Winchester Shirts (Contrast Collar) & How to Wear Them - YouTube

Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette. In today's video, we'll discuss the underrated

Winchester shirt style, its history,

the different types you can find, and, of course, how to wear it well.

[The Gentleman's Gazette theme song plays]

So, to jump right into today's video, we must first answer the question: What is a Winchester

shirt? In simplest terms, a Winchester shirt is a dress shirt style that is colored, striped,

checked, or otherwise patterned but has contrasting collar and cuffs. These are almost always

white. But, you can sometimes find models that don't have contrasting cuffs, but rather

that match the body of the shirt.

In either case, though, the collar will be contrasting and, again, almost always white.

The advantage of such a shirt style is that it is somewhat more formal given that it will

almost always have white collar and cuffs. But, there will be a pop of color or, sometimes,

pattern in the v-shape between your collar and the lapels of your jacket. And because

of the white collar and cuffs,

Winchester shirts are slightly more formal than if they were to simply have collar and

cuffs that both match the body of the shirt. Therefore, they're well suited to business

wear and less so casual wear. Essentially, the Winchester shirt is mimicking fashions

of the Victorian era when men often wore shirts with detachable collars and cuffs. Men would

mix and match shirt bodies that had different colors and patterns with their white cuffs

and collars. Given that this is a Victorian-inspired look, you will sometimes see Winchester shirts

worn with formal day wear and this is an appropriate option. For more information on morning dress,

you can find our comprehensive guide on the subject here. Winchester styles might also

remind you of the 80s power suit look as immortalized by Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in the

1987 film Wall Street. But, we assure you that while these 80s power suits will look

dated today, you can still very easily wear a Winchester shirt with a classically-inspired

wardrobe and not look out of place. With a simple definition of what the shirt is out

of the way then, we should now get into history, which is to say where did the shirt and its

name come from. The shirt is named after the 52nd Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut,

Oliver Fisher Winchester, whose name is more commonly associated with the Winchester rifle,

which was developed by his company, the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Born in 1810, Winchester

started his career as a clothing manufacturer, opening his first men's furnishing store in

1837. Following this, he moved to New York City ten years later in 1847 and co-founded

the Winchester and Davies Shirt Manufacturing Company in 1848. He would use his profits

from these companies to become the majority stockholder of the Volcanic Repeating Arms

Company in 1855 and the president by 1856. He eventually bought out and reorganized the

company in 1857. He would then go on to reorganize this company a second time before sticking

with the name Winchester Repeating Arms Company, which is when his famous rifle was invented.

So, yes, the man behind the rifle and the shirt are one and the same, So, what about

the shirt itself then? Winchester and Davies created the Winchester and Davies Shirt Manufacturing

Company in 1848. By 1860, they were producing 800 shirts a week and they paid their machinists

more than their hand sewers.

The reason for this was simply that because, by using the sewing machines, the machinists

could produce a high-quality shirt in under an hour;

whereas, the hand sewers could sometimes take up to 14 hours to produce a single shirt.

While other factories and manufacturers of the time saw machine sewing as cheap and unskilled

work, Winchester and Davies capitalized on the speed and efficiency, hiring more machinists

and paying them more to maximize production. By the beginning of the 1930s, the older-style

detachable collar shirts were beginning to lose favor, but men still wanted to mix and

match their colors. Thus, at this time, the most popular styles of contrasting collar

and cuff shirts with colored bodies were being sold by the Winchester and Davies Company.

So, this is most likely why they became known as Winchester shirts. With history out of

the way, the next question we'll tackle is why one would want to choose a Winchester

shirt today? Not only do Winchester shirts look slightly more formal than conventional

dress shirts as we mentioned already, but they also give a very direct visual signal

back to the golden age of classic menswear when contrasting collars and cuffs were more

common on well-styled gentlemen. The white cuffs and collar provide nice visual contrast

adding layers to your outfit. But also, in particular, the white collar provides a nice

neutral background for a necktie. As the shirt collar and necktie are often a main focal

point when wearing a suit given that they are close to the face, it is important that

they harmonize well. Plain and neutral white dress shirts will pair well with any necktie

style;

whereas, sometimes a colored shirt might look a bit too flashy with the rest of the outfit.

But, if you feel that an all-white shirt would be a bit too plain or too formal and you still

want to incorporate some color into your shirt, a happy middle ground is to use a Winchester,

where you'll have the plain white collar to frame your necktie along with usually plain

white cuffs, but a colored shirt body. Essentially then, the Winchester shirt can often represent

the best of both worlds for many outfit combinations. Next, let's look at some of the typical features

of a Winchester shirt

starting, of course, with the collar. While the defining feature of a Winchester shirt

is its contrasting collar, there are no set rules on what type of collar it must be. Therefore,

the Winchester can come in pretty much any style of collar. And since we have produced

a comprehensive video on the different shirt collar styles, which you can find here, we

won't go into too much detail today.

But, what follows is a quick rundown of the collar styles we think look particularly smart

with a Winchester shirt. The classic point or straight collar can be paired with a

number of different necktie knots and can also be worn with collar jewelry. The longer

spear or spear point collar also looks good paired with a slimmer tie knot and looks

smart when paired with collar jewelry as well. The tab collar, which features a loop and

a tab with a button will hold the collar down against the shirt body and push the tie

knot out, essentially using the same function as collar jewelry. Cutaway collars can be

another good option, though we would advise using a larger tie knot to accommodate the

wider spread. And even though Winchester shirts are generally more formal, you will occasionally

see them with button-down style collars as well. In this case, we would simply recommend

that you avoid buttons or button thread that is strongly contrasting as it will detract

somewhat from the formality of the Winchester style. And speaking of formality, at the upper

end of the formality scale here would be the "wing collar", which can also be found on

Winchester shirts, mirroring the detachable styles of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

You won't have

[Preston pauses to collect himself]

I feel like every time I talk there's something out there.

[Godzilla roars and machine guns go off]

You won't have too many opportunities to wear this particular style outside of formal day

wear. But, be aware that if you are wearing a morning dress, this style is an option.

So, if the collar maintains its formality by being white, what are the most common colors

and patterns that you'll see on the body of a Winchester shirt? Most commonly seen are

Winchester shirts with either a plain blue body or a body featuring blue and white stripes

as I'm wearing here today. This is a very subtle and safe look. So, if you're just venturing

into the world of Winchester shirts, we'd recommend starting here as the light blue

will provide a nice neutral base on which you can build many types of outfits. Stripes

are definitely a favorite among wearers of the Winchester style as they were popular

from the Victorian era all the way into the 1930s. And, of course, striped shirt styles

persist to this day.

With that said, though, we would recommend that you avoid Winchester styles that contain

particularly thick or gaudy stripes in loud and garish colors as these aren't going to

be versatile options to build outfits around. Safer options would include stripes in one

color, perhaps in a neutral shade or if you're going for multiple colors, make sure that

the stripes are thinner and finer. Furthermore, the stripes don't always have to be against

a white backdrop. You could also find Winchester shirts in pastel shades like pink, perhaps

with a thin blue stripe for an accent. And while the most common pattern for Winchester

shirts you'll find will be some variation of stripes, there are also checked Winchester

shirt styles available.

We wouldn't recommend trying these right away if you're just starting out with Winchester

shirts as their bolder pattern nature can be a bit more difficult to incorporate into

your outfits.

With that said though, simple patterns like box checks can add some dynamism to an outfit,

while something like a smaller and more subtle gingham will add an element of visual interest

while not being overpowering and thus allowing you to experiment more with your accessories

and other outfit elements. Just remember that, in general, the wider and larger a checked

pattern,

the less formal the shirt is going to be. Micro-check patterns will be safer. And if

your check pattern is a bit too wide to be worn well, you could always just repurpose

the body of the shirt as a game board for your next game night. And, of course, if you're

interested in learning more about shirt styles with grid patterns, you can check out our

video on checks and grids here. You can, of course, also find Winchester shirts with solid

or block-colored bodies as well, and these make a particularly good canvas around which

you can build outfits and experiment more with your tie and other accessories. If opting

to wear a block-colored Winchester shirt, we'd recommend going with pastel colors such

as light blue, yellow, or pink as these are classic and well-worn options in the world

of classic menswear. Again, remember that your shirt is acting as something of a canvas

here, serving to complement and add dimension to your suit and your accessories. Therefore,

going with something subtle is always going to be a smart choice. Conversely though, bright

and flamboyant colors in things like electric pink or dark jewel tones are just going to

look loud and flashy, and will definitely take

your outfit more into 1980s power suit territory.

To give you some more styling inspiration for Winchester shirts, we've put together

three different outfits which will show you different kinds of shirt. The first of course

is the outfit that I'm wearing today.

This is, of course, a more formal business-style outfit with the navy suit grounding the outfit.

And it features the Winchester shirt with the most common blue and white striped design.

The light blue of the shirt harmonizes well with the navy tones of the suit, but it also

provides a somewhat subtle backdrop for my Fort Belvedere tie, which is in a burgundy

shade of jacquard woven silk featuring small white polka dots. Also in this same color

family are my vintage silk pocket square featuring a glen check pattern in burgundy and a very

pale light blue and my small dark red carnation boutonniere, which is from Fort Belvedere.

Furthermore, another Fort Belvedere accessory are my cufflinks, which are in our platinum-plated,

sterling silver eagle claw design featuring red carnelian as the stone to again harmonize

with the other accessories. The tie is framed well by the white collar of the shirt and

the cufflinks are allowed to stand out even more against the white shirt cuffs. The peak

lapels of the suit jacket perhaps give just a taste of that 1980s flare while not looking

distinctly dated. This outfit is rounded out by a pair of dark brown, cap-toed Oxford shoes,

which are somewhat more formal in nature and some Fort Belvedere socks in our new two-tone

solid designs in varying shades of blue. Our next outfit features a gray suit style in

a bird's eye weave with a Winchester shirt that has a very subtle herringbone pattern

and a blue body. The subtle herringbone pattern and pastel blue background make for a good

canvas for our Fort Belvedere accessories, which include a grenadine tie in blue and

purple, a blue cornflower boutonniere which of course has some purple tones, and a white

linen pocket square. Our final outfit here features a brown patterned suit and a Winchester

shirt in yellow. We've accented it with our Fort Belvedere madder silk tie in orange

red with a micro pattern in buff as well as a boutonniere, which is the orange exotic

Caribbean.

The pocket square is in a wool silk blend in a color we're calling "antique gold yellow"

and features paisleys in beige, blue, red, and orange also with a shoestring edge for

more contrast. Here, the plain yellow color of the Winchester shirt provides a good base

for the slightly bolder accessories, and we've also capped it off with collar jewelry given

that the collar of this particular Winchester shirt incorporates the use of a collar bar.

My gold-plated, sterling silver eagle claw cufflinks with tiger's eye as the stone reinforce

this same warm color feel and, in addition, I'm wearing the same shoes as before and a

pair of socks with a subtle pattern that also picks up on the same color feel. Hopefully,

by now we've inspired you to try incorporating Winchester shirts into your wardrobe. But,

if you don't already own one, where can you buy one? While perhaps not as common as they

once were in decades past, Winchester shirts are still somewhat common so you should be

able to find them at your local department store or men's clothing store. Still, if you'd

like a few specific brand recommendations, we could list Charles Tyrwhitt, a brand we've

recommended on this channel before who offers 100% cotton Winchester shirts from around

$60 to $90 per shirt. T.M. Lewin also supplies Winchester shirts in pure cotton that they

refer to as "contrast collar shirts." And they sell them for about $65 a shirt.

[Preston reacts to background noise] Well, I guess

we just have to wait for whatever that is

to get out of here. [Static sound] Some sort of large vehicle that's just like

idling?

[Raphael dances to techno music]

Hawes & Curtis probably has the widest selection of Winchester shirt styles available at least

at the time we're recording this video. Unsurprisingly, Brooks Brothers also offers Winchester styles

from time to time. And if you're looking at other international brands, Japanese offerings

include the brand Suit Company. And the American brand Paul Fredrick commonly offers Winchester

shirts,

although they can occasionally be quite bold so exercise your best judgment. And finally,

for something more upscale, Thomas Pink sells Winchester styles typically for around

$230 a shirt in a poplin weave, though the fabric composition isn't listed on their website

at this time. In conclusion, then, we believe that the Winchester shirt may be the perfect

shirt option for bringing a bit of color contrast and dynamism to your outfits while still maintaining

a formal air with its white collar and cuffs. In this way, it makes for a subtly dynamic

background for your other outfit accessories and, again, is something of an underrated

shirt style so we hope we've raised its profile today. Of course, I already discussed the

the outfit I'm wearing in today's video earlier on. But, as a reminder, you can find the cufflinks,

tie, boutonniere, and socks that I'm wearing in the Fort Belvedere shop, along with a wide

array of other classic men's accessories.

[The Gentleman's Gazette theme song plays]