Cocktail cuffs
A simple shirt is a piece of garment that not many people look at, noticing details. Quite a lot of people around me have categories - I dress t-shirt to be casual, polo shirt to be something in between and shirt to be more formal. Perhaps I can add a checked shirt to be less formal and plain white/blue to be more formal. But this could be a wrong perception as the level of formality is determined by details of the shirt, like collar, cuffs and more.
To begin with, compare the Cuban collar with the classic one, and you'll get the idea. Also, compare classic cuffs for one button with french cuffs, and you'll also get the idea. But this won't be a post about formality level or what to wear where and when. Instead, this is about how we can play with shirt details while bearing this in mind.
One of my favourite detail is cocktail cuffs. These cuffs you can probably know from the first 007 movies, such as Dr. No, where there is a famous model of a white and blue shirt by Turnbull & Asser worn by Sean Connery.
What I like probably most about them is that they are very practical. In terms of formality, they're definitely higher than cuffs with buttons and less than french cuffs. However, if you're not attending evening events requiring wearing french cuffs, they are not a duty but merely a choice. So you're able to achieve a more formal look without taking care of cufflinks.
I wear this shirt for about a year, again made by my favourite tailor in Prague, Michal Trnka. This was the first shirt where I asked him not to do our classic "just right" fit but to add more space everywhere, making the shirt more spacious. And ever since then, it is the fit I am asking for every time.
I completed this made to measure a shirt with classic collar- a bit closer, like Kent, moving away from the cutaway collar, which I'm not particularly eager to wear lately. Obviously, mother-of-pearl buttons can't miss here, and everything else - placket, back and shoulders are made to look as polished as possible. Exactly as I like it with a formal shirt. I also aimed for cotton that is quite resistant to wrinkles, which really worked with this type of shirt.
Here you see me wearing it with Suitsupply sand cotton/linen jacket, BB burgundy chinos, Berwick tan leather loafers and pink pocket square. Sunglasses are Vuarnet Edge 1613. Even though it would be more convenient to show you this shirt with a tie, as it is now the middle of the summer, I'll decide to go more smart casual and leave some perfect choice of neckwear when the weather turns colder.
Yours Sincerely,
Denis
