News - Topman Launches the White Shirt

August 24th - this is a date for your diary. Topman have invited a select few designers to interpret their vision of 'The White Shirt' signifying the start of an ongoing project, titled very inspiringly - 'Man'. I look forward to the rest of the collection but right now let's focus on the up and coming release. First things first I don't believe in The White Shirt, as this collection shows there can be a tremendous amount of variation on this item of clothing and one can own and indeed wear a number of white shirts (on rotation of course) for different occasions. To support this notion I want two of the five shirts on offer. My wish list (it does extend much further than just this one collection but for the benefit of this post) includes Deryck Walker's effort which is short sleeve (which I normally tend to avoid), and elasticated complete with panelling.

My favourite however is Ute Ploier's design. Seeing this design has made me explore this designer further and I love what I have discovered. The shirt to spark this all off is based on the traditional biker jacket and features rib detailing on the cuff and hem a short stand up collar and quilted shoulder. To be honest though I have seen a very similar shirt on an online store and if i give up on waiting for the release date of the Topman range or if the racks are bare by the time I get to them I will buy this, just to ease any possible feeling of loss. I am sure that at £50 each the shirts on offer will soon be snapped up so I will do my best to be as quick as possible to avoid losing out.

When the shirts are as different as the ones chosen here the search for THE white shirt isn't important, we should just be on the hunt for the BEST white shirts out there and buy according to our needs. Currently when shopping I am constantly drawn to white shirts and at times have to tear myself away from the racks! As they are seen as such a staple in any wardrobe (male or female) I am intrigued to see how the designer has approached it; the cut, the material (too many white shirts are far too see through and cheap looking, I do not want to see nipples on display and neither do most people!). Sartorial features can and indeed do make a vast difference to the look of a white shirt and personally (just to be a little outrageous maybe) I feel these sartorial features can have more of a visual impact on this wardrobe institution than on any other garment. White shirts are certainly worth celebrating and deserve much more than their, at times, dull image.

I'm not sure about this one, Stevie. While I like the second shirt, I'm not sure how well it would work as a shirt. All of them seem to look a bit... cheap, but that may just be the lighting- although the fact that they're from Topman doesn't fill me with hope for high quality garments. I think the first one suffers from that a fair bit. I think a lot of them look quite incomplete somehow, like they were a nice idea for a design competition, but didn't really work out. Still, I shall keep an eye out. I do love white shirts though, albeit it not on myself- my uncanny talent for spilling food and drinks down my front and white coloured clothing does not mix. They are classic for a reason- you don't see enough boys walking around in a nice pair of jeans and a crisp white shirt these days, such a shame.