Patterned dress shirts are alternative ways to make yourself stand out. These shirts give depth, which is hard to achieve with solid colors. The most common patterns include vertical stripes and checks. The stripes can be so tiny you barely notice them or big so that you wish the shirt had been left at home. Simple patterns like vertical stripes are still considered formal in most corporate environments. They are also more popular in larger cities and with custom dress shirts.
Stripes
Awning Stripe – As it implies, these stripes are like the large stripes fround on cafe awnings. They typically consist of alternating large color and white stripes at least 1/4th of an inch wide. This stripe pattern is usually considered the least formal of the stripes. The lighter and more conservative the stripes are, the less casual it becomes.
Bengal – Bengal Stripe is a very common pattern that has evenly spaced out stripes over a white background. The stripes itself are around 1/4th of an inch which aren’t too casual, making it a versatile pattern that can be worn both formally and casually.
Candy Stripe – Around 1/4th of an inch thinner than the Bengal Stripe, the Candy Stripe is also a pattern with evenly distributed lines over a white background. This can typically be seen with two dark colors instead of white and dark, which suits will in as a night time look.
Pencil Stripe – What makes the pencil stripe pattern different is that the colored stripes are often more spread apart, leaving thicker white bands. This type of stripes is very common in the office but even though the stripes are thin, the darker colors will still decrease its formalness.
Pin Stripe – Pinstripes is a very common pattern in men’s attire. The stripes come up to 2 yards thick and are distributed further apart than the larger stripes, creating more white space. Unlike other stripes, the pinstripes often come broken, making the lines look like dashes. The pinstripe pattern is extremely formal and classy compared to the rest of the stripe family.
Hairline Stripe –This stripe is also more of a classy, versatile pattern. The lines are even smaller than the pinstripe and are not broken. Unlike pinstripes, the stripes are evenly spread, making the colors identical in width. The closeness and thinness of these lines means that they are very suitable for conservative offices.
Barcode Stripe – Like the name suggests, the Barcode Stripe resembles the barcode pattern we see on most retail products. It usually comes in at least two different colors or various tones of one color. Because this pattern calls for multiple colors, it is considered more of a casual dress shirt fabric.