Shirts and Contrasts: 5 Key Looks for Back to School

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With each new season, the same question arises: how to mark the return to structure without sacrificing style? This season, the answer is clear — and it lies in one piece: the men’s shirt. Whether sleek or fluid, strict or deconstructed, it goes beyond mere dressing; it composes, nuances, and asserts.

Throughout the runways and in the streets, it becomes a language. A subtle sign of elegance, a silent declaration of intent. Here are five of the most accurate ways to wear it today — for those who know that style is not shouted. It is cultivated.

Today’s Tailoring: The Graphic Allure of the White Shirt

Some pieces don’t need to make noise to assert themselves. The white shirt is one of them. But this season, it sheds rigidity for a softer graphic allure. The lines remain sharp, but the volumes soften, the collar slightly detaches, and the cut gains breadth.

It pairs well with pleated trousers or a minimalist blazer, in stone or pearl gray tones. At Prada or Jil Sander, there is an obsession with the right detail, found in these silhouettes tailored for men who have nothing to prove — and everything to express.

A well-cut men’s shirt then becomes much more than a uniform: a silent style statement.

Sophisticated Minimalism: The Harmony of Tonal Dressing

True luxury, sometimes, is knowing when to stop. No effects, no emphasis: just a structured cotton shirt in an ivory or mastic hue, perfectly aligned with the rest of the silhouette.

The monochrome ensemble acts as a personality revealer. Think of the wardrobes from The Row or Christophe Lemaire, where every fold, every material seems to breathe. This look is not meant to impress. It is for those who no longer need to do so.

Chic Utility: The Shirt in a Functional Register

There is something reassuring about functional pieces — as if their very utility bestows a form of elegance. Here, the shirt is adorned with patch pockets, technical poplin, and earthy tones. It evokes uniforms, but in a sophisticated version.

Under a safari jacket, or simply open over a white t-shirt, it creates a wardrobe for a man on the move. One thinks of the lines from Ami Paris or Hermès, where masculinity is reinvented, always grounded, never static.

Layering Games: The Shirt in a Controlled Overlay

It is in the transition of seasons that style expresses itself best. A long, slightly oversized shirt becomes a tool for composition. One can slip it over a fine turtleneck, or leave it open over a ribbed tank top. The whole plays out in a powdery, autumnal, almost mineral palette.

At Dries Van Noten or Jacquemus, these layering games tell of free silhouettes that know the rules — and gracefully subvert them.

Nocturnal Elegance: The Shirt, Between Sensuality and Sobriety

The evening shirt does not seek to seduce. It does so naturally. In washed silk, satin cotton, or deep black linen, it caresses more than it imposes. One button undone, a dim light, and it’s done.

One imagines it worn with impeccable raw denim or soft wool trousers. It’s the detail — a slightly long sleeve, a barely unbuttoned neckline — that tells it all. Like Chalamet or Mescal, this shirt speaks to those who know that elegance is always a bit unruly.

The 2025 season marks not just the return of a wardrobe but the return of an attitude. By placing the men’s shirt at the center of their silhouette, men reaffirm an aesthetic of care, detail, and mastery. This is not a trend. It’s a way of being.

And in a world saturated with signs, it is sometimes essential to return to what doesn’t lie: a precise cut, a noble material, an assured outfit. To explore other trending masculine styles this year, between heritage and contemporary reinterpretations, dive into the revisited retro heritage, a narrative that perfectly complements this quest for balance.