Shirts

He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel, which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many-colored disarray. While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher — shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green and lavender and faint orange, and monograms of Indian blue. Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily. “They’re such beautiful shirts,” she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such — such beautiful shirts before.”

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I have never read words more powerful and more influential. Ever since I read the Great Gatsby and that shirt scene, I have become some what of a shirt connoisseur. A life time of experimentation has made me very discerning about the shirts I buy and wear. And all that experimentation has made me realize that shirts are the easiest and the most difficult thing to buy.

I don’t necessarily buy a lot of shirts. I just buy ones that feel great when I wear them. In other words, when it comes to shirts, I hate being trendy and instead focus on getting shirts that fit well, are very comfortable and are well made to last a few years.

I also avoid big brands such as Banana Republic. Instead, I seek out smaller lesser known brands who eschew trendiness and instead focus on high-quality fabrics, cuts, stitching and the general fit of the shirt. Of course, the other upside of a smaller brand is that you are less likely to run into another person wearing the same shirt.   Continue reading “Shirts… They’re such beautiful shirts”