Dress Shirt - Shirt Wearing

Shirt Wearing

A dress shirt is ironed to remove any wrinkles and can be treated with starch for added smoothness and stiffness. The hem is tucked into the trouser. For informal- or formalwear, a coat and tie (or bow tie) are compulsory. When a tie is worn, the top button of the shirt is fastened, so the tie can fit snugly around the wearer’s neck with a neat appearance.

When a tie is not worn, conventions on buttoning differ globally: in the United States and the United Kingdom, the top button is virtually never buttoned if a tie is not worn – but unbuttoning two or more buttons is seen as overly casual. In France, unbuttoning two buttons is more common, and politicians appear on TV in this style.

In casual usage, these conventions are often not followed, with many choosing to wear shirts not tucked in, or leaving the top button undone with a tie. This is commonly done by children and young men, particularly as part of school uniform, where it is not allowed. Even more casually, some now choose not to iron their shirts, or use nontraditional 'non-iron' fabrics.

Similarly, as part of more casual work attire, some American men wear shirts with the top two buttons unbuttoned (buttoned at the third button), though buttoning at the fourth button is widely seen as too casual. Accordingly, some shirts are manufactured with a difference at the second or third button, by way of subtle cue as to where to button. Most casually, the shirt can be worn entirely unbuttoned, over a T-shirt.