A Sense of Ease

The Case for a Good Shirt

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At a certain point you possess an arsenal of Oxford cloth shirts. These are your warhorses and I salute them. But sometimes you want something a little more…particular. A more rarefied fabric, texture or color. For me, the platonic shirt ideal is at home beneath a cardigan in the library of the country estate I don’t own. But it also hits the right mark with a knit tie a good brasserie, bistro or Le Bernardin.

This was the inspirations for the capsule collection I did with my friends at 100Hands, the great company that makes beautiful shirts in India. I’ve always loved their shirts—they’re specific and special and the craftsmanship is extraordinary. We wanted to make shirts that stand ever so slightly apart.

Also: I just love that shirt he wears near the end of The Godfather, the best shirt in cinema. Brando looks elegant and at ease. Our version is here. It’s a large grey flannel plaid with a fine herringbone pattern and a lovely collar. This is a shirt you can fall in love with. If you wear it while opening a good bottle of Barbaresco then that’s even better.

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Photo: Spencer Wells

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The shirt obsessives out there (you know who you are!) have the market cornered on conventional shirts. These days I’m looking for shirts that are not the standard. This Oxford is a warm beige (officially called, ahem, sand). Has any shirt ever belonged more with a brown knit tie? I don’t think so. But you can also wear it with unbuttoned with white jeans when you’re pulling your Riva into port.

And because most men still wear blue shirts there’s this denim button down that has just enough weight to age beautifully and fade over time. And yes, there’s a pocket for those of us who still carry pens. Wear this with a Barbour (as I am in the photo) or with a tweed sport coat if you want a little contrast.

We wear shirts every day. Shake a man’s hand, look him in the eye, and his shirt will enter your vision. That’s why we feel strongly about them. Gatsby of course, but also the characters in Light Years who consider their shirt-makers as important as fishing guides. Putting on a good shirt is a private gift to yourself and a public assurance that the day holds the possibility for great things.

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