23 June 2010

Ecru Alternative

Do you, ecru? I do. The word is derived from the French word for raw or unbleached and was once considered synonymous with beige. It resembles the colour of a hawk's feather and is often used for lingerie and wedding gowns. I have three shirts in the colour of ecru: one button-down number from Brooks Brothers, another from Brooks Brothers with a forward point collar, and the last a slim-fit Hemrajani model with spread collar. The ubiquitous bleached-white dress shirt seems to glow increasingly bright in the California summer sunshine and as such becomes a distraction not only to myself, but also to innocent passersby. Ecru provides a more serene, but no less handsome, alternative. Consider it for your next dress shirt acquisition.

6 comments:

Longwing said...

Hmmmm. I've found them useful with brown and green tweed jackets but they are usually the last thing on my mind come summer. I'll have to monitor the blinding effects of my jacketless white shirts here in the southwestern sun.

ADG said...

Ecru indeed. Bright white after a day in the sun...but otherwise for me, white washes me out.

Lisa said...

Ecru...it's the color of angels' wings.

Belle de Ville said...

Nope, sorry. No ecru in the summer. It has to wait until after Labor Day.

A.E.F. said...

Admiral, I agree; bright white, be it shirts or dresses on women, is rarely flattering to the complexion or indeed particularly sophisticated unless seen by candlelight which, I think, proves your point.

Anonymous said...

I am spending time browsing your archive and rather enjoying it. You also appear to have good taste, Sir. I have gathered good advice from your posts. However, several of my enquiries regarding sartorial advice have gone unanswered.

Why do you prefer slim fit OCBD shirts instead of the traditional fit?

Thanks,
Hilton