A reader question:
Dear Muffy,
May I ask the readers a question please.
In years gone by I would wear short sleeved collared cotton shirts e.g. short sleeved OCBD's, with shorts, khakis and dress pants in the warmer months. I no longer do so preferring to wear long sleeved shirts and roll the sleeves up. When I want to wear short sleeves I wear polo shirts (Yes I know that button down collars were the original polo shirts - for playing polo, but I'm referring to the soft collar knitted polo shirts we wear today).
What are other readers views on short sleeved collared cotton shirts.
Kind regards
I prefer to roll up the sleeves of a long sleeve shirt and when the day cools down, simply roll them down again. Less shirts in the closet, and saves the polos for sports wear.
ReplyDeleteDepends on the type of shirt it is. Short-sleeve dress shirts look bad in pretty much any context. Camp shirts or casual short-sleeve shirts are fine and provide much better ventilation than long sleeves rolled up.
ReplyDeleteAny shirt that looks like it could be worn with a tie, long sleeve only. For plaid and madras shirts, short sleeve is fine.
ReplyDeleteYes, and seersucker.
DeleteAgreed. I wear Indian Madras and seersucker shirts when it's hot and long sleeves would be uncomfortable even if rolled up.
DeleteAgreed! Indian Madras and seersucker shirts are fine in either short or long sleeve, but no short sleeves with a tie. I note that an oxford cloth button-down is acceptable in a short-sleeve popover, which is also exclusively a sport shirt.
DeleteWholly contingent upon weather & venue. Have ancient short sleeve button down. popover, & seersucker shirts from B2 346, Sero, Lands End, & Kenneth Gordon. I hand wash & iron them. Never had rolled up sleeves on a shirt. Very rarely have I worn a long sleeve with shorts. It was 99 degree F yesterday where I live .Wore Orvis Pink Oxford Shorts , Lands End Mint Short Sleeve Seer Sucker, Leatherman Belt & loafers to celebrate a 2 year old he man's birthday,
ReplyDeleteI am fine with others wearing short sleeved sport shirts (Madras, linen, seersucker, and the like), but I prefer to roll up the sleeves on a long sleeved shirt. I am not a fan of any short sleeved shirt that looks as if it might be worn with a tie. I have worn ties only with long sleeved OCBDs and, on rare occasion, a spread collar white shirt, since the early 1960s. I can now admit to being hidebound. It is liberating.
ReplyDeleteA tie should never be worn with any kind of short sleeved shirt
DeleteUnless you work for NASA.
DeleteAstronaut movies like Fly Me To The Moon and Hidden Numbers perpetuate that stereotype of crew cut guys in short sleeved white shirts with skinny ties, but that was also an era before air conditioning was everywhere. I wonder what the folk at similar posts are wearing these days.
DeleteI wear long sleeves in the office and in court and hearings, no exceptions. I have a few button-front short sleeve shirts that are strictly casual, one of which I rarely wear because Hawaiian-themed normally isn’t appropriate. Sport shirts like polos with a three-button placket are strictly casual for me.
ReplyDeleteWell worn long sleeve OCBD shirts make very good work shirts. Roll the sleeves up when you work in the garden.
ReplyDeleteSo true. Pick a couple out for the garden every spring. Pull weeds. Beat them up. Get dirt on them. Harvest in style.
DeleteI always wear long sleeve and roll them up if it is too hot. I do not own any short sleeve other than polo style.
ReplyDeleteI prefer polos, but living in hot, humid Virginia they are just too heavy for summer wear. Short-sleeve button-downs are much more comfortable. If I am working outside I wear those light-weight fishing shirts.
ReplyDeleteFrom Anonymous 8-4-2024 1:39 pm , you are correct, sir. Working like a rented mule outside, a light weight fishing shirts are the best.
DeleteI also live in Virginia, but I don’t find short sleeved Polos uncomfortable at all. I have never worn a short sleeved OCDB, I associate them with my grandfather, who worked in municipal government, and wore a white one with a necktie and no coat every work day. Basically, the typical Southern hick look from the Fifties. On weekends, he removed the necktie
DeleteShort-sleeved oxfords appear rather nerdy. Instead why not just roll up your sleeves? Otherwise, you are one step away from the pocket-protector look.
ReplyDeleteNo short sleeves on collared shirts.
ReplyDeleteHaving spent way too much time in the sun, especially when I was much younger, the damage to my skin is done. I'm a big fan of rolled-up OCBDs in the summer as they are cool (temp and look) and protect my skin.
ReplyDeleteShort-sleeve OCBD type shirts make you look like either a used-car salesman or an insurance agent. If you're warm in the summer, wear a long-sleeve shirt and roll the sleeves up.
ReplyDeleteAnd if they are white with a pocket protector, they either make you look like a NASA engineer or a clerk at the municipal building.
DeleteDwight Schrute wore short-sleeved oxfords (with neckties); on the other hand, Jim did not ...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that's why Pam chose Jim.
DeleteThere is no such thing as a short sleeved dress shirt!
DeleteLong sleeve OCBD’s with sleeves rolled up is too much of a preppy affectation. Dress for the weather and temperature, not for some affected style. Long sleeves with shorts just looks unbalanced.
ReplyDeleteAgree. I am beginning to believe this is evolving into a North vs South cultural taste argument.
DeletePerhaps a Northern weather vs Southern Weather debate. Here in the Eastern portion of the former Republic, I haven't worn a long sleeve shirt or a pair of jeans since April. For me its either lightweight polos or linen and seersucker short sleeve button downs.
DeleteA preppy affection? This is a site for just that. Or should we say the thing before preppy.You are of course free to wear what you chose.
DeleteI wore quite a few short sleeve shirts (polos and Madras mostly) growing up in coastal SoCal but also did a lot of sleeve rolling too. Living in the Rocky Mountain west as I have for over 30 years now, after my aloha phase of the 1990's, I switched back to my more traditional dress of OCBDs, LLB Flannel, khaki safari shirts, linen, and seersucker. Oh and faded denim work shirts (I do live in cowboy country after all). Anyway, hot as it gets here, the shirts are all long sleeve now and rolled up as needed. This time of year I'm wearing a lot of seersucker and linen. The bulk of people wearing short sleeves in my town are fat guys in XXXX t-shirts with the accompanying cargo shorts and bare, ugly feet in sandals. Hey, it's a look that's universal in America now!
ReplyDeleteShort sleeve button down in lightweight cotton, seersucker, etc. are fine with shorts; not with khakis. That look was ruined by a certain group of people several years ago.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know the sleeve length to price ratio? Does it make financial sense to purchase a shirt that has approximately 2/3 less sleeve?
DeleteAs many others have said above, there is no such thing as a short sleeved OCBD or any other fabric in the prep's closet. As quoted in the TOPH, p. 141 "Regardless what the signs in the stores say, there is no such thing as a short-sleeved dress shirt. For jacket-less sportswear, it is far more desirable to roll up long sleeves".
ReplyDeletePersonally, I am not a fan of short-sleeved OCBDs. They look a bit nerdy to my eye, as if they are calling out for a pocket protector. And while I don't object to a short-sleeved madras or seersucker shirt, I don't own any. In the summer, with chinos I wear long-sleeved BDs in white or pale blue with the sleeves rolled up. And with shorts I wear short-sleeved pique polo shirts in white, navy, or pastels.
ReplyDeletePocket protector... agreed!
DeleteLong sleeve only on OCBD shirts.
ReplyDeleteThe only short sleeve woven shirt to wear is an Aloha shirt.
ReplyDeleteFor me...In summer, I live in polo shirts. If I wear an OCBD, it has to be with long sleeves rolled up. Sorry, but I find short sleeves on that type of shirt an abomination. I will wear a short sleeved madras shirt on occasion.
ReplyDeleteMy preference is long-sleeved OCBDs with everything: suits, khakis, and shorts. Old, soft OCBDs are fine with shorts and I've been doing that for decades. I wear polo shirts for tennis, golf, and other activities, of course, but I find that a loose-fitting OCBD is cooler as casual wear; maybe it's my imagination, or just habit. Short-sleeved madras shirts are nice, although I currently don't have one.
ReplyDeleteBroadcloth is a better choice than OCBD for the heat and humidity of the east coast.
ReplyDeleteNo one has mentioned the problem of skin cancer on arms caused by no protection from short sleeve shirts. Skin cancer is not preppy. With long sleeve shirts one can address the roll up to the situation and perhaps avoiding applying gobs of goo on at least part of the body.
ReplyDeleteVery good point
ReplyDeleteAlways wear short sleeved shirts in summer but usually with a lightweight cotton or seersucker jacket . Just enjoy not having cuffs to encumber one . However that is a personal preference and everyone is quite entitled to what they are comfortable wearing .
ReplyDeleteSame here , guilty as charged. 100 deg F today.
DeleteAs has been written by this community before, you cannot roll up your sleeves and get to work if you don't have sleeves to roll up! But, having moved to the sunny and hot SW, chinos and short sleeved OCBD in solid colors (white blue or pink) are the rule for summer. Form always follows function and long sleeves in summer only make sense when in court (law not tennis) or in your freezing cold office because the AC is set so low.
ReplyDeleteSeems a rather interesting paradox. By definition we might say that to be preppy ( or a grown up) one never gives a thought how to dress, how to act or how to think. That being said, here we are discussing all of these things. Maybe it’s because so few of us are left. For some maybe it’s because we feel so alone in different parts of the country or world.
ReplyDelete