In the never-ending search for the perfect off-the-rack shirt, I present the Hemingway Oxford button down by Mizzen+Main. The American based brand puts two things above all when creating their products – performance & fit. I took their Hemingway Oxford shirt for a spin and here are my thoughts on what could be the most ideal shirt for every guy.
The Hemingway Yellow Oxford Shirt – Mizzen+Main (available online) | Grey Wash Cutton Suit – Uniqlo | Wickham Striped Knit Tie – Thomas Pink | Sneakers – Adidas | Pocket Square – Blue Bandana | “Bang” Lapel Pin – East Dane
For over a year, I’ve been hearing about Mizzen+Main’s performance based fabrics, which in my mind meant, a dri-fit style dress shirt. The original notion wasn’t something that sounded aesthetic pleasing, however; my tune soon changed. While on Instagram awhile back, my good friend Angel Ramos praised the brand’s grey button down Oxford shirt. Since his style acumen is something that I trust & admire (plus, has his own men’s clothing brand), I decided to finally take the plunge.
Pros
- The moisture-wicking performance fabric is feel like you’re wearing a cloud. When I shot this feature I’d be wearing this shirt for 6 hours and I can say I’ve never felt so comfortable in a shirt..EVER!
- I was extremely surprised that the fabric would look so much like a traditional Oxford. Hearing “performance-fabric” I immediately think of compression gear that I wear to gym, however; this was not the case. The texture of the fabric weave is quite beautiful when you look at it closely
- By far my favorite feature is the high collar. Some many shirt collars are inexplicably short & stingy. The Hemingway shirt collar stands tall with or without a tie. If you’re the casual guy that never dons a tie, this is the perfect shirt for you. When you’re wearing a blazer, this collar is substantial and never slinks down below the neckline
- I love the fit of this shirt. It contours to the body without being restrictive and has “four-way stretch”. The stretch let you be as active as you’d like, without looking like a slub at the end of the day (or jump across newspaper containers)
Cons
- If there was more color variety in this specific style of shirt, the world would be a better place
Final Grade
This shirt is well deserving of an A+ grade. This grade is based on an outstanding fit, technological components, details like collar height & fabric texture and the overall feel of the fabric against the skin — all of which I haven’t found in combination with any other shirting brand. No this is not a paid endorsement of Mizzen+Main. This is a Men’s Style Pro as a consumer believing in a well-made product, produced in America that will revolutionize the way men dress, while enjoying the maximum amount of stylish comfort.
Check out Mizzen+Main.com to see the full collection of shirts.
Yo Sabir, great post as always. I have an Express shirt of very similar color and this post showed me at least one way to pair it and style it so thanks!
On another note, how would you go about laundering this shirt? Would you recommend dry clean on or washer and hang to dry? I’ve found that with most dress shirt (brand specific) that either dry cleaning or washing in the washer and air drying works best. Your take?
Hey Jeanscuffed,
I actually washed it and left it to hang dry. The bounce back is phenomenal.
– Sabir
Have you looked at the Outlier merino wool shirts? Be interested to know how you think it stacks up