If there is one trad item that I feel like I have a pretty good knowledge of it’s the OCBD. I mean, it is the name of the blog. I’ve seen them in about every color you can imagine. I’ve seen them in tartans, tattersalls, and stripes of all kind. And then I saw this one.
I was browsing O’Connell’s website during their 4th of July Sales and did a double take. What is a mille stripe? Why have I never seen one? More specifically, why have I never seen an OCBD in a mille stripe before?
A mille stripe looks to be a thin stripe (with a little zig-zag pattern) of alternating color little zig zag. I’ve talked a lot about it recently, but closely placed thin stripes are my favorite type of stripe. I like how they can appear solid from a distance and it’s only when you get closer do you realize that the shirt is actually striped. I don’t quite know why, but I love that. I also love the blurring wavy effect that they can cause when looking at them. Though I have learned that this due to an increase in gamma oscillations in the brain which is associated with headaches and seizures. So proceed with caution.
O’Connell’s offers their unlined and unfused OCBD in both blue and burgundy mille stripe (see here). As a side note, I really need to try one of their OCBDs. I think that 3 3/8s is just about the perfect collar length for me. That’s it for this week’s post. See you next week!
This week as promised I am back to follow up with my personal opinion on back collar buttons and locker loops. Charles Dana (Thanks, Charles!) who uncovered last weeks newspaper article also dropped some research in the comment section of last week’s post that had me momentarily rethinking my opinion. I also learned a bit of history on locker loops on Reddit’s Navy Blazer (You should visit if you like trad/ivy forum discussions).
Let’s start with the easier of the two, locker loops. I am a big fan. As someone who has spent a lot of time in the gym I have always loved and used the locker loop to hang my shirt in my gym locker. I have even gone as far as adding them to my non-OCBD shirts from Proper cloth (see above). I had assumed that Gant was the first to add these to their shirts which targeted college students with limited locker space back in the 60s. It turns out that locker loops like many aspects of our clothing most likely had their roots in the military.
While there isn’t hard evidence to prove this, many sources claim that east coast sailors and the U.S. Navy were the first to incorporate locker loops into their uniforms. Back then, hangers weren’t as prevalent as they are today, and storage space on ships was (and sometimes still is) notoriously small. To help save room, these loops were added onto the garments of sailors to hang onto pegs or hooks located inside of storage lockers. The loops also help to prevent wrinkles.(https://reviewed.usatoday.com/style/features/history-button-down-shirt-locker-loops)
Now back to the back collar button. While Charles may have posted some advertising that never spoke to the utilitarian function of the back collar button. I still think that it is utilitarian. Here is why. For the life of me I can’t figure out why someone would suggest adding the back button if it was not for the reason that I am thinking. It’s not to keep your tie straight either. That doesn’t make sense to me either. My theory is that it was added to keep the back of the collar from riding up.
Nothing illustrates a point like a picture. Notice how the back of the collar rides up on the top OCBD. Now look at the university stripe OCBD below with the back collar button. See how the back button keeps it in place. Now sure ironing them will help keep them in place, but some of my older OCBDs collars will still ride up over the course of the day even after being ironed.
I will always prefer a locker loop, but back collar button or no back collar button is not a deal breaker for me. I do however think that the back collar button is more than decoration. I spoke about how things like this happen in the Pre-Distressed Ivy post, but this is another example of fad turned trend turned classic detail. I like how the meaning of these details get lost over time only to be decoded again somewhere down the road.
This article is from The Gastonia [North Carolina] Gazette for Sunday, November 7, 1965 and was re-posted on AAT by member Charles Dana. I have my own thoughts on both the back collar button and locker loop that I will be sharing in an upcoming post.
Two simple things that practically go unnoticed on some men’s shirts are causing monumental concern in the apparel industry. A button and loop on the back side of traditional shirts have many producers losing sleep and pacing the floor. REASON: To leave them on or take them off.
For the past decade, a rear collar button and a hanger loop have become standard equipment on shirts styled in the traditional pattern. They have become accepted, taken for granted, and ignored. But now comes along one of the major traditional shirt houses in the nation and says buttons and loops will cease to be on their future models.
The stir this revelation caused was akin to jamming the panic button. Contemporary firms were taken by surprise, uncertain if this was a right or wrong move. Many are still trying to decide. Gant shirtmakers, the best-known traditional shirtmaker in America, touched off the wave of restlessness. This would seem reasonable since the firm pioneered in the field of button-down collars, back-side buttons, loops, and box pleats; plus the tapered waist. Gant led and others followed. But following the leader doesn’t come so easily when a loss of business is a likely possibility. The big question coming to mind with manufacturers was simply this: ‘How will the young man react? Since this kind of business is directly pitched at the collegiate and high school set, such a query had to be resolved, else what appears to be a good move could easily turn into a bad move.
“What would be the reaction to a change? In the Carolinas, often called the Island of Natural Shoulder History, removal of both the button and loop wouldn’t cause a ripple. For, as some store men say, nobody is looking for either one any more. Samplings around the two states of stores reveal that a general feeling of ‘not important’ is being attached to both horns of the dilemma. Tommy Frederick, furnishings manager at Matthews-Belk Co., who cut his teeth on Ivy League clothes, opines: ‘I don’t think the removal of either or both will make or break a sale. If the shirt has color, fabric, name, and quality, it will sell. This feeling was reflected in areas from Raleigh, a hotbed of traditionalism, to Charleston, S. C. The consensus of opinion was that both were first introduced as fads and this has since run its course. At the same time some stores point out that while the button serves no real purpose, the loop does. You can hang up a shirt by it. So…retailers would prefer keeping the loop.
Men who have made studies in this area of apparel say the change was inevitable. Labor costs for the two operations run into six figures for many companies. Dropping them could direct attention to other areas of shirts that need improvements–like longer tails, better and more secure buttons…. The only objections to removal came from the high school set that goes steady. It seems that a boy wearing a shirt unbuttoned at the back is going steady. That means hands off.
This week we have a guest post from OCBD blog reader and trad, ivy, prep enthusiast M.J. Lacayo (IG profile).
The quintessential shirt for ivy and prep enthusiasts, many mourned the loss of the Brooks Brothers rendition made popular during the early 2000s. The declaration of bankruptcy during the global pandemic neutered much of the ability for Brooks Brothers to recover, and the oxford shirt was deemed to be lost, leaving loyal customers with non-iron, alpha sized imitations.
However, the OCBD has made a reappearance. Manufactured in the United States, the classic, all cotton, and must iron shirt has finally returned (It even has a front pocket, finally!). I aim to display the differences between this era, the previous one, and that of long ago.
At a glance, there are some minor changes to this new version of OCBD. It lacks a locker loop, rear collar button, and gussets. However, the collar and cuff portions of the shirt are different. To the hand they feel a little thicker, and lightly lined. If any of these are a deal breaker, congrats, you saved a hefty $198. It doesn’t look like they will be on sale anytime soon, and now fall under Brooks Brothers’ “new” sizing system; Slim (Milano) Regular (Regent), and Traditional (Madison).
No gusset on the 2023 OCBD
The Old New Vs the New New
The old OCBD rendition (debuted around 2016 I believe) was the staple shirt for the brand, many loved the traditional styling with all the precise details. It retailed for $140 and did go on sale often. As a previous article noted, you can still find some of the older OCBD’s on ebay with minor milling flaws and for a great price. I would recommend shopping there until that well runs dry before going for the newer OCBD offering. This version had a nice, soft hand, and an unlined collar and cuffs. It was durable for sure, and it won many hearts due to its more vintage design and construction.
The new OCBD does feel heftier and sturdier as a whole. As previously stated, the collar and cuffs feel lined, but nothing too disturbing. It certainly does not feel like the collars from their non-iron OCBDs of long ago, so that’s a plus. When thrifting, I look for the 2016 version in a Madison fit and got the 2023 version in a traditional. The differences in fit are minor to say the least, but the new traditional fit is a tiny bit wider and longer than the Madison fit.
2016 Brooks Brothers OCBD
2023 Brooks Brothers OCBD
The Old Old Vs the New New
Confused yet? The Old Old OCBD I refer to dates back to the ones sold during the 90s, and has the same, if not identical features of the new OCBD (the 90s version lacks MOP buttons). They have the exact same proportions too. It seems like the designers at Brooks Brothers skipped the early 2000s version and opted to replicate the 90s style and fit.
One minor thing to note, the new OCBD has the care tag inside the side seam rather than at the bottom or on the size tag itself as seen on the 90s version. I know, it’s a minor distinction, but I like the placket design more since it doesn’t get in the way of having a nicely tucked shirt. No matter, a seam ripper and some thread will do the trick and I’ll remove it myself. As with any shirt, I recommend a cold wash and dry hang for these 100% cotton shirts, as throwing it in the dryer will surely shrink it.
Circa 1990s OCBD
Similar widths, the OCBD is pretty long!
To those looking to relive the good ol’ days of the Brooks Brothers OCBD, you can’t go wrong with this one. However, I would dare say to look at the secondhand market first before paying such a heavy asking price for the new one. They currently come in solid colors like white, blue, pink, and striped in blue and red. If they threw out some more colors in solids and stripes, they would be setting a strong foundation for success. For the meanwhile, however, I guess we’ll have to deal with the pastels.
Pre-distressed ivy clothes sounds like an oxymoron. At best you may envision kids in the heyday distressing their own OCBDs by taking sandpaper to their collars in an attempt to achieve the well-worn look (Princeton Boys). You may say something like, my OCBDs will be worn out before I know it why on earth would I do that!?!? That’s exactly what I used to say at least until I had a revelation.
I can count at least 3 well known items in the trad/ivy cannon that fall into the pre-distressed category. These pieces have now been with us so long that they don’t even register as being pre-distressed. I am talking about dirty bucks, brushed shetland sweaters, and 3/2 roll jackets.
I am going to oversimplify for effect, but you’ll get the point. Dirty bucks are meant to look like old dirty white bucks. Brushed shetlands are meant to look(& feel) like shetlands that have been worn for years. 3/2 roll jackets are meant to look like 3-button jackets that have developed a roll over the years of hard use or made to imitate the trend of college kids ironing their old 3-buttons to looks like 2-buttons. Either way it is pre-distressed (see link below).
There’s a little more to the story, but that’s the gist of it. I think there are a few takeaways here. One, we trads and ivyist wear pre-distressed clothes. Two, some fads become trends and some trends become classics. Three, broken in clothing is more desirable and comfortable than new clothes. It’s not just about looking worn. It is also about feeling broken in.
Recommended Reading I did a deep dive on the origins of 3/2 roll jackets way back when on my blog. There is a lot of great information in that post. Especially in the comment section. Here is a link: The Plausible History of the 3/2 Roll
