The Importance Of Dress For A Job Interview Part 3 “The Shirt”

THE SHIRT:

Dress Shirt Size:
Dress shirts are generally sized in two areas, neck size and sleeve length. Neck sizes impact the overall shirt size, so a larger neck size will be wider in the shoulder and body. For those with a trimmer body, designers make athletic or fitted shirts. These are tapered for a tighter fit.

Neck sizes 14½ to 18 are easily found; larger sizes are available in big-and-tall shops, Sleeve lengths vary from 30 to 37. Many manufacturers combine two lengths into a range, such as 32-33. Difficult to find sizes may require that shirts be custom made.

Make sure the neck size is large enough so that you can comfortably button the top button if a tie is worn. Sleeves should be long enough to cover the wrist when the arm is extended

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COLLARS

Choose dress shirt collars that complement your face shape. For example, narrow collars with pointed tips look best on men with narrow faces. There are several types of dress shirt collars, and each type has several variations: some tips will be more rounded, and some will have more space in between the front tips. Here are a few:

• Straight-point: The V-shaped points of a straight-point collar are the most common style, and are flattering for most faces.
• Button-down: Less formal than other dress shirt collars, the button-down collar is generally made of a softer fabric and pressed with less starch.
• Spread: With a bigger gap between the tips, a spread collar has many different tips to flatter all but the roundest faces.
• Tab: With a higher collar and a smaller spread, this is most flattering on men with long necks.
• Club: Also known as a rounded collar, the club collar is short, has rounded tips and looks very stylish.
• Pinned: With a high collar much like the tab collar, a pinned collar has a straight pin which fastens the two points.

Collars that don’t have buttons or pins will be held in place with either plastic or metal stays to keep them pointed. Don’t throw these away when you buy a new shirt, and make sure to remove the stays when you launder your dress shirt.

For all intents and purposes for the interview I recommend staying with three types of collars. While there are many to choose from these three are your most basic and classic.

The Straight-point, Spread or the Button Down.

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CUFFS

Like collars, the cuffs on dress shirts come in many varieties, with curves and points and various numbers of closures. Here are the basic types:

• Barrel: Barrel cuffs are also known as a button cuff because they close with at least one button, and possibly more than one. If there are multiple buttons, these can be used to adjust the fit.
• French or Double: A French cuff or double cuff has fabric that is long and folds back. These are closed with a cuff link or silk knot. French cuffs are considered by many to be more formal than a barrel cuff.
• Convertible: A convertible cuff can be closed with buttons or cuff links.

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POCKETS

Dress shirt companies design shirts with pockets as they like, but there are a few general expectations about pockets:

• Shirts with button-down collars are more likely to have a chest pocket.
• Shirts with two chest pockets are considered to be less formal.
• Shirts worn with a vest or with suspenders should not have pockets–both would be too bulky.

Remember to limit how much you carry in your dress shirt pocket so you won’t look sloppy.

The fabric of your men’s dress shirt will affect your comfort, the appearance of the shirt and its care. Here are a few things to consider when you are shopping for men’s dress shirts:

Fibers

• Cotton: Cotton breathes well and can be very soft, so you’ll be comfortable while you’re wearing it. Cotton also holds dye well, so bright colors will look great for a long time.
• Cotton blends: When another fiber is woven in with the cotton, you get the benefits of both fibers. For example, a cotton-Lycra blend will add stretch, and a cotton-polyester won’t wrinkle as much.
• Linen: Linen dress shirts breathe well, making them perfect for summer wear. Linen does wrinkle easily, so you’ll need to spend a bit more time ironing.

Weaves

• Broadcloth: A tightly-woven fabric with a silky texture, broadcloth cotton has a lustrous finish.
• Poplin: Made of 100-percent cotton, poplin is woven with a horizontal rib effect and can be a bit more expensive.
• Oxford: A few types of Oxford weaves are available, but in general, an Oxford is woven from a heavier yarn, giving it a more rugged texture.
• Twill: The diagonal weave of twills makes it perfect for a solid-color dress shirt.

Wrinkle Free Shirts:

A fairly recent innovation are shirts that promise to be wrinkle resistant, no-iron or even wrinkle-free. These shirts can be machine washed and will shed most wrinkles in the dryer and remain looking good if hung up immediately.

After a few washings, these shirts will still bunch up on the collar and near the buttons, and will need pressing to look perfect. Wrinkle free shirts look almost as good as laundered shirts in the morning, and wrinkle less as the day goes along.

A well-made and fitted dress shirt should retain the proper look for a few dozen machine washings. Rotating a new shirt in each month will provide the businessman with a great wardrobe, and allow for gradual change in sizes and style.

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Posted by Glenn on Oct 22 2009 Filed under FASHION, SELF HELP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry