The Amputated Dress Shirt
By Izzy
According to The New York Times, young designers like Marc Jacobs, Thom Browne, Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders, Alexander McQueen, and Michael Bastian are offering stylish versions of the short-sleeved dress shirt this summer.
The article rightly points out that this look will work, if at all, only on men who’ve spent a lot of time at gym. It fails to note, however, that the short-sleeve dress shirt is the only element of men’s businesswear that derives from women’s clothing. Izzy believes that that should be all you need to know when deciding whether to don one.
June 16th, 2006 at 3:40 pm
Odd that you should post this today. I was just thinking of a high school flame and what I would say to him if we were to meet again. I decided I would ask, “What compelled you to buy a short-sleeved dress shirt?”
June 16th, 2006 at 10:07 pm
I confess that all through all middle and some high school, shirts like this were part of my wardrobe. This is what happens when you let your mother decide wether or not something looks good. No wonder I never had any girlfriends.
June 17th, 2006 at 9:40 am
Geek chic. That said, that’s the best-looking geek I’ve ever seen.
June 18th, 2006 at 2:39 am
Enygma, that’s exactly what I was thinking.
June 19th, 2006 at 2:36 am
Aw, geek chic is HOT.
June 19th, 2006 at 6:12 pm
My thoughts, too!
June 20th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Oops…I wear shot sleeved dress shirts. I’m wearing one right now, as a matter of fact! I didn’t think about how the look, I just thought about the comfort level. When I wear long sleeved shirts, I’m always having to roll up the sleeves when I’m working on something or it gets hot in the office - which it does, a lot.
June 20th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Bryan, I think long-sleeved shirts rolled up look way better than short-sleeved dress shirts. Maybe you could get a fan for your office.
June 22nd, 2006 at 10:46 am
Short sleeved dress shirts are abominable. They remind me of some old school accountant with the full on pocket protector and green visor. Although fashion does change over time, it is also noteworthy to point out that every single ‘nerd’ in Saved by the Bell rocked out in a short sleeved dress shirt. Unless you’re a 70-year-old man going to the race track in the summer, it will always look ridiculous. JMHO for what its worth (not much I guess).
Dylan
http://www.groomingmenusa.com/
June 22nd, 2006 at 12:08 pm
[...] Having mulled over the issue, Izzy thinks that a reason so many American men are willing to wear short-sleeve dress shirts in the summer is that too few of them are aware of the amazing cooling properties of linen. Admittedly, linen can be expensive, and a 100% linen shirt might appear too wrinkly and casual for the office. The ideal solution is to don a dress shirt made of a linen/cotton blend, which doesn’t wrinkle or stretch as much. For some reason, though, these sort of shirts are hard to find. [...]
June 24th, 2006 at 10:13 pm
Check out CBS’ Sunday Morning show about short-sleeve dress shirts.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
Hey, I’ve got a Polo Pin Striped Dress Shirt that is short sleeved and definitely a comfortable shirt that I rotated into the wardrobe. Girlfriend hates it.
By the way- linen shirts are a hassle because they wrinkle so easily.