haven't worn something in a year, it should probably be thrown out or given away. Make piles for your clothes so they are easy to sort - that good stuff that is staying in one pile and the 'never to be worn again' clothes in another. Keep the items out that you are going to keep as we are going to need those for later. Take the other pile down to your local thrift shop or put them in the garbage.

2. Make a list of clothing that you need

Think about the clothes you wear on a daily basis, your favorite items and the colors you prefer. Now, look at the items you have sorted out and are keeping. Make a note of the colors and styles so that you can buy new items that will coordinate with this clothing perfectly. Those stone chinos will look great with chambray summer shirts or a simple white t-shirt for example.

3. Capsule wardrobes are for men too

Revamping your wardrobe doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of money on lots of different clothing. A capsule wardrobe means choosing some those essential items of clothing that can be easily coordinated and which are easy to wear. Cool white shirts, cotton pants, sweaters and one good quality sports jacket will ensure you always have the right clothes to hand.

4. Get an expert opinion

If you simply do not know where to start when planning your new wardrobe, ask for some advice. Shopping for clothes isn't usually an activity for the guys so why not take your girlfriend, wife, mom or a close female friend along for unbiased opinions?

5. Be open to new ideas

Why not try out some new trends. That doesn't mean you have to wear a red blazer with pink pants. Unique clothing can be clothes that have a little unusual detail or that are a different cut to what you would usually wear. Above all else, have fun choosing your new wardrobe!

The Reverse Collar: A New Look in Designer Dress Shirts

Reverse collar shirt by Franck Michel Paris

The world of men’s dress shirts is generally less dynamic than that of the broader fashion industry.  However, there are some designers who are willing to take risks and striving to produce novel designs that will appeal to more fashion forward consumers.  These designers with an eye for bold designs are often European based and their products are generally described as fashion dress shirts, or just designer dress shirts. One of these designers, Franck Michel of Paris, has pioneered a bold new collar style that provides just the unique dynamic twist that many fashion conscious men are looking for these days.

The reverse collar starts as a longer normal collar but then in a unique twist, it is folded back upon itself and secured with a button. This technique allows the designer to incorporate multiple styles or colors of fabric, much like a double collar does.  The reverse collar has the advantage of being unique compared to the double collar, which has now been adopted by many men’s dress shirt manufacturers, with each one employing a slightly different version of the double collar technique and using it to highlight different fabrics and looks. The reverse collar, however, is still a rarity even inside the world of luxury men’s dress shirts.

In an industry where designers are constantly striving to be different than their competitors, the reverse collar, as designed by Franck Michel, provides a look that will be hard to find elsewhere. This ensures that those who are bold enough to choose to wear the reverse collar will not bump into someone else wearing the look. Additionally, it means that wearers of the reverse collar will constantly have other fashion conscious people questioning where they got such a unique design.

Franck Michel shirts are available through their North American distributor, fashion-shirts.com, and are starting to pop up elsewhere online and around the globe. They are a well known brand in Europe, as they have been producing designer men’s shirts since 1969, however, they are now expanding to markets around the world. A prime example of a reverse collar shirt from Franck Michel is the Miami, available in blue, white and red from fashion-shirts.com for $159.

What Fashion Shirt to Wear: Different Styles for Different Events

Summer shirt by Franck Michel Paris

There are many different styles of men’s fashion dress shirts available these days.  Nearly as many choices as there are days in the year.  But your goal as a fashionable man is to find some select few of these shirts to be your go-to designer shirts for the events that you’ll attend when you are trying to dress to impress.  In this article you’ll learn a little about which men’s designer shirt to wear for each type of event you might attend this year.

Formal gatherings: Classic, elegant shirts

For formal events like a wedding or black tie event, it’s often best to choose a fashion shirt with a more understated style, that doesn’t scream ‘look at me!’  However, if you get close this type of shirt will whisper to you about its elegant details and the craftsmanship that goes into its construction.  Though it pairs well with tie, make no mistake, this is not your father’s dress shirt.  It wears very slim fit and won’t look baggy or billowy when you tuck it in.  Shirts of this ilk can be found in the ‘Moderne’ collection on fashion-shirts.com, the North American distributor of French fashion designer Franck Michel. 

Nights Out: Luxury, patterned shirts

For nights out on the town, whether you are going out on a date, or prowling with the boys, you have an opportunity to wear shirts that are much more eye catching than you might wear to a more formal gathering.  Here is your chance to take fashion risks, and wear something that no one else in the club has ever seen before.  You won’t be wearing a tie, so don’t be afraid of more fashion forward collar designs like double collars, or the reverse collar innovated by Franck Michel.  Also you can be much more aggressive with the pattern of the shirt, since you’ll have no tie to pair it with and it might help to stand out in the crowd of the nightclub.  Don’t be scared of stripes, checks, gingham, or even floral patterns.  Franck Michel’s Luxe collection has plenty of this type of shirt, available at fashion-shirts.com.

Summer Wear: Lighter, pastel shirts

In summertime for outdoor events, one must also consider the season as well as the type of event.  For summer, pastel is in fashion as it always is.  The light colors look great in the sun and can make your tan look great.  There is a wide range of different summer shirts available in the men’s fashion shirt market, and increasingly they employ boating motifs and lots of embroidery.  They also tend to have great bold styles like the luxury shirts, and are great for their eye-catching designs.  Show off your summer style with Franck Michel’s summer series collection also available on fashion-shirts.com.

Collar Styles: A Great Way to Stand Out With a Designer Shirt

Reverse collar by Franck Michel Paris

Double Collars: This type of collar has been in fashion in Europe for some time and is now starting to find its way across the ocean and into the wardrobes of fashionable American men.  There are many variations, but typically a double collar consists of a collar on top of another collar that allows the designer to showcase two types of fabric, usually of contrasting patterns and/or colors, in one shirt.  A prime example of this type comes from the Parisian designer Franck Michel.  Franck Michel provides many shirts of this type, and one of my favorites the Limited Edition Paris Blue Gingham is currently available for just under $150 from online retailer fashion-shirts.com.  This particular example pairs a solid navy blue collar under a light blue gingham collar, which really draws the eye, but does so in an elegant, fashionable way. 

Reverse Collars: This is a truly unique collar design that was invented by Franck Michel in Paris, France.  It is an elegant style that allows for flashy fabrics and interesting complimenting color combinations.  A prime example of the design innovations that typify Franck Michel this look has now been copied by other fashion designers the world over.  Franck Michel offers many styles with this type of collar, my personal favorite being the Miami range, specifically the Miami Red, which is available from fashion-shirts.com for $159, and is a shirt that truly typifies this type of luxury shirt look.  Reverse collars are not for the faint of heart, but rather those who are confident standing out.  One look at a Miami from Franck Michel and I’m sure you’ll agree with me.

Button Down or American Collars:
This is a prime example of the merging of American and European influences in the designs of Franck Michel.  The button down collar was pioneered on American sport shirts, and was popularized as a more formal design in the 1960’s by American style icons like John F. Kennedy.  Franck Michel has taken this traditional American look and added a distinctly European twist.  By making the collar taller and more crisp and defined, they have added an air of formal style that is unlike the original American look.  This transcontinental blending of styles is the essence of the modern look of Franck Michel.  By taking luxury details from different cultures and blending them into a new look, they achieve an international style that sets them apart from the competition.  A great example of this Franco-American blending from Franck Michel is the Eiffel range.  Available in black, blue and white, these designer dress shirts are $129 from fashion-shirts.com and are an exceptional addition to any modern men’s wardrobe.

Your Choices for Spring: Men’s Fashion Shirt Designers

Mens double collar dress shirt.

Spring is here and it’s time to shed your layers and step out with new fashion wear.  How should you pick from the myriad options that the sartorial world presents?  Let’s consider some options and weigh the choices that we have for new men’s fashion dress shirts these days.  For me, the designers of the men’sfashion shirts on the market right now break into three classes: the Big Designers, the Imitators, and the Upstarts. 

First let’s consider the Big Designers.  You know who these guys are and you’ve known about them since you were 14.  They offer not just shirts and not just men’s wear.  They have a global presence, and you can buy their wares online or you can go to a high end department store in your local mall or maybe in a high rise downtown and check them out in person.  Their shirts fit great, and you know that you are getting a quality dress shirt.  However, though their runway shows certainly feature outlandish and forward thinking styles, the fashion shirts available to you may be a little on the conservative side.  Let’s be clear, anyone into fashion probably has lots of these shirts in their closet.  Sometimes you need just a white dress shirt or a blue dress shirt that you can trust, and that you know fits you right.  If you get it from the Big Designers you’ll be paying extra for the name, but you know what you’re getting.

The next category is the Imitators.  These guys don’t really do enough for me to waste much space here writing about them.  They take the classic styles and ideas of the Big Designers and they offer shirts for dramatically less financial outlay.  Sure, this seems like a good idea at first, but when you get the shirt home and it doesn’t fit quite right, and the buttons start falling off, it doesn’t look like such a good deal.  These guys are notorious for skipping over the details that make your favorite shirt special.  Clearly, I think they do not deserve your patronage.

Finally we get to my favorite category, the Upstarts.  These designers are the smallest firms, and thus the creative types have more freedom to express themselves through the design of the product.  This is where you’ll find men’s designer shirts that have real fashion innovation, that are cutting edge, shaping the sartorial landscape of men’s fashion, able to take ideas from the runway and put them into products that you can actually get your hands on.  These brands will charge you a pretty penny just like the Big Designers will, and you might not immediately recognize their name, but you get what you pay for in this world and that means these shirts are of the highest quality.  The fit is every bit as slim as the top designers (sometimes even more!) and the material is impressively smooth and soft.

For me, the choice is simple.  I go with the Upstarts.  Sure, I have stuff from the Big Designers in my closet.  I’ve tried the Imitators and I won’t go back.  Life is about going for it and taking chances, and that’s just what the Upstarts are doing with their shirts, and that’s an idea I can get behind.

Reverse Collar: What’s With the Newest Trend in Men’s Designer Shirts

Reverso shirt with leather band cufflinks

There’s a new trend in European dress shirts and it’s starting to make its way across the Atlantic and is now showing up online available here in the U.S.  It’s something that you might not notice the second you look at the shirt, but when you see it, you’ll be surprised and intrigued.  I’m referring, of course, to the reverse collar.  It’s a collar with an extra fold so it ends pointed up instead of down. If you’ve never seen one you’re probably thinking, “Wait, what? How is that possible?  What does that look like? How does it stay folded up?”  Well, no matter the designer or the style, there is always a very strategically placed button on the collar, not too high, not too low, but just in the right spot to keep the collar folded perfectly back up.  This allows designers like Franck Michel to show a classy contrasting color look on the collar, playing with a different color on the underside of the collar.

For an example of a designer playing with this contrast color collar look, check out Franck Michel’s Miami Blue, available in the States for $149 at fashion-shirts.com. It sure isn’t the only Franck Michel offering on fashion-shirts.com that features a reverse collar.  While that price point puts it solidly in the luxury tier of men’s designer shirts these shirts have all the other components of a luxury shirt that you would expect.  The material is the finest Italian cotton, and fit is extra slim.  I love the extra slim fit personally, but it isn’t for everyone and you have to be careful selecting your size.  Franck Michel is a design house in the heart of Paris that is famous around Europe for this trend and is just starting to bring this look to the U.S.

So what are these shirts good for?  Well they aren’t ideal for wearing with a tie, so they might not be perfect for wearing to work for some folks.  On the other hand, they are perfect for a night out.  The thing I love about these shirts, is the attention you get when you are wearing them.  Stylish people notice the details like the reverse collar and are certain to ask you about it.  I’ve never had so many people interested in my shirt as when I wear a reverse collar like this.  For me, that’s always a good thing.  When I go out I’m always aiming to meet new people and if we can start out on the right foot because of my unique and stylish designer shirt that’s great for me. Trust me you’ll meet the right people wearing a shirt like this, if you know what I’m saying.