The best dress shirts for men are the quintessential fashion pieces that pull together your entire look. They work in many scenarios to add some personal style, and if fitted properly, they elevate your game. Every guy needs a few good dress shirts to round out his foundational wardrobe—and we have some recommendations.
Finding the best men’s dress shirt comes down to being well-versed in fit, fabric and quality. We reached out to professional stylists to ask for their top picks for a variety of body types and work-life situations. Whether you’re into fashion or just need a step up from your “nice t-shirt,” here are the best dress shirts for men that we highly recommend. Our advice: Stock up on multiples and wear these regularly.
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
At Forbes Vetted, we take menswear shopping seriously; you can find a vast array of for men across our website. In order to pinpoint the best dress shirts for men on the market, we tapped two expert sources: , founder and principal stylist at BU Style and , lead male stylist at Wardrobe Therapy. Tincher and Twaits have provided deep insight into how to find the ideal dress shirt for any occasion, as well as shared their top brand recommendations that won’t disappoint. Further, the production of this piece was overseen by our own in-house style expert, deputy fashion editor .
This article undergoes routine updates to guarantee you have access to the best products and prices available. Its most recent update was completed in February 2024.
What To Consider About The Best Dress Shirts For Men
When it comes to shopping for men’s dress shirts, there are a few key factors you’ll want to consider to streamline your search, including:
Fit And Sizing
When looking for a men’s dress shirt, fit is key. “It’s most important to look at the shoulders and the chest because both areas are difficult to tailor and altering them will affect the overall construction of the shirts,” says Tincher. The shoulder seam should line up with your shoulder bone. And a tell-tale sign that you should pass on a shirt? “If buttons are pulling at all, then that’s not the right fit for you,” she says. Similarly, if your off-the-rack shirt isn’t the perfect fit, take your shirt to a tailor, although you may want to account for that in the purchase price. “It should be easy to tailor the torso to be made slimmer and to shorten sleeves,” Tincher says.
While sleeve length is important, another factor to pay attention to is neck size. “If you’re buttoning the top button, you need to be able to fit about two fingers between the collar and your neck,” says Tincher. If there’s a lot more room, then it’s too big and will throw off the look, and if it’s less, you’ll likely feel suffocated. Also, when accounting for fit, remember that the size of the shirt may change with time. “Keep in mind that even if it says a shirt is preshrunk, shirts tend to shrink a bit more after about ten washes or trips to the dry cleaner,” Tincher says.
Price And Quality
Think about the cost per wear for any men’s dress shirt you purchase. While some brands may give you sticker shock, the fabric and construction is likely superior, which means you’ll wear the shirt more often and it will last. In general, once you find a shirt fit that works well for you, experts recommend purchasing multiple colors or patterns.
While it can be tempting to go cheap on dress shirts if you’re not wearing them all the time, you shouldn’t doubt the article’s quality right out of the gate. “Ask yourself, are the seams and stitching around the cuffs or buttons already pulling or wearing?” says Tincher. “That’s a bad sign.” Similarly, if a shirt’s material feels thin or see-through, you may want to pass.
Fabric And Color
The most versatile and classic colors for a business setting are blue and white, so you should probably have those as the foundation of your closet before branching out into more daring patterns and prints. But bear in mind you may have to replace those white shirts more often than other colors. “There really is a shorter lifetime for white shirts,” says Tincher. “Between your sweat and oxidation and deodorant and laundering chemicals, over time there will be a natural yellowing. If you are laundering them, find the best cleaning services. They will typically treat those areas before washing them to give your shirt more longevity.”
Also, if you’re looking for a wrinkle-free option, be aware that the smoothness factor may be fleeting. “A lot of people like no-iron fabrics, but that’s just a finishing on the fabric,” says Tincher. “Over time, the non-iron finish on the shirt will wear off.”
What’s The Right Dress Shirt For My Body Type?
“First and foremost, consider body shape and fit when shopping for dress shirts,” says Twaits. “If you have a rectangle or v-shaped silhouette, look for brands with slim or trim fit shirts. If you are more oval shaped, look for brands that have a classic fit.” One particular feature to look for, according to Twaits, is darting on the back of a shirt. “This will make the waist of the shirt slimmer and sometimes allow for a broader shoulder,” he says. Overall, know that even if you find a great shirt for your body type, you may still need to consider alterations to get the best fit.
What’s The Difference Between A Dress Shirt And A Regular Button-Down?
In general, a dress shirt is made from a finer weave fabric, it’s fitted more closely to the body—since it is typically worn under a suit jacket or blazer—and it has a pointed or spread collar rather than a button-down collar. Think of a dress shirt as something that is typically more formal that you could wear in a boardroom, to a job interview or to an event like a wedding. It is also often worn with a tie. But the beauty of a dress shirt is that it can be paired with more casual clothing, like khakis or jeans, to dress it down.
Like a dress shirt, a regular button-down has style versatility and can be dressed up or down. It is often made of a thicker, more durable weave, like an oxford shirt’s basket weave or a twill, and it’s intended for more casual, everyday wear. Button-down shirts tend to have button-down collars and chest pockets, and they sometimes have small pleats at the base of the yoke in back of the shirt for ease of movement. They can be worn tucked in, untucked, over a t-shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, under a sweater, you name it.
What’s The Best Fabric For Men’s Dress Shirts?
It really comes down to personal preference, but the best men’s dress shirts are 100% cotton, rather than a cotton/poly blend, which makes them breathable and comfortable. The challenge with cotton, though, is that it can show wrinkles easily. You will most often see men’s dress shirts in broadcloth (which is very similar to poplin), Oxford, pinpoint and twill fabrics, although dress shirts in other fabrics do exist. All have slightly different feels and thicknesses.
- Broadcloth has very little texture, no sheen and it is on the lightweight side; it is a pretty standard shirt for professional settings.
- Oxford is a basket weave fabric that can sometimes be slightly rough, but it tends to be very durable.
- Pinpoint is the same weave as an oxford, but it is a tighter weave so it looks more formal. It’s thicker than broadcloth.
- Royal Oxford fabric looks significantly dressier, it has shine and it’s textured.
- Twill is a tightly woven fabric that shows a diagonal weave. It tends to be soft and drapes nicely.
Some men’s dress shirts may have stretch, like those from Bonobos or Mizzen + Main, which makes them popular with guys looking for additional comfort. Other men’s dress shirts may have non-iron finishes, like ones from Tie Bar. A non-iron finish makes shirts easier to care for, and it means a shirt will tend to look nicer after a long day or night.
What Collar Is Best For Broad Shouldered Guys?
If you’re broad on top, a wider spread collar or cutaway collar will tend to look best because it will balance out the proportions of your shoulders. But face shape is another important consideration when choosing your collar. Round faces will usually look best in pointed collars with a narrow spread, while oval or thinner faces will be balanced well with a spread collar.
What About Custom Dress Shirts?
If you cannot find the fit or fabrics you like off the rack, it may make sense to buy custom shirts. In general, a custom dress shirt will cost from $200 to $500 a shirt. It sounds like a lot of money, but there are significant benefits to custom tailoring: You can get a precise, flattering fit, in the neck, sleeves and body; you have a much wider range of fabrics, colors and patterns to choose from to best accommodate your profession, the climate you live in, or just to show off your personal style; and custom shirts are made from high quality materials so fans of custom dress shirts note that they tend to last much longer than their off-the-rack counterparts.
How the process typically works: You set up a meeting with a well-respected tailor (or go to a store such as to meet with a style advisor) to discuss your general preferences, and then he or she will take a series of your measurements. You will typically go through a variety of books of fabrics to choose the fabrics and colors you like, and then you’ll determine style customizations such as collar type, cuff type, pocket styles, yoke, placket, buttons and monogramming. While turnaround time varies, it generally takes between four to six weeks to receive the finished product.