Sometimes, basics are the way to go. In the world of men’s style, it’s often easy to forget that while button-ups, blazers, denim jeans, layered cardigans, and more sophisticated modes of apparel are always key to dressing up, you can never go wrong with the basics. It’s a common misconception that shirts are the most mundane form of styling, relegated to the mainstream male population who couldn’t care less about fashion.

But shirts are certainly an important part of anyone’s arsenal of style weapons, and even more so during the summer when layering becomes harder – unless you live in San Francisco, in which case the weather during this season’s summer seemed to be more like winter for some reason (but I digress). The best part of shirts is their versatility and comfort. You can mix and match so well with shirts compared to button-ups, sweaters, and other tops.

When combined with layering – a vest, cardigan, drape, or jacket – a shirt can be an awesome complementary piece to the entire look by adding a versatile, often casual edge. But even by itself, with a great print and flattering fit, a shirt can be a stylish anchor-piece in your outfit. The key to dressing well with shirts boils down to three key elements: fit, cut, and print.

The fit needs to flatter your body type. For smaller-framed people like me, a slim fit accentuates my body’s silhouette really well, but all shirts fit differently and you need to discover the right fit for you. I have a couple of shirts I adore that are small, but are a tad too large in either the chest or waist and so I don’t wear them as much. The fit wasn’t right for me.

The cut should be reflective of the look you’re going for. I love V-necks, but nothing too dramatic as you’ll see in my roundup photo above. Though the range of cuts on shirts is quite limited – after all, it’s just a shirt – it’s important to match cuts to the outfit, especially at the hem and collar. At its most dramatic, the difference in cut would range from a V-neck to a rounded circle neck. But it’s much more subtle than that. Some shirts like Hanes’ (though I am not suggesting they are necessarily a stylish shirt brand) have a very tight neckline while other brands relax the neckline, revealing more skin. I recommend you reveal more skin for knit outwear, hence I prefer V-necks with cardigans. Have a tighter neckline for heavier jackets; my canvas cotton jacket works well with regular shirts. But it’s all a matter of personal experimentation so mix and match away!

Lastly, but most importantly, the print is key. The print refers to the actual design on the shirt, be it a plain white shirt, a shirt with just text on it, to a visually complex graphic shirt. This is pretty self-explanatory, and the spectrum of shirt designs is vast. It wouldn’t do justice for me to try discussing it on this blog, so I leave this to your taste and discretion!

Most of the shirts here I have gotten from YesStyle.com as part of our continuing collaboration. I wanted to show you my favorite shirts for this season (though there is a random sweater I put in, because I love how nerdy and cute it is). As you can tell, it’s a pretty diverse collection. Here is a list of the shirts and where I got them from.

Starting from top left going in order:

Printed knit top | YesStyle.com

Got to love the cute, nerd fest going on with the print! It’s like intellectual meets pixelated art!

Draped T-Shirt | YesStyle.com

I love the unique stitching of the shirt, which is scrunched in multiple points to create an optical illusion like effect on the shirt. It’s a really awesome visual shirt, but the shirt only looks good in certain angles, because from the side, you can see that the drape causes your body to bulge at awkward places. Overall a cool shirt with a great wow-statement. I’d only wear it layered though to hide the strange silhouette.

Graphic printed shirt | Express

I don’t usually shop at Express, but my friend gave this to me as a fun gift right before Fashion Week. It’s a really cute shirt and I actually love the copy on the shirt. After all, what is fashion? Pretty important question that a lot of us bloggers and designers debate about. Style, fashion, clothing ‘ they are all related, but there are distinctions between them.

Graphic printed V-neck | Kid Robot

Known for their collective toys with a hint of Japanese influence and a uniquely odd cuteness, Kid Robot is definitely one of the favorite lifestyle retail concepts. I sport this V-neck more because I love the quirky image the brand exudes. The V-neck itself is pretty pedestrian and the fit isn’t as slim as I’d like. But the design on the back is pretty sweet with stars falling from the neckline.

Oversized Printed T-Shirt | YesStyle.com

By now you must know how much I love the occult and mythical symbols. This shirt’s design is pretty crazy and even though I can’t tell if it’s an occult symbol or not, the use of geometric shapes in psychedelic print is pretty amazing. The use of triangles in repeating patterns formed into an hourglass shape with circles inside really reminds me of runes. It also seems like something Jean-Pierre Braganza (or maybe even Mary Katrantzou, should she go “Alice in Wonderland” on us) might pull off for menswear. I also love the casual knit fabric of the shirt plus its oversized fit really creates a languid, relaxed feel to any outfit I pair it with.

Ombre Gradient V-neck | YesStyle.com

Ombré shirt and V-neck? Check and check. I have to say that I wish the gradient effect on this shirt was stronger, as the photos on YesStyle.com.com seem to imply, but overall it’s another great shirt that’s super basic. The cut is flattering to the chest and a bit tighter on the waist. Oops, looks like all the summer pigging out isn’t jiving so well with this shirt. Haha.

Graphic Text Shirt | True Clothing

Probably one of my favorite shirts ever. One of these days I also want a shirt about chill pillz but for now, I am digging this shirt that really embodies San Francisco culture. Seriously, just chill.

Sleeveless Print Top | YesStyle.com

The sea of stripes on this sleeveless top is sick. I am not a huge fan of striped shirts in traditional form – think polo shirt in giant blocked stripes. But I love stripes when they clash in direction because it forces you to study the print in more detail to figure out what’s going on. The fit on this wife-beater is less forgiving though. Even though it’s clearly a small, the arm hole is clearly designed for men with larger arms than me. By itself, the piece is really unflattering. But if I layer it with a jacket, then the piece looks amazing.

Rib Cage Print Shirt | YesStyle.com

As I was browsing the multitude of shirts available on YesStyle.com, this shirt made me recall the sequin skull print dress from Rodarte’s Target Collaboration. Even though rib-cage prints were in no way invested by the Rodarte sisters nor is this shirt any way related in design to the dress, I was reminded of how much I wished Rodarte made menswear. Aspirations regarding Rodarte aside, I love the print and am glad I finally have my hands on a rib-cage print shirt! The fit is fantastic as well.