Key Lessons In Style From The Experts At Acorn

At Acorn Fabrics, it’s safe to say that with over a century in business behind us, we’ve picked up one or two things on style. This week, we’ve decided to share the key lessons of this accumulated knowledge with you, so that you can keep looking your very best as we move into summer.

The Occasion Is Everything

As you can imagine, different styles are called for depending on whether the event is a barbecue, a family wedding, or a corporate event. Knowing the occasion the shirt is going to be used for is important in choosing a fabric. If you’re going to be wearing it under a waistcoat and suit jacket for example, the fabric needs to be able to breathe, or you’ll find yourself heating up pretty quickly. In these cases, natural fibres are the key here, such as those found in our Lagoon Plain Linen Fabric. If the shirt is more for casual wear, you need a fabric that looks good without a tie or a jacket, one that drapes well in the style that you will want to wear it.

Choose A Shirt That Recovers Well

No matter the occasion, nobody wants a wrinkled shirt. It rarely looks good on anyone! For your go-to set of favourite shirts, you’ll be wise to get shirting fabrics that “recover” well. All natural fabric will crease, and we’ve all been guilty of dumping our clothes in small piles or rolled up into balls – so let’s be honest – creases are more or less inevitable.

The recovery of a fabric is how it regains its original appearance. Certain weaves recover better than others – looser, twill weaves are better at recovering than very tightly woven poplins. On the other hand, linen is a good example of a fabric that doesn’t recover quite as well, but its then again that’s also how you can tell it’s such a fine-quality weave!

Know The Colours That Suit You

This is one of the most important style lessons you’ll ever learn, and the trickiest thing is that there’s only so much we can tell you! Ultimately, most of it often comes down to personal experimentation. Your skin colour also plays a part – many women like the idea of seeing a man in a pink shirt, but not all complexions suit pink. Like many colours, that one word can encompass a fairly broad range of meanings varying from a salmon hue to more of a sugary, candy pink. The paler your skin, keep with the stronger, deeper tones – picking out the wrong shade (like a pastel) can bleach out your skin tone, and the final effect won’t look great.

The same stands for yellow, which is a similarly difficult colour to wear. The do’s and don’ts of colour take a bit of getting used to, and it goes some way to explaining why so many men choose blue as a go-to shirt; blue is easy to wear, and its versatility is more or less unmatched. Stay confident in your experimentations with the bolder or more unorthodox colours – if you can get the colour game right, the effect is spectacular.

Never Underestimate The Power Of A White Shirt

We’ve reached that age-old lesson once again – your wardrobe should always have several white shirts in case of emergency. It’s absolutely invaluable as a wardrobe staple, as it’s probably the only fabric that can be worn for any occasion that you can think of – and there aren’t any traps in terms of colour or style that you have to worry about falling into. Anybody can wear it!

Now that you’re up to date on some of our most important lessons in style, why not start putting all that knowledge to good use? We’ve got a fantastic range of cotton shirting fabrics in a variety of styles and colours. You can browse our fabric looks by clicking here, or alternatively you can see our full list of fabric types. Don’t forget that if you have any questions or you need any advice, don’t hesitate to call us on 01282 698662.

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