Sarah Jacobs
For $40, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better dress shirt.
When we tested Amazon's new clothing line for men, most of the items were in line with our expectations.One, however, stood out high and tall above the rest, a shining beacon of affordable menswear calling all weary travelers to port. One of Amazon's new brands, Buttoned Down, sells a dress shirt for $40. Yes, $40 dollars. I know!
So, considering that price point, it's hard to expect much from Buttoned Down's range of shirts. But they definitely deliver, offering a wide range of collar styles and fits so that you can pick the one you're actually looking for.
Let's just say this up front: Buttoned Down's shirts are not amazing. They're probably not even the best deal on dress shirts out there.
What the shirts are is a good quality for $40, with free shipping provided both ways from Amazon. The slim fits aren't the slimmest you'll find, but they'll get you most of the way there.
I always dread putting on dress shirts. I worry that the fabric will feel stiff and uncomfortable, and I won't be able to wait to take it off.
Not so with this shirt - it was comfortable from the moment I put it on. I certainly know a cheap shirt when I feel it, and this didn't feel cheap. The Amazon listing says it's made with Supima cotton, and I don't doubt it.
The fit was slim, but not constricting. It was more traditional, but I also loved the way it looked on me.
The fabric has a subtle weave in it, but don't mistake me. It's as plain a shirt as can be. Sometimes, though, that's really all you want in a shirt, and you can pair it with a nonstandard tie for personality.
Buttoned Down offers three different fits ranging from standard to slim, as well as a ton of different collar styles for whatever need you may have.
But for $40, it's an extremely hard price-to-quality ratio to beat.