A morning suit is a significant investment. It's the Bentley of sartorial style, but you wouldn't fill your Continental GT with sub-par fuel, so why would you opt for a sub-standard shirt with your morning suit?!
If your morning suit is for getting married or attending a wedding, then we suggest that a plain white cotton shirt with a spread collar shirt is the way to go. A standard spread collar will accommodate all of the basic tie knots - Full Windsor, Half Windsor, and Four-in-hand - but don't count out wearing a wider cutaway collar either - these can look very swish with most tie knots, too. Narrow spread collars with long points are not the most traditional and can only be worn with compact four-in-hand knots, which depending on the thickness of your tie, may not be possible to create.
WHITE HERRINGBONE |
WHITE POPLIN COTTON |
WHITE COLNE LINEN |
Favourbrook has a number of white styles that fit the bill perfectly. For other occasions, most notably Royal Ascot, one's shirt options broaden somewhat. The introduction of colour is more than acceptable, and can be particularly striking against a neutral tone waistcoat. Generally speaking, there are two colours discerning chaps reach for: dusty pink and baby blue. The only rules to consider here govern the collar and French cuffs which should both be white, in contrast to the shirt's collar.
BLUE FINE STRIPE |
BLUE KENT COTTON |
PINK KENT COTTON |
For a great example of how to pull this off with aplomb, you need look no further than HRH Prince Charles who regularly wears this configuration to Royal Ascot. This season we have created three contrast collar/cuff styles - two blue hues and one pink one, but all three constructed with the lesser seen rounded club collar, which is perfect to wear with a neat and compact four-in-hand knot (and not just morning dress may we add - all three are excellent alternatives to the white or sky blue business shirt).
