Knowing how to wear a sweater with a dress shirt is a stylistic rite of passage that every aspiring dapper gentleman is obliged to go through! In this detailed guide, we cover how to wear a sweater with a dress shirt, the types of sweaters you can wear and how to style it together to create that perfect, desired look!
Ahh! That incredible time of year. Where libations, fireplaces counteracting the frigid winter cold, and Christmas Cheer are accompanied by ugly sweaters. Or not! While ugly Christmas sweaters and dad fashion may seem to take precedence over pretty much anything else during the festive holiday season, there is indeed, an alternative.
A dapper, stylistically infused alternative, in fact, that can have you looking the part – and with the unintended (but highly beneficial consequence) of redirecting energy from that hideous sweater and your yesteryear stylistic tendencies, back towards the heart of the party - the holiday season and the formation of lifelong memories.
Courtesy of www.pinterest.com
In this guide, we will cover how to wear a sweater over a dress shirt – including the types of sweaters, the fit you should aim for and how it can all be styled together to create that perfect, elusive ensemble that every aspiring dapper gentleman covets during the fall & winter seasons.
When To Wear A Collared Dress Shirt Under A Sweater
Wearing a collared dress shirt under a sweater can be a stylistic and versatile option for many occasions.
- Casual or Smart Casual Events. Layering a sweater over a dress shirt provides the perfect attire for a casual / smart casual settings. Providing both a utilitarian (warmth) and fashion (aesthetic) component, a sweater and dress shirt combination is the epitome of smart casual during the cooler months.
Courtesy of www.realmenrealstyle.com
2. Business Casual. In the contemporary economy, many companies have adopted a business casual dress code, allowing for more relaxed attire. In such settings, a sweater layered over a dress shirt offers a professional yet comfortable option. This pairing is suitable for office environments, business meetings or work occasions that don’t specifically require formal business attire.
Courtesy of www.hespokestyle.com
3. Cooler Weather. A collared dress shirt under a sweater is an ideal ensemble during cooler / transitional weather – providing insular properties while allowing you to showcase a refined, well put together outfit!
Courtesy of www.lookastic.com
4. General Elevation Of Style. Sometimes it’s just as simple as feeling good while adding more style points. A dress shirt and sweater combination is a great fashion forward choice that adds texture, depth and visual intrigue to your aesthetic!
A sweater & dress shirt combination is great for adding stylistic points. Courtesy of www.pinterest.com
Key principles of matching a dress shirt with a sweater
Maintain levels of formality
Keep your dress shirt tucked in
In order to keep your aesthetic congruent and seamless, you should aim to tuck in your dress shirt when wearing one under your sweater. Whether you are dressing up for your work day, an interview or a dinner date, maintaining this level of formality throughout your ensemble will ensure clean lines and a professional, dapper look.
Keeping your dress shirt tucked in with your sweater & shirt game is of paramount importance! Courtesy of www.askthegentleman.com
While it may seem acceptable, in certain, less formal settings, to keep your dress shirt under your sweater untucked – we cannot condone such stylistic misbehavior at The Dark Knot!
Ensure that your sweater and dress shirt fit appropriately
Fit for both your dress shirt and sweater are of paramount importance, even though your dress shirt will largely be hidden under your sweater. An oversized dress shirt will have the shirt fabric bulging below your sweater, creating an uneven and unsightly look.
Similarly, a baggy looking sweater will detract from the clean, dapper aesthetic that you are seeking out and will instead have you looking sloppy and stylistically negligent. Not a good look, and a definitive faux pas. Yes – we do like to occasionally infuse our musings with French.
A well fitted sweater & dress shirt combination goes a long way towards a clean & dapper smart casual look! Courtesy of www.mensflair.com
Furthermore, you may want to remove a layer once inside, and so having the dress shirt fit well is of paramount importance. The goal with layering, whether its with two layers or multiple layers, is to always ensure that each successive layer looks appropriate and well fitted on its own – this helps to bring the ensemble together and create a seamless aesthetic.
Plain vs Patterned Dress Shirts
As a general rule of thumb, we would refrain from wearing both a patterned dress shirt and patterned sweater together. Strutting a patterned dress shirt with a sweater can easily create an overtly busy look – not too dissimilar from staring into a kaleidoscope. Imagine the strained eyes of those poor passerby’s on the street!
Plain Shirts: Offer a timeless, classic & clean look that work particularly well when paired with a darker sweater, allowing your sweater and / or tie to be your statement piece! A solid white or light blue shirt paired with a darker sweater is a timeless combination that will work in virtually any setting!
A solid dress shirt is perfectly complemented by a darker sweater! Courtesy of www.pinterest.com
Patterned Dress Shirts: Patterned dress shirts will infuse your attire with a bolder look – but are best worn when paired with a more simple, solid colored sweater, so as to avoid a jarring, pattern clashing look.
Sweater with Dress Shirt & Tie Combination
While pairing a sweater with a dress shirt leaves the tie as strictly optional, wearing one can instantly elevate your look. Choosing the right type of tie can go along way towards dressing up your sweater / dress shirt combination appropriately:
Formal Setting: If you are in a more formal setting, like an upscale dinner party, a silk tie will definitely enhance your attire and allow you to truly stand out – especially with a popped knot that gives the look even more volume and depth!
An exquisite paisley silk tie pairs perfectly with this sweater & dress shirt combination, making for ideal formalwear attire! Featuring The Dark Knot’s Amesbury Paisley Brownish Gold Silk Tie!
Semi-Casual Setting: If in a less formal setting, try opting for a skinny or knit tie. Knit ties work incredibly well, given the textural variation that they provide during the winter months.
During the holiday season, novelty ties that exhibit a motif such as leisurely activities or sporting interests can be a great to get engaging conversation flowing!
A woolen tie works in perfect unison with this sweater & dress shirt combination, making for an ideal business casual look! Courtesy of http://www.hespokestyle.com
Paying Attention To Your Dress Shirt Collar
The dress shirt collar – that often neglected component of your dress shirt, comes to the forefront with the sweater and dress shirt combination. And more exposure will invariably be followed with more scrutiny. Hence, getting your dress shirt collar details on point (pun intended) is absolutely crucial!
Keep Collar Points Tucked
Keep your dress shirt collar points tucked away neatly under your sweater so as to avoid an unkempt appearance. This is particularly importance with crew neck sweaters, helping to maintain cleaner lines throughout your aesthetic!
Keeping those collar points tucked makes for an incredibly clean look! Courtesy of www.pinterest.com
Consider Dress Shirt Collar Stays
Ever feel like your dress shirt collars don’t quite hold their shape? What may initially appear as a negligible detail comes roaring to the forefront, as you realize that a drooping collar tends to bring the rest of your ensemble down with it.
Collar stays, commonly referred to as ‘collar tabs’ or ‘collar stiffeners’ are flat, rigid pieces of plastic or metal that are inserted into the underside of your dress shirt – are designed to provide your collars with enough weight or crispness to as to help keep the collar in place. Collar stay provide your dress shirt collars with just the right amount of weight, helping to keep them in place and laying flat against your collarbone.
Collar Stays help keep your shirt collars propped up and looking firm, significantly enhancing your aesthetic! Courtesy of www.pinterest.com
Featuring The Dark Knot’s Brass Collar Stay Gift Set. Perfect for propping up those dress shirt collars!
Expose a level of dress shirt sleeve
Similar to strutting a suit or sports jacket, exposing some dress shirt sleeve is far more palatable than a sweater or jacket sleeve sans dress shirt exposed. It feels & looks both unsightly and awkward. Definitely opt to get that shirt sleeve exposed!
Courtesy of www.pinterest.com
Choosing The Right Type Of Sweater
When pairing your dress shirt with a sweater, knowing what type of sweater you will opt for is absolutely critical:
V-Neck Sweaters
V-neck sweaters provide exquisite framing for your shirt collar and tie. Alternatively, they can be styled without a tie, providing symmetry vis a vis the shirt collar! Courtesy of www.artofmanliness.com
Why They Work
V-neck sweaters work extremely well with a dress shirt as they create an ideal frame for the shirt collar and tie. The angular cut of the collar line draws attention to the shirt and tie combination underneath, making this particular pairing an ideal choice for more formal or business settings.
Styling Tips
When opting for a dress shirt, it is best to choose a shirt with a point or semi-spread collar, reflecting the triangular proportions that a v-neck sweater provides.
If you decide to wear a tie with your shirt & sweater combination, a slimmer tie will work best as it won’t add unnecessary bulk to the entire aesthetic, providing for a more streamlined look!
Please feel free to view The Dark Knot’s stunning range of skinny silk ties here.
Crew Neck Sweaters
Crew neck sweaters provide an alternative, relaxed, dapper look! Courtesy of www.realmenrealstyle.com
Why They Work
Crewneck sweaters provide a round neckline, resulting in a more casual, versatile look. Given the lack of an angular neckline (that, conversely, the v-neck sweater provides), these sweaters pair exceptionally well with dress shirts with a spread or semi-spread collar – providing a clean, minimalistic look that works best sans tie.
Styling Tips
Ensure that the collar points of your dress shirt are neatly tucked in, providing for a clean, organized look. We also suggest avoiding wearing a tie with your crew neck sweater, given that most of the tie would be covered – yielding a rather unsightly, awkward combination that you would be best advised to refrain indulging from!
Cardigan Sweaters
Cardigan sweater and dress shirt combinations are highly versatile, allowing them to be worn in both casual and formal settings! Courtesy of www.pinterest.com
Why They Work
Whether zipped or buttoned down, the deeper neck opening of a cardigan sweater offers the most flexibility. This allows you to wear your cardigan in both formal & casual settings.
Styling Tips
Given that more of your dress shirt is exposed with a cardigan, versus wearing a v-neck or crew neck sweater, a patterned dress shirt can work incredibly well. This is especially true in light of the fact that most cardigans are offered in solid colors – allowing for the perfect level of contrast between the shirt and cardigan.
Cardigans pair exceptionally well with any collar type – whether it be a point, medium spread or spread collar. If you are looking to dress more casual, opt to keep a few buttons undone, whereas more buttons should be fastened for a more formal appearance.
Cardigan sweaters work especially well in transitional, fall weather, given that they add a dapper, sophisticated layer to another wise more relaxed outfit.
Shawl Cardigans
Courtesy of www.hespokestyle.com
Why They Work
Shawl Cardigans, with their larger, full collar, offer a great alternative to wearing a blazer during cooler months, and can therefore be used to dress casually or somewhat more formally.
Styling Tips
We strictly suggest refraining from strutting a spread collar, given the clash that will naturally occur against your wider shawl collar. We therefore advocate going for a narrow or medium spread dress shirt collar for the most balanced look.
Additionally, Shawl Cardigans provide the perfect opportunity to add a tie, given the inherently formal nature of the sweater.
Summary
Ok, so that was a fair amount to digest. Here is a recap of our most salient points:
- A dress shirt and sweater combination can be worn to a variety of settings / occasions, including (1) casual or smart casual events (2) business casual settings (3) during cooler & transitional weather & (4) for more stylistic points!
- When matching your dress shirt with a sweater, maintaining levels of formality is absolutely key (1) keep your dress shirt tucked in (2) ensure that your sweater and dress shirt fit appropriately.
- As a general rule of thumb, we would avoid wearing a patterned dress shirt with a patterned sweater – as this creates a jarring, uncoordinated look. With solid dress shirts, we suggest pairing them with a darker sweater, allowing your sweater or tie to be your statement piece!
- With patterned dress shirts, we suggest pairing them with a solid sweater so as to avoid the aforementioned problem of pattern clashing.
- While pairing a sweater with a dress shirt leaves the tie as strictly optional, we do believe that it can instantly elevate your aesthetic! For formal settings, such as an upscale dinner party, we advocate opting for a traditional silk tie. In less formal / semi casual settings, we suggest going for a knitted, skinny silk or novelty tie, with the latter being an instant conversation starter!
- With any formal / semi formal ensemble, details absolutely matter, and such is the case here as well. Keeping your collar points tucked, and embracing dress shirt collar stays will go a long way towards maintaining the aesthetic you are striving for! Additionally, we suggest exposing a small amount of dress shirt sleeve.
- Different types of sweaters to pair with your shirt collars include: V-Neck Sweaters. These are ideal as they provide framing for a tie, with triangular proportions and shapes symmetrical with your dress shirt.
- Crew Neck sweaters are best worn in more casual settings, given the lack of an angular neckline that the sweater provides. We also suggest refraining from wearing a tie with a crew neck sweater!
- Cardigan & Shawl Cardigans are ideal for wearing patterned dress shirts with and / or a tie, given that more of your dress shirt is exposed. Shawl Cardigans in particular come somewhat close to resembling a sports jacket and can be worn in more formal settings.
And that’s a wrap for this one! We hope that you have enjoyed reading this as much as we have writing it!
