Dress Shirts vs. Casual Shirts: How to Tell the Difference

This month I received:

Dress shirts and casual button-ups — at first glance, they might look the same but there are a few major differences between the two.

Why does it matter? Well, wearing a dress shirt when you should be wearing a casual button-up (or vice versa) can ruin your outfit, and it’s a mistake I see guys making all the time, especially at weddings and out at the bar or club.

So, to make sure you don’t make that mistake, I’m going to cover 7 differences between dress shirts and casual button-ups, including the details, the fabric and colors, and the fit.

We’ll also look at some examples of quintessential button ups to see which ones are dressy and which ones are casual. By the end of this video, you’ll know which type of button up shirt to wear in order to look and feel confident.

#dressshirts #buttondownshirt #mensstyle

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[Lassehansen]

Agree that very formal shirts generally look incoherent with casual outfits, though mostly wear “casual” dress shirts (in linen/ cotton/linen mix) and I’ll occasionally wear when with shorts or even jeans. It really all depends on how big of a gap there is between the different pieces of clothing that you are using in your outfit.

[entertainmentmachNO]

I’ve been tailoring a all of my casual shirts ever since I started watching your videos. Thank you for the tips 🙏🙏

[newandroidfan]

You're the only channel that gets straight to the point in every video.

[Upsiditus]

The distinction is really much simpler than this. A casual shirt will be sized something like "large" and a dress shirt will be sized something like "16 34/35." A dress shirt will have an exact collar length. The best dress shirts also have an exact sleeve length. All short sleeve shirts are casual.

[NedransVikingar]

Casual shirts can be tucked in with shirt stays and IMO they generally look better than dress shirts. Dress shirts just looks too "glossy" to me. I prefer the matte finish and thicker fabric. It looks cleaner. So I usually wear my casual shirts dressier.

[adino.y]

I appreciate the upload frequency. Thank you, Brock

[Stealthfulness]

I think button down and pointed collars can serve as both casual and formal regardless of being "stiff" as long as it looks good. There's no strict rule. I personally think point collars look nicer with a tie than those cutaways do. You surely don't want to casually wear a designated dress shirt with a cutaway collar, but you can certainly wear a suitable shirt for both casual and formal settings. It's actually very subjective, so your nonobjective statement saying it's a mistake is quite false, sir.

[lloydaurion-gaming]

Hot take: I’m a public accountant and I wear my dress shirts untucked at work sometimes. French cuffs too. I don’t wear accessories outside of the links when I wear it untucked. I’m still the most dressed up person in the office usually. First time I did it people were surprised, but never said anything negative.

Also I’m 26, I’ve been to only 3 weddings and 1 funeral in my entire life. How often are people going to these things? I avoid funerals because I don’t like them. I just don’t know anyone getting married I guess.

[-c.c.frear-]

Oh man... My largest style mistake starting out ☠️
Where was this video when I was in high school lol

[isaiahbc]

I wish I found your channel years ago. Informative and concise, packed with information, to the point, reasonable length

[brytanmendes]

Hot take: I wear OCBD as my primary shirt, even to interviews. So long as the sheen matches, you won’t look too out of place. This is especially true if the collar has a lovely roll.

[DiegoB]

Can you do a video of the difference between a sports jacket and a suit jacket please?

[davidcraggs]

I go for the “Invisible Tie” look a lot. Nothing wrong or out of place. II actually don’t like to see open necked dress shirts. In a similar way I do not think that there is anything out of place to wear a long dress shirt untucked. In the UK this style is sported a lot especially by younger guys. Also the Invisible Tie.

[wilhelmseleorningcniht]

sheen for me is probably one of the most important parts
The collar for sure as well, cos if it's stiffened and you're not buttoning it up, you can see that stiffness
but the sheen, goddamn they can be downright shiny. Which really for me is what pegs it as a dress shirt
Also weirdly enough, one of my oddest shirts is this 100 percent nylon flannel somebody gave me when I was younger, and of all things it has collar stays built in. Really surprised me to find them, I was wondering why the collar was staying so nicely compared to other shirts I owned

[bach]

Wow, just found your channel. I love it already.

[andrejohnson]

"out in the wild" love that term 😂

[spotsill]

Excellent video it reminded me of a few things I had forgotten.

[randy-U.I.O.G.D.]

More about short sleeves, button-up shirts and pairing them with chinos, jeans and shorts including color and style, please. Thanks. ❤

[ohisozolua]

What if you are in a study course like medicine that you have to wear corporate clothes through out. What do I do

[Signoramico]

I recently bought an Oxford from Uniqlo, but the hem length is in the middle between dress and casual shirt, but it kinda look bad on me because if hem length. Is it possible to cut the lenght in a tailor shop?