http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/vor0m/beginner_shirt_guide/ UNIQLO's slim fit OCBDs are well regarded for their price and quality http://www.uniqlo.com/us/search.html?q=MEN+OXFORD+SLIM+FIT+LONG+SLEEVE+SHIRT
I'm a big boy so I have to mostly stick with Roundtree & Yorke at Dillards. Men's Warehouse, and pretty much any men's store, are also good about stocking bigger sizes and Joseph Abboud is the go-to there, albeit for $85 - $100. Unless you really take pride and joy in your ironing skills just start budgeting for bi-weekly cleaners trips and ask for medium starch.
The two benefits to this are that it mitigates the risk of regretting a certain color or pattern down the road, and that most of the upper managers who have to dress formally for work typically stick to this same rotation, so you're dressing for the job you want.
^this post reminded me of my father. he won't wear a dress shirt unless it has that pocket. it's not like he ever uses it either. in related news, I bought my second blazer from suit supply. the guy made sure i knew that it came with working cuff buttons. i didn't even notice on the first one i bought online because i assumed all cuff buttons never work. what's the purpose of these functioning buttons? am i going to get dirty looks if I leave them open? you never know just look at the crazy patterned socks thread.
I have some never iron shirts from brooks brothers and the are awesome, but only because I don't have to iron them.
I'm pretty exclusive to Banana Republic's slim fit non iron shirts. I have some j crew as well but those are more for casual Friday. I've been wanting to do custom but I'll wait until I make more money. Only thing I get tailored are suits and blazers.
For years I have gotten my shirts from Peter Raney Custom Tailors. My father got his shirts from them for many years as well. They are based in LA, but Raj travels to Texas a few times a year. Shirts that are made to your measurements just feel better.
Most definitely. I have the 'standard' shirts for the first two days but I work at a big company (900 employees in the building) so I am not too worried about standing out or fitting in. Plus, I think I get more looks from people when I wear something flashier - these aren't club shirts. I've got a Nordstrom Dress Shirt from Nordstrom rack. It is a better slim fitting shirt than the KC or Laruen.
Obviously everyone will ignore your post, but I will say you can have a custom shirt made for not much more than your normal mid to higher end retail dress shirt.
The Banana, JCrew, Uniqlo etc... suggestions = S, M, L. For dress shirts you probably want true sizing options. I actually think Banana has true sizing but their sleeve lengths stop at 35 (not a problem for most). As mentioned by another poster, CTshirts.com provides slim, tailored and standard cuts in real sizes (neck, sleeve) for $40-$120 and has sales often. To go cheap, landsend.com offers the full range of sizes in slim, tailored and standard cuts for $30-$60. Their fitting is a bit looser than CTshirts which is UK based.
Banana Republic slim fit for work Original Penguin/Perry Ellis heritage slim for casual days. Both are straight up boss