I consider the Oxford shirt a quintessential part of every man’s wardrobe. They are clearly classic and versatile, low maintenance and extremely comfortable. – Al Claudius

Oxford shirts are actually made out of oxford cloth; a thick and densely woven cotton which is highly resilient and hard-wearing. The Oxford shirt originated in England with polo players using buttons to keep the collars of their shirts from flapping in the wind during the game. Which is perhaps why them come with button down collars still.

You can dress it up as much as you can go casual with it. Dare I say, it can also be worn under a suit. However, they are in their element in casual situations. Be it a drink with buds or a weekend brunch with family. The Oxford Shirt looks good with shorts, denims, chinos or trousers for that matter.

Over the years, Oxford shirts have changed for the better. They retain their classic attributes like the collar locker loop and come with slimmer fits these days. They also ventured beyond the light blue standard and now come in a range of colors and prints.

Every guy needs an arsenal of go-to shirts in his wardrobe and a blue oxford is right up there with the best of them. When I picked mine up, I decided to instead go with pink.

When I went in to pick a pair of socks at the GANT store, I fell in love. I tried on their iconic button-down shirt in a slim-fit, a GANT embroidered shield on the chest pocket with a locker loop at the back of the collar. It is one of the many good outfit options GANT brought in as part of their Fall/Winter 2014 collection.

If you prefer playing it safe, I would recommend you go with the light blue Oxford from GANT. It should be one of your wardrobe staples. Just promise you will wear it with a tie at least once?

Photographer : Jonathan Isacsson is an independent film maker. He recently directed a short film (Dark Comedy) that showed in Mumbai cinemas, titled Revenge.

You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

What are your thoughts on the quintessential shirt? Let me know in the comments tab. I would love to hear from you.

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