Designer casual shirts, with the sizing actually explained

What is actually in here

The brands here split into three groups worth knowing about before you buy.

The tailored end is Stenstroms and Barena, both cut close, both sized on European numbers rather than letters. The middle is Paul Smith, NN07, Oliver Spencer and A Fish Named Fred, regular fits in familiar letter sizing. The relaxed end is Wax London, Universal Works, OAS and Kardo, all cut wide and often short, and all designed to be worn open or layered.

That matters because a medium is not a medium across those three groups. More on that below.

Edwin sits slightly apart, doing work shirts in heavier cotton. Barbour does a small number of casual shirts alongside the outerwear it is better known for.

Oxford, poplin, twill and chambray, and which one you want

These are weaves, not brands, and the difference is what the shirt feels like on.

Poplin is a plain weave with fine, closely spaced crosswise ribs. It is the smoothest and crispest of the four, and the most formal. If you want a casual shirt that still looks sharp under a jacket, this is the one.

Oxford is a basket weave, single weft threads crossing over and under pairs of warp threads, with the weft thicker than the warp. That gives it a slightly chalky look, because a thick white weft softens whatever colour the warp is. It is the classic casual shirting and it gets better with washing. Pinpoint oxford uses finer yarn and a tighter weave, so it sits a step smarter.

Twill is denser and works well at heavier weights. Herringbone is a twill variation that gives a zig-zag effect.

Chambray is a plain weave with a coloured warp and a white weft, often with a slubby texture. It reads as casual and it is the one people mistake for lightweight denim.

Flannel is plain or twill weave, napped on both sides. The napping traps still air, which is why it is warmer than its weight suggests.

Linen, and the honest answer about creasing

Linen is stronger than cotton, dries faster, and resists sunlight better. It absorbs and releases moisture quickly and conducts heat well, which is why it feels cool against the skin.

It also has low elasticity, and that is exactly why it creases. Creasing is a property of the fibre, not a fault in the shirt and not a sign it was made badly. Anyone selling you a linen shirt that does not crease is selling you a blend.

We have deliberately not published a shrinkage percentage for linen. Every figure we could find came from a retailer blog with no source behind it, and a wrong number costs you a shirt.

Collars, and why they change the whole shirt

Collar spread is the distance between the points. A straight point collar runs roughly 1.5 to 3.5 inches apart, a spread collar 4 to 6 inches, and a cutaway 6.5 to 8.5 inches, the widest of the three. Wider collars suit wider faces and larger tie knots. Narrower collars suit the opposite.

Button-down is more casual than either spread or point. A club collar has rounded points. A band collar, sometimes called a grandad collar, has no collar leaves at all and is the most casual option on the rail. A camp collar is completely unfused and relaxed, which is the one to look for on OAS and Kardo.

There is a construction difference underneath all of this. If the interlining is heat bonded to the collar fabric it is fused, and it stays smooth and pucker-free through years of laundering. If it is sewn in, it is unfused, and it keeps the flexibility and character of the cloth but will develop some puckering at the edges over time. Fused suits pinpoint, twill and broadcloth. Unfused works best on textured linens, corduroys and ivy-style oxfords, which is most of what is in this collection.

Sizing across twelve brands, which nobody else sets out

This is the part no retailer writes down, and it is the reason people return casual shirts.

Wax London runs small enough that there is a case for going one size up, and that applies to their shirts in particular. Universal Works relaxed-fit pieces go the other way: there is no harm in sizing down if you want something closer through the body.

Overshirt or shacket

An overshirt is a shirt with a relaxed or oversized fit built for layering, and it is typically thicker than a button-down. A shacket looks like a button-down but is built like a jacket. All shackets are overshirts; not all overshirts are shackets.

The practical test is what it is designed to go over. An overshirt goes over a tee. A shacket goes over a jumper.