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Essential Tips: Shirts

Shirting is one of the easiest areas to refresh in our style arsenal, but with such a vast array of designs to choose from, where do you begin? Our easy to follow guide will help you sort your Oxfords from your Marcellas, and have you looking crisp and polished whatever the occasion.

The White Shirt

1- £18 RRP from boohooMAN | 2- £25 RRP from M&S | 3- £55 RRP from Hawes & Curtis | 4- £325 RRP from Turnbull & Asser | 5- £85 RRP from Reiss

A backbone to both formal and casual looks, the white shirt remains a timeless menswear classic. With formal white shirts (defined by a stiff collar and long sleeves, sometimes with double cuffs), gents with a stockier or larger frame should opt for the classic fit, which offers a little more room. For slimmer gentlemen, opting for a closer slim cut can bring a more modern feel to the look. Lightweight casual white shirts are a great option for summer, and a loose-fitting linen or cotton style will be cooling whilst lending an artistic touch to your outfit.

Where to wear it: To work with your weekday tailoring, formal events and off-duty occasions layered beneath knitwear

Style tip: For a casual summer take, try a loose-fitting linen shirt with a pair of pastel chinos and loafers. Finish by nonchalantly rolling up your sleeves.

The Oxford Shirt

1- £95 RRP from Hackett | 2- £16 from boohooMAN | 3- £44,99 from Superdry | 4- £90 from GANT | 5- £120 from Thomas Pink

A menswear staple, every man will have one or two of these in his wardrobe. A casual style, the Oxford shirt is identified by its Oxford cloth, usually made of cotton or linen and woven with a fine basket-weave. Some Oxfords have a chest patch pocket, others are pocket-free and can either be plain or printed. Collars are often of the button-down variety. A casual classic, Oxford shirts are lightweight and ideal for layering with knitwear, or wearing solo in accordance with the season.

Style Tip: The Oxford shirt is a great all-rounder and can easily be smarted up with tailoring, or worn casually with denim. During colder spells, pair with a tweed blazer, swapping for a navy cotton jacket when the weather warms. On down days, simply team with a pair of indigo jeans and pop-colour diving loafers

Where to wear it: During casual weekends paired with chinos or denim, or smart- casual occasions with tailored trousers and a blazer.

The Printed Shirt

1- £50 RRP from ASOS | 2- £119 RRP from HUGO BOSS | 3- £20 RRP from boohooMAN | 4- £25 RRP from M&S | 5- £44,99 RRP from Superdry

Menswear is largely dominated by solid tones, so a printed shirt can add a welcome dash of pattern to your aesthetic. Whether you opt for an artful micro-print style, a traditional check or stripe or a bold floral print, a printed shirt will bring a fresh dimension to plain wardrobe staples. If a more subtle approach is your aim, a geometric micro-print shirt is a great way to introduce pattern in a quieter fashion, while the check shirt remains an essential ingredient in today’s menswear offering. For the more daring gent, an abstract or bloom motif is will lend a summery edge to any casual look.

Where to wear it: To offices with a creative outlook, after-hours drinks, weekend gatherings.

Style tip: It’s best to avoid pattern overkill. If you’ve opted for a printed shirt, pair it with solid-tone separates for a more considered approach. A micro floral-print shirt will look great layered with a slim-fitting navy blazer and dark-hued denim.

The Short-Sleeve Shirt

1- £22 RRP from ASOS | 2- £25,99 RRP from ZARA | 3- £20 RRP from NEXT | 4- £29,50 RRP from M&S | 5- £16 RRP from boohooMAN

Previously seen as a relic of our grandfather’s closet, short-sleeve shirts are back in a big way. Cotton or linen, plain or printed, the style is the perfect for the warmer months, making them a holiday wardrobe essential. Hawaiian shirts have shaken off their Magnum P.I. and tasteless tourist associations, and have become a bona fide summer style necessity, with high-end and high-street designers creating luxe, contemporary versions. Short-sleeve shirts have equal styling merit with shorts and sandals as they do with tailored trousers and chinos.

Where to wear it: Holidays in warmer climes, sultry days in the city, barbeques and summer outdoor jaunts

Style tip: Avoid dressing up a short-sleeve shirt too much, and leave it out of formal office ensembles. It definitely still works best in casual situations. Invest in a dark-hued Hawaiian shirt for your next jet-set break to warmer climes and team it with a pair of light grey linen shorts, leather sandals and your favourite retro-inspired sunnies for a nonchalant holiday look.

The Dinner Shirt

1- £29.50 RRP from Marks & Spencer | 2- £44.95 RRP from T.M.Lewin | 3- £89 from Hawes & Curtis | 4- £135 from Hackett | 5- £235 from Turnbull & Asser

The dinner shirt or dress shirt is a style we see less and less of these days with the relaxation of dress codes and the waning of black-tie events. Traditionally worn with a dinner suit, the style is identified by a pleated, plain or textured pique ‘bib’ front (known as a Marcella shirt) and double cuffs and is fastened with either enamelled metal dressed studs, or buttons. This style of shirt can have a wing collar or a classic spread collar. Traditional dinner shirts are cut in a classic fit, but contemporary slim fits are a considered choice, particularly if you’ve opted for a close-fitting jacket.

Where to wear it: Formal black tie functions

Style tip: Don’t feel obliged to opt for the more ubiquitous wing collar when choosing a dinner shirt. A classic spread collar offers a neater look as it folds over the neckband of your bowtie and keeps it in place. This is particularly useful if you don’t know how to tie your own bowtie and wish to conceal the clip and adjuster.

Words by Shane Kurup

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A Stylish Italian Escape

“I am on annual leave”. This is the message you will get if you try to email me this week.

An Italian escape had been in the pipe for some months now. Among several Italian places, it was decided that the ‘cities’ of Murano, Venice & Burano were to be the main destinations.

35 degrees Celsius is the average temperature you get there. This meant that shorts, sunglasses, short sleeves & light shirts are to become my best friends. Not to forget the large quantities of water needed in order to ‘survive’ the days!

My first destination was Murano. To go to there from Venice one has to take a boat (less than 20mn).

Murano, famous for its glass.

Murano, island, northeastern Italy in the Venice Lagoon (Laguna Veneta), is renowned for its long tradition of glass-making. I was told that the island experienced its major development after 1291, when glass furnaces were moved there from Venice.

It was just a delight to spend hours walking around the canals and get a glimpse at the glass shops. A fascinating place!

Like Venice, Murano is formed of seven islands in turn connected by bridges and its Grand Canal that runs through them.
One of Murano’s, and many, glass shops!
The famous Barovier & Toso brand: Luxury Lighting (Murano Glass Since 1295).

Another must see is the the Museum of Glass which was founded by Antonio Colleoni and Vincenzo Zanetti in 1861. Inside you can admire vases, bowls, sculptures and especially the majestic chandeliers.

Venice

Venice is located in the northeast coast of Italy. It is protected from the Adriatic Sea by a long strip of land composed by the Venice Lido, the Cavallino-Treporti Lido and the Jesolo Lido.

The Canal Grande, the main water way of the city to which 150 smaller canals (called “rii”) are connected to.
Linen shirt by M&S. Sunglasses by Asos. Sling bag by Tumi.
This Tumi sling bag quickly became my best ally: wallet, water bottle, camera and bits and bobs did all fit in it.
View from Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
It is estimated that there are around 400 gondolas in Venice. They are made of 280 hand-made pieces using eight types of wood (lime, oak, mahogany, walnut, cherry, fir, larch and elm). The process takes about two months; in 2013, the cost of a gondola was about £35K.
Light brown Sid skinny stretch utility shorts by River Island.
The “Piazza San Marco” is the unique square in Venice. Considered by many as the most beautiful square of the world because of its many decorations in the Renaissance arcades and in the buildings surrounding it.
St Mark’s Campanile, Colonne di San Marco e San teodoro, lPalazzo Ducale.

Burano, known for its lace its unique and colorful houses.

Less than 20 minutes away from Murano (by boat), the picturesque Burano is known for its brightly colored fishermen’s houses and its casual eateries serving seafood from the lagoon. 

It just seems to be the paradise here. One can really appreciates the tranquility and the calmness of this island.

Pursuing the shores you will arrive to center of the Island: Galuppi Square; here neighbourly ladies invite the most curious visitors to come into their shops to admire the lace working.

Many international magazines include Burano among the top 10 most colorful cities in the world.

Floral shirt and sunglasses by Asos, shorts by River Island.
A closer look at some of the Burano fisherman houses.