RCS Review: Summer Shirts

I haven’t reached the point where I’ll wear a linen shirt.  Mrs. RCS says ‘yet’, as she likes the look, but I guess I’m a little too buttoned up.  I like the idea of linen shirts, as they are a great, natural fabric that works in the summertime, but I’m not there yet.  Full disclosure: I have a couple short sleeve linen shirts that I’ve gotten from Goodwill that I wear around the pool.

Ledbury has been my go-to dress shirt for quite some time.  They fit great, the fabrics are top notch, and they have just enough structure to look good in an office environment.  The price point is right where I’d expect it to be for a dress shirt.  They have been releasing their Spring and Summer shirts, which have started to include some linen.  Not all linen, but some linen.  I got on board with these:

The shirt on the left is really cool.  Known as the Indigo Ellsworth, it’s a linen/cotton blend (51%/49% respectively), and has a cool, casual feel.  The collar is spread, and unstructured, which really dresses it up.  The darker blue color is perfect with a pair of cream or white jeans and tassel or bit loafers.  I haven’t worn a sport coat over this shirt yet, but I have a tan one on the way (more to come on that later…).  And the best part of the Ellsworth?  It’s on sale…

The lighter of the two, the Tanamar, is a 65% linen/35% cotton shirt, and has a really great texture.  The shirt is really light, and does well after a hot iron set to ‘full steam’.  The collar is what sets this shirt apart.  It keeps the shirt from slipping into the ‘cocktails at the beach’ linen shirt, and maintains a professional look.  I substituted an oxford blue OCBD or dress shirt with the Tanamar.  I’ve worn it under a blue blazer, as well as a green sport coat, and it looks great.  Very seasonally appropriate.

More details on both:

These two might be a good gateway into linen shirts.  I’m not there yet, but here’s to hoping…