The open collar shirt is doing more work in most men’s wardrobes than it gets credit for. It sits between the formality of a button up worn to the neck and the casualness of a plain tee, and that middle ground is where a lot of real life dressing actually happens. Dinner that is not quite a suit occasion. A weekend afternoon that calls for something with a bit of intention behind it. The problem is that most men either reach for something too stiff or something that looks like it belongs on a sunlounger. We have been looking specifically at shirts that wear well open at the collar, that have enough structure to look considered but enough ease to feel relaxed. Fabric matters here more than most men think. A good linen, a washed Oxford, a brushed cotton. These all behave differently when worn this way. The ones we have picked reward the extra button left undone.