Five Plus One is our weekly series of buyer’s guides. We pick a specific category and dig up five great options along with one that’s a little outside the norm.
If I had to choose only one style of shirt for the spring and summer I would have to go with short-sleeved camp shirts. Not only is this style easy to dress up or down for a wide range of settings and formality levels, but the unstructured collar helps keep you cool by keeping your neck as exposed as possible.
Back with a bang after becoming ubiquitous in the 1950s, we’re swimming in camp/open-collar shirts and that’s a good thing. So, in our tried and tested Five plus One style, here are five camp collar bangers and one that’s slightly out of left field.
1) Sunspel: Camp-Collar Cotton-Mesh Shirt
If you’re not a fan of the heat then Sunspel‘s Camp Collar Cotton-Mesh Shirt may well be a good option. It has that classic camp-collar aesthetic but made from a special, breathable cotton-mesh fabric for optimal breathability. Available in two shades of blue, both with tonal buttons, this is an easy, Portuguese-made shirt to work into a ton of existing outfits.
Available for $195 from Mr. Porter.
2) Gitman Bros. Vintage: Alexander Girard Camp Shirt in January
While many camp shirts come in solid colors, there are also a great deal that feature interesting patterns. Gitman Bros. Vintage Alexander Girard Camp Shirt in January optimizes the latter. Featuring a curved, geometric pattern from Alexander Girard, this camp shirt is 100% cotton with vents on the sides and an overall boxy fit.
Available for $235 from Blue Owl.
3) Blluemade: Noguchi Shirt – Gray Stripe Double Cloth
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Blluemsde‘s Noguchi Shirt, shown here in Gray Stripe Double Cloth, is an excellent option if you find yourself enamored by interesting fabric textures. While this shirt does have the requisite camp collar, it flaunts unique details too, such as the four pockets constructions and handsome catseye buttons.
Available for $250 from Standard and Strange
4) Uniqlo x Theory: Open Collar Short-Sleeve Shirt
You really don’t have to spend a lot of money to experiment with this style – the Uniqlo x Theory Open Collar Short-Sleeve Shirt is just one of the great, cheap options that exist in the wide world of camp shirts. This baggy number features a large, single chest pocket and 100% cotton fabric with tonal black buttons. While the sleeves are a bit more billowy than on many other camp shirts, this really fits the overall silhouette of the shirt which is the slouchiest in this run-down.
Available for $40 from Uniqlo
5) Universal Works: Road Shirt – Mustard Maui Stripe
Universal Works creates some great pieces at fairly affordable prices, a sweet spot exhibited by their Road Shirt in Mustard Maui Stripe. This 100% cotton shirt features a mustard yellow colorway with some tonal and contrasting vertical stripes. While it’s not the color I’d immediately reach for on a rack of shirts, there is something rather hypnotic about the fabric that makes me keep coming back to check it out. If you tan well, this one will make you look a million bucks.
Available for $150CAD from North American Quality Purveyors.
Plus One – Nigel Cabourn: Open Collar Shirt – Chusen Dye – Grey
If you want a camp shirt that will really stand out then Nigel Cabourn has the answer in their Chusen Dye Open Collar Shirt. Made of 100% cotton with two cleverly hidden flap chest pockets, this shirt might be a bit out there but it’s inarguably a beautiful piece. Dyed using the Japanese Chusen method, this shirt stands as something of a Rorschach test for the fashion world; I see a stormy seascape over a rocky shore. What about you? Let us know in the comments.
Available for $280 from Canoe Club.
Want to read more about the brands featured in this Five Plus One? Check out these articles:
Sunspel — History, Philosophy, and Iconic Products
Uniqlo: A History of Simplicity to Global Domination
Gitman Bros. Vintage – History, Philosophy, Iconic Products
