Connie Chen/Business Insider
- While people in jobs at law firms or banks still have to adhere to a strict dress code, a large portion of the workforce has shifted toward a business casual, or even a nonexistent, dress code.
- The culture shift away from formality has led luxury brands to adjust more toward this growing consumer preference. Charles Tyrwhitt - a brand revered for high-quality (and priced) menswear - recently released a line of casual shirts.
- We tried a few shirts from the new collection, and while they are not as casual (or cost-effective) as the graphic tees we can get away with at the Business Insider New York office, they are a high-quality option perfect for a more traditional business casual office setting.
There are endless memes on Twitter and Facebook dragging 20- and 30-somethings because we no longer dress up for flights or wear suits to the ballpark. Some may see this cultural shift as a negative, but for the modern employee, this transition eliminates the need for a closet full of formal wear.
In most offices, as long as you dress on trend, it doesn't matter if your wardrobe leans toward casual. There is obviously a common-sense line for what is appropriate, but in practice we have a lot more flexibility than previous generations.
As a result, luxury brands are rolling out more dressed-down options. We tried UK-based Charles Tyrwhitt's new line of casual men's dress shirts, and while they aren't as laid-back as the Rick and Morty and Darth Vader tees you may glimpse in the IT section of the Business Insider office, there are distinct subtleties that separate this line from the rest of the brand's luxury offerings.
Price is certainly not one of these differences, with the casual dress shirts ranging from $110 to $120 (or $50 per shirt if you purchase four or more). The minute differences in the cut and fit of the shirt, plus a selection of cheekier patterns, are what separate this line from the traditional offerings of the brand.
Some fellow Insider Picks colleagues and I tested the shirts to determine the worthiness of a $100 investment in a shirt labeled "casual." Read below to see what we thought.
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Find all the best offers at our Coupons page.
Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Insider Picks team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.