The Oxford Cloth Button-Down

My awareness of Oxford cloth button-down shirts started with my dad’s, which came from Brooks Brothers. Throughout junior high and high school, I thought they were really stodgy old man shirts, even though I’d steal them from his dresser when I needed one for the homecoming dance or some other dressy affair. In the sharper relief of hindsight, I failed to appreciate at the time how smart they looked and how great they felt. 

For those who may not know, a “button-down” refers to a dress shirt with small buttons that fasten the collar points to the front of the shirt. The idea of these buttons came in the 1890s for British polo players whose shirt collars kept flapping around during matches. The button-down collar was a modification of function, not form. 

In 1896, Brooks Brothers adopted the collar for a ready-to-wear shirt made with Oxford cloth, a durable and breathable textured cotton weave that came from Scotland in the late 1800s. The Oxford cloth button-down (OCBD) was born, eventually becoming an American wardrobe staple, particularly among the Ivy League set from the 1920s through the 1950s.

Despite its versatility, wearable in casual and dressier settings, with a suit and tie or without, the OCBD’s popularity dipped in our recent and unfortunately more casualized times. But staunch purists and aficionados of Ivy style never lost their appreciation. Brooks Brothers continues to make the shirt, as does J. Press. And a version of the OCBD has been a fixture in Ralph Lauren’s Polo line for decades. 

Currently, there are two from Brooks Brothers in my wardrobe. I wash and wear the OCBD in one of two ways: cleaned and pressed (no starch) from the cleaners for a dressier/cleaner look, or machine washed and drip dried on a hanger for a more casual/unpressed mood with jeans or something. Added bonus: Oxford cloth seems to get even better over time with every wash and wear. 

When I was in school, borrowing my dad’s shirts, I wore the Oxford cloth button-down as a requirement – something to endure. Today, I enjoy every opportunity or occasion to wear one. In fact, I’m wearing one as I write this.

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