Use shirts to bring charm and elegance to your wardrobe… Shirts have been around for hundreds of years, and with good reason. They can be used in a multiplicity of circumstances. A good shirt provides elegance during a business presentation, or it can set off a good jacket. A well chosen shirt can perfectly offset a good pair of trousers for casual or social events. But the devil is in the details. For every man who can choose and wear a shirt well, there are ten who do it badly. And we do project our personalities – to an extent – through the way we dress. So your clothes speak for you – even when you don’t. That said, it might be worth your while to pick up a few details on how to choose the perfect shirt. The first thing we need to focus on is fit. Only too often, a man will wear a shirt that is a bad fit for him. One reason for this is that in today’s world it is most common for a person to buy a ready-made and mass-produced shirt. These garments are made to fit the mythical average person – as a result, they often end in fitting no real person. If a shirt is comfortable around the neck it is usually short in the sleeves, and so on. The best way to get a perfect fit is in a custom shirt that is individually tailored.   Since that might well be too expensive for most of us, here are some tips on how a shirt should fit…   If you have a large body type, you’d be well advised to go in for looser shirts. If you’re slimmer, go in for a more form-fitting shirt. With that general rule in place, a good shirt should allow you to insert two fingers inside the collar – and no more – when the top button of the shirt is in place.   Similarly, while the cuffs should be comfortable, you should not be able to remove the shirt without unbuttoning them. The sleeves of the shirt, while not looking too long and baggy when your arms are by your side, should still be long enough that you can stretch your hands upwards without the shirt sleeves dragging down your forearms.   Finally, the sign of a perfect fit is the shoulder. The point of the shoulder of the shirt should correspond to the point of your own shoulder. For slim men, a form fitting shirt should not leave too much fabric to spare around the chest or around the waist. Fabrics Cotton is the most recommended, especially if it is finely woven. It keeps you cool, draws heat and moisture away from the body, and is very durable. It falls smoothly, and exhibits a crisp perfection when it is starched and ironed. Artificial fabrics are usually not recommended traditionally, but they do tend to be more cost effective, and they also tend to be wrinkle resistant, letting you look reasonably good even at the end of a hard day, which can be quite an advantage.   Nevertheless, I wouldn’t recommend fabrics that are more than a half-and-half blend of cotton and synthetic fibers. And then, of course, there’s silk – which is, for all practical purposes, the stuff of luxury garments. They look good, fall well, and are expensive and not very durable. You can maintain a silk shirt or two for special occasions, but they are not recommended for heavy wear. In colors, go with white or blue. White is considered the mark of the gentleman, while blue most complements the male complexion. Other colors – subtle colors, that is – such as gold, soft greens, forest greens, or even reds, are acceptable, so long as they look good on you.