Types of Button Down Shirts

The phrase “button down shirt” refers specifically to a button down collar, or a collar that is attached to the main fabric of the shirt. Button down shirts were first introduced in the late 1800s by Brooks Brothers and were patterned after polo shirts. Button down collars were worn exclusively for sport until the 1950s, when they crossed over into general menswear. Button down collars are worn formally and informally in the United States. In England they are used for casual wear only.

Oxford Button Down

The original button down shirt is the Oxford. The buttons are thick and white on the top of the point of the collar. The buttons should be as big as or slightly smaller than the buttons down the front of the shirt. This shirt is worn both with a suit or sport jacket and with or without a tie. Even if you are not wearing a tie, the collar points are always buttoned down. If you have your shirt professionally cleaned and starched, make sure your dry cleaner knows to go easy on the starch on the collar.

Hidden Button Down

The hidden button down shirt gives a more formal look because the buttons are under the point of the collar and cannot be seen. Even this more formal look still requires attention at the collar when it comes to going easy on the starch. Since this is the more formal kind of button down, the choice of fabric and tailoring should lean toward a formal shirt with tails and cuffs.

Tabbed Collar

A variation on the button down shirt is the tab collar. This style is always worn with a tie. A tab collar has two medal tabs at the points of the collar, unseen from the front of the shirt, that snap into the shirt. The tab collar keeps the points of the collar from flapping up without the “button down.”

Cuts, Hems and Yokes

The cut and design of a button down shirt varies. Oxford button downs, as the more casual look, can come with or without pleats, darts or yokes. If an Oxford is cut with pleats and shirt tails, it is intended to be worn with a suit or sport jacket. If the hem is rounded, the shirt can also be worn casually and untucked. Oxford shirts will have pleating in the back, but hidden button downs can be either pleated or not. Since they are casual, button down shirts can have a tailored or tapered waist.

Fabric Choices

The original button down shirt, derived from polo shirts, was marketed in Oxford broadcloth. This is a 100% cotton cloth sometimes referred to as Royal Oxford or French Oxford. Pinpoint Oxford is also a popular fabric for button down shirts. It has the same weave but uses thinner thread. You may also find button down collars in herringbone cloth. Button down shirts are almost always in solid colors