Chambray shirts are known for their durability and character, and the best ones develop a patina the more you wear them. They get their unique look from a plain weave using colored warp threads (usually blue) and white weft threads. (And for the record, it’s pronounced SHAM-bray.)
To find some great options, I spoke with 15 stylish men about their go-to chambray shirts. Unsurprisingly, J.Crew was name-checked by many as a favorite for affordability — but the list also includes many less obvious options. Just about everyone I talked to washes their chambray in cold water and air-dries not only to extend the life span of their shirts but also to amplify their rumpled nature.
For Rob McMillen, co-founder of the Mildred New York barbershop, a passion for chambray shirts began in 2000 when his grandfather gifted him one. “He mostly wore Sears clothing because he worked for Firestone as a mechanic and got a 20 percent discount,” McMillen says. Now, McMillen buys his Sears Work & Leisure chambray shirts secondhand. He keeps a few in rotation and has only had to replace a few buttons. McMillen loves that the shirt is Sanforized — a process that pre-shrinks the fabric — and features Sears’s signature Perma-Prest — a type of chemically treated wrinkle-resistant fabric introduced by Sears in the 1960s. “I love this because I really beat my clothing up and don’t take the best care of it,” he says. He typically wears his chambray shirt as an overshirt since “it’s not the traditional type of chambray; it’s pretty light and looks more like a work shirt than a statement piece.”
I got this western-style shirt when I needed something lightweight for spring and summer, and I’ve had it now for over a year. It breezed through summer and is definitely making a return this fall, layered under a crewneck sweater. The snap pockets and snap buttons are what sold me. I’ve had some mishaps with regular chambray button-down shirts where the buttons aren’t sewn on well and become detached, but I don’t have to worry about that happening with a snap closure. For the fit, I size up to a medium as Levi’s shirts usually run on the slimmer side, and I always wear a pocket T-shirt underneath, just in case it gets too hot and I need to take a layer off. I like to wear this shirt with dark jeans, camo fatigues, or underneath a blazer. After a few washes, I simply hang it to dry, and instead of ironing it, I throw it on as-is to look a little undone.
Like others I spoke to, Roy Fleeman, VP of design at Vacation Inc. and founder of Design Studio Office Hours, purchased a chambray shirt to help streamline his closet. “I only wear neutrals and wanted something versatile that fit into my small capsule wardrobe, could be worn for different occasions, and wasn’t too expensive,” he says. Fleeman has had his chambray shirt for ten years and has put a lot of mileage on it (and patches he’s sewn onto the elbows to show for it).
Ryan Barr, founder of the leather bag brand WP Standard, owns many chambray shirts. “The one I wear the most is the least expensive of the bunch — from J.Crew,” in the One-Year Wash, “and I’ve had it for about four years,” he says. It’s a shirt so good that his wife borrows it from time to time (and he admits that it might look even better on her).
A few years ago, Norse Projects art director Rhys Kearns decided to simplify his closet, keeping only the essential pieces that would last a long time and that he knew he wouldn’t grow tired of wearing. “My chambray shirt was one of the first items in my keep pile because of its versatility and longevity,” he says. Kearns appreciates how this Frizmworks shirt has aged similarly to a pair of jeans. “After the first wash, it became super crinkly and dense,” he says, and with more washing (with cold water then air-dried) it has naturally faded. The classic chambray blue is so easy to wear that Kearns usually pairs it with khaki chinos or olive fatigues in the summer, and says, “It’s my No. 1 shirt for when I pack for traveling.” So far, he hasn’t had to repair it. “The fabric feels sturdy but not in a heavy, denim-head way,” he says. “It has more of a refined feel to it, which makes it comfortable and stylish without being overly rugged.”
Seeing people wearing chambray shirts unbuttoned over a tank top was all the convincing Evan Malachosky, editorial director of curated brands at Optimism, needed to get his own. For him, functionality is important. “I love having two pockets,” he says, and he uses the ones on this Quaker Marine Supply shirt for stashing his glasses. He also appreciates how durable the chambray is. “I’ve had the shirt for nearly five years, and I’m impressed with how well it’s held up,” he says. To help extend its life, Malachosky washes it as infrequently as he can get away with.
Philadelphia and New York–based photographer Tosin Popoola wore this shirt for the first time during a tour of northern Italy with a few friends at the start of spring and has worn it countless times since. To deal with wrinkles from air-drying, he says, “Once dry, I fluff the shirt a few times, tugging on the sleeves and plackets to remove any creases.” If the creases don’t come out, he’ll take an iron to it.
Joshua Swales, a graphic designer based in New York, has long been a fan of Buck Mason’s chambray shirts and recently added this oxford-style version to his wardrobe. What drew him to this particular shirt is the button-down collar: “Many chambray shirts are made with lightweight fabric, causing collars to curl or flare out, but these buttons solve that problem,” Swales says. Though he’s only had the shirt for a few months, he’s been impressed with its durability. “No shrinkage and it still feels crisp, even after washing,” he says. Swales agrees with other chambray enthusiasts on the importance of avoiding the dryer to maintain the shirt’s crispness. His tip for keeping the collar sharp? “Always hang it up and button the top button to keep the collar structured.”
Bombas co-founder Randy Goldberg stumbled upon this OshKosh shirt about ten years ago at a vintage shop called Melet Mercantile in Montauk. “This shirt is the perfect high-low mix. It looks great with swim trunks or shorts, but it can also class up a bit under a blazer with jeans,” he says. He loves the loose, oversize fit, plus the flap pockets that keep his sunglasses securely in place. And though this shirt’s been around for more than half a century (it was already more than 40 years old when he bought it), it’s still going strong. “These things are out there because they’re so sturdy, even though they’re lightweight,” he says.
Snow Peak’s senior brand director, Michael Andersen, often pairs this Wythe shirt with more denim — like others I spoke to — or Engineered Garments fatigues. “From gardening with my kids to trips to the coast or gorge for some outdoor time,” it’s a piece he can be active in and not be afraid to dirty. It’s useful as a neutral foil, he says: “My shirt mixes easily with my closet since I usually wear bold colors, and this evens it out a bit.” He notes, too, that the tonal fish-eye buttons “complement the texture of chambray well without clashing, and the corozo buttons make them less likely to wear out or break.”
Jason Gregory, founder of the lifestyle and accessory brand MAKR, was gifted this shirt 12 years ago by his friend Eunice Lee (founder and designer of the now defunct menswear shop UNIS) for completing the installation of her new store. “She loves dressing the guys around her and was always so generous with her product,” Gregory says. He remembers wearing it that same day “to look ‘not terrible’ for dinner after a long day of assembling all the components we had just driven up from our studio.” Living in Florida, Gregory is often in the sun and isn’t overly protective of his clothes. “I let them age naturally, which makes them look even better.”
“I’ve worn chambray forever, even as a kid,” says Joseph Pollard, the Pennsylvanian-based shoemaker of August Special. His current favorite is this popover from the Japanese brand Post O’Alls, which features a chinstrap (which prevents the top button from sagging) and slightly larger mother-of-pearl buttons. “The fabric itself is rustic enough to have real character yet fine enough to feel soft and comfortable,” he says. After five years of wear, “it has barely aged at all, just slowly softened and mellowed,” he says.
[Editor’s note: Post Overalls lists all prices in yen, so the price shown is an approximate conversion in U.S. dollars.]
New York–based chef Woldy Kusina first wore this chambray shirt to a holiday party two years ago with a velvet blazer and black trousers. “Since then, it’s become a staple in my kitchen, growing to be a part of my everyday uniform,” he says. For work, he wears it with dark jeans, clogs or Birkenstocks, and yellow-tinted shades. He appreciates how hard he can wear it and also how it can be dressed up. “For a formal look, I get it dry-cleaned.”
When I spoke with vintage rug dealer Mikael Kennedy of King Kennedy Rugs, he mentioned that he owned around ten chambray shirts. What drew him to this one was its lighter fabric, a refreshing change from the heavier denim snap shirts he usually wore. He also dislikes contrast stitching, often used to highlight seams or edges, preferring the clean, simple look of his chambray without it. Kennedy pushes his chambray shirts to their physical limit: “I usually wear these things into the ground, slowly repairing them until my wife or daughter says it’s time to let it go,” he says. He typically experiences blowouts at the elbows. “I patch it up — do a little sashiko stitching.”
“I’ve been wearing chambray shirts for 30 years, and this one from Sunspel is among my favorites,” says Robert Ettinger, owner of the British accessory label Ettinger. The plain weave texture initially attracted him: “The cotton material, slightly brushed, feels wonderful against my skin.” Although chambray resembles denim, it’s much lighter and more breathable, which is why he appreciates the overshirt option: “It’s a boxier fit but versatile enough to wear year-round — layered in the winter months.”
London-based painter Zach Zono’s favorite chambray shirt was gifted to him by his girlfriend over a year ago. “It just goes with everything in my closet at the moment,” which is the point of a chambray shirt. Zono makes frequent use of the twin flap pockets. “From my car keys to AirPods, they’re spacious enough to store my essentials while commuting,” he says. Instead of machine-washing, he prefers to take it to the dry cleaners every few months.
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