Donate Your Old Dress Shirts, Buy These Instead (2024)

What should you demand from the best men's dress shirts? Quality, for one thing. Dashing good looks, for another. And price, of course. While we here at GQ have been known to champion the occasional $600 dress shirt fashioned in a centuries-old Parisian atelier, we're also fans of the other kind of dress shirt: the standby, everyday shirts that help you smarten up without breaking the bank. We're talking that soft poplin button-up you like to layer under a Barbour on weekends or the crisp gingham number you can rock with a blazer and silk knit tie to your niece's bat-mitzvah.

The Best Dress Shirts for Men Shopping Guide

Not sure what you're looking for? Check in with our handy glossary first.

• The No-Fuss Pick: J.Crew Bowery Wrinkle-Free Dress Shirt, $98
• The Last-Minute Pick: Calvin Klein Men’s Dress Shirt, $38
• The Retro-Cool Pick Todd Snyder x Hamilton Long Point Collar Shirt, $298
• The Titan of Industry Pick: Charvet White Double-Cuff Cotton Shirt, $495
• The Budget-Minded Minimalist Pick: COS Pleated-Placket Dress Shirt, $135
• The Bang-for-Your-Buck Pick: Kamakura Shirts Slim Fit Broadcloth Shirt, $110

Whether you're a button-down collar, spread collar, or point collar type of guy, we've got you covered. (And these days, they don't need the full French cuff treatment to make you feel like you're ready to conquer whatever hellish challenges the work day throws at you.) Maybe it's been a while since you've had to actually wear a shirt with buttons, and you can't seem to wrap your head around getting back in the saddle (read: the office). Don't worry—dress shirts haven't changed much since 2020.

Below, you'll find 19 of the best men's dress shirts worth buying in bulk. (Bonus points if you nab one on sale!) If you're looking to re-up on a few reliable nine-to-five workhorses here's where to start.

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The Best Retro-Cool Dress Shirt

Todd Snyder called up the storied American shirting specialists at Hamilton to create a button-up you (and your future grandkids) will actually want to slip on. Hand cut and sewn in Hamilton’s Houston-based workshop, the loose yet structured ultra fine button-up features an elegant extended point collar and mother-of-pearl buttons. It’s a shirt generations will enjoy; we’d expect nothing less from folks who have been churning out hits like this since 1883.

The Best Dress Shirt for Titans of Industry

When you’re rolling with the movers and shakers of the world, you need the creme de la creme. And that’s exactly why the titans turn to Charvet, a Parian shirtmaker that's been crafting the finest button-ups since 1838. (1838!) This svelte shirt is no exception: it fits slim but not constricting for ease of movement, and features an extremely classy double cuff for when you're really feeling fancy. When you slip on this sucker, you don’t meet with the boss—you are the boss.

The Best No-Fuss Dress Shirt

Even your best Marie Kondo cosplay can’t prevent a couple wrinkles from popping up. If you absolutely need to make a smooth impression, a non-iron dress shirt like this one is a North Star. Made from breathable cotton with some added stretch to keep things moving, it’s specially treated to keep wrinkles at bay—and it’s machine washable. Whether you’re traveling for a couple days or a couple of months, make sure this winds up in your carry-on.

The Best Last-Minute Dress Shirt

Got a last-minute invite to a swanky event and need a dress shirt ASAP? Not to fear, Amazon is here (or there, pretty much everywhere). This no frills, slim fit shirt by Calvin Klein made cut from high-quality cotton blended with spandex for a more comfortable fit. Throw it over your finest chinos or the dress pants you impulsively splurged on and finally have an excuse to bring out. When a t-shirt or any old long-sleeve shirt just won’t do and you’re short on time, Prime it!

The Best Dress Shirt for Budget-Minded Minimalists

The old adage about getting what you pay for definitely applies to dress shirts, but if you’re looking to spread your cash far and wide, you’ve still got some solid options. This regular fit button-down shirt from COS looks like it was pulled straight off the runway—but you can find it on your local high street. At first glance it might look like a pretty standard poplin shirt with a trademark pointed collar and buttoned-cuffs, but subtle revisions, like the pleated placket and seashell buttons, pull it into a league of its own.

The Best Dress Shirt for Your Buck

Want a near-custom-fit without hoofing it to a tailor in your neighborhood? Kamakura's cult-loved slim-fit dress shirts are made in Japan and stitched from sturdy yet ultra-breathable cotton, with a tailored fit fresh out of the wrapping—minus the alteration fees. With a snazzy spread collar, French placket, and button cuffs, it’s a dress shirt that has everything you’re looking for—for way less than you'd expect.

What Makes a Good Dress Shirt?

Like any piece of clothing, it comes down to materials and construction. Good dress shirts will use natural long-staple cotton that's woven tightly. The fabrics can vary, but dress shirts are often made with poplin, pinpoint Oxford cloth, or Oxford cloth. Look for details like French or felled seams which are cleaner and more durable. Mother of pearl buttons are highly sought after, but by no means a requirement. Stitch count is also something fashion fiends will geek out over. The more dense and fine the stitching is, the higher the quality.

Details to Look For

There's not shortage of nuances when it comes to dress shirts, as any sartorial wonk will tell you. For the sake of brevity and wonk-avoidance, here are the basic things you should know. Generally speaking, the less stuff is on a dress shirt, the more formal it is.