Oxford Button Down Collar Casual Shirt Collection | Shirts by Paul Brown
The New Oxford button down collar shirt collection by Paul Brown
Origins
Our new men’s Oxford button down collar shirt collection carefully blends the best of British tailoring with world class fabrics and a rich history that dates back to the 19th Century.
The button down collar Oxford shirt (originally known as the Polo collar) has two key features that distinguish it from other dress shirts.
Firstly is the iconic buttons on the collar which was originally developed for Polo players to make it easier for them to play the sport without having to worry
about their collar constantly flapping around during a chukka.
Second is the use of the luxury Oxford cloth which is a basket weave fabric available in plain or pinpoint. It is easy to identify the pinpoint version which is made from a finer yarn and a tighter weave as you can see a pin or dot effect in the fabric.
English Polo to mainstream attire
In 1896, John E. Brooks, of Brooks Brothers took the button down collars on English polo shirts and applied it to their own dress shirts. It was an instant hit on both sides of the Atlantic and became a key item of style legend Gianni Agnelli (the founder of Italian Car maker Fiat) who use to where the collar unfastened from the buttons which created an instantly recognisable look. The fit and shape has varied over the years but the core ingredients have remained the same including a back pleat for greater movement and the traditional button and button hole plackets on the front. While the colour range has also expanded to include colourful checks and stripes, the classic timeless shirts remain in three core colours; pink, blue and white Oxford shirts.
Traditional with a modern twist
Our new oxford button down shirt collection is carefully designed to ensure we acknowledge its rich iconic history but at the same time put our own stamp on it so it is still fresh and up to date.
As always a great shirt starts with the materials and we refer back to our long partnership with coveted Turkish mill Soktas who offer a stunning range of 100% US PIMA/Egyptian cotton Oxford shirting fabrics in a fabulous selection of colours and weights. We source our buttons from Italian mill Maribert and use contrast printed fabric in the cuffs and inside yoke from both Liberty London and Italian mill Canclini.
As with all our shirts we use a sewn in interfacing for both the collars and cuffs as opposed to fusible which offers far greater longevity to our shirts while finding that critical balance where a collar keeps its shape without being too rigid or soft.
Each shirt is traditionally hand cut and made in England at our Suffolk Factory by experienced seamstresses who have a passion for producing the finest British clothing made in the UK.
In addition to our new Oxford button down collar shirt collection we have also recently introduced our Casual Linen Collection.
Styling Our men’s Oxford Shirt
You can’t beat a good Oxford button down collar shirt for the weekend or for those smart casual occasions. I personally recommend going with blue as you can never go wrong and team it up with either a smart pair of our selvedge jeans or a quality pair of our men’s chinos or corduroy and moleskin trousers. I always recommend a good contrast from top to bottom as shown below:
Pink Oxford Shirt with beige moleskin trousers
White Oxford Shirt with Jeans
Jackets
When it comes to jackets - you will not beat our British Millerain waxed
field jacket is handmade in England. Also a smart single or double breasted blazer will look great but ensure the fabric has good texture for example a tweed from Abraham Moon and Sons. Never go for anything synthetic.
Shoes I recommend a nice pair of loafers or brogues. If you are pairing them with jeans than smart trainers are also a cool option.
View Collection
