Golden Rules

1. No wrinkles

   A dress shirt can not be wrinkled. Iron your shirt.

2. Layer

   You should ideally wear an undershirt with your dress shirt. It adds a dash of color and also, the undershirt prevents your dress shirt from getting sweat stains in those hot situations. Having said this, your dress shirt should be thick enough so that you cannot see your undershirt through your dress shirt. No 15$ dress shirts, my friend.

3. Proper fit is important

   It is important to have a proper fit for any clothing, dress shirts especially.

   Neck size:: Start measuring the circumference of your neck at the area where you would do up the top button of the shirt. Choose the larger size of two if it’s in between two marks, you don’t want to choke yourself.

   Sleeves: Your shirt should reach the beginning of your thumb. Start measuring from the middle of the back of the neck. Longer is better then shorter.

4. Tuck In Situations

   If you’re not wearing a tie and not going to a formal, then no tuck-in!

5. Collars, Cuffs and Knots
   

   Esquire has a good little primer on some basic information on these things, go here to take a look. I would rip it off, but they would probably sue us.

Standard “Can’t-Go-Wrong” Suggestions

Please note: the items listed below are girl-approved examples. Although each item is linked to a vendor that sells the item, we’re not advocating any exact make, model, or vendor. We highly recommend vendors which offer free in-store returns or free shipping on certain orders.

Fitted Dress shirt

Everyone needs a nice dress shirt. The key here is to go with thicker material - see through is not cool. Also, as soon as you wear a shirt with a tie, it needs to be pressed and neat. When wearing a tie with a colored collared shirt, try to have a color in the tie match the shirt. Don’t be afraid to go with brighter colors.

Here is a link to some awesome ties - click here, they are a bit pricey though.