Even if your closet is ninety percent fleece, dress shirts are non-negotiables. At some point, you’ll face an occasion that requires one—a laid-back wedding, a high-stakes job interview, a weirdly formal middle-school piano recital. But the right dress shirt won’t just save you in a pinch, it’ll help you sneak past upper management at your new corporate gig. (Especially if said corporate gig is working at GQ.)
Because the superlative versions of the style aren’t simply dress shirts—or, at least, not exclusively dress shirts. Buy one equipped with the right fit, details, and fabrics, and even the most formal of the bunch can kick it in less stuffy environments without eliciting snickers. We’re on-the-record fans of throwing one on with a groovy tie and crisp trousers, but toss a dress shirt over a graphic tee and baggy shorts , and suddenly, your otherwise schlubby fit looks exponentially more considered—and exponentially more stylish.
