Your guide to: Striped fabrics

If there’s one shirt that should be a staple in every man’s wardrobe, it’s a striped shirt. As one of the most stylish and flattering styles of shirt, the striped shirt looks good on everyone. At Acorn Fabrics, we stock dozens of striped fabrics in the most stylish of colour palettes and patterns. But which one should you pick? Let’s find out in today’s guide…

Vertical vs. horizontal Stripes

When it comes to shirts, vertical stripes are the best choice. While horizontal stripes can look good on t-shirt material, they don’t really work on shirts. Plus, vertical stripes make you look good too. They make you look taller and slimmer, while horizontal stripes accentuate any hint of a beer belly.

Thin vs. thick stripes

The width of the stripes also impacts the overall look and feel of a shirt. Thicker stripes offer more of a youthful and casual look while thinner stripes are best suited to formal wear and occasion wear. As a rule, we’d always advise sticking to thinner stripes for a foolproof look.

Some of our favourite shirt fabrics of this kind include:

• Grasmere GK Striped Fabric
• Grange BA Wine Striped Fabric
• Keswick NH Blue Striped Fabric

Brights vs. subtle shades of stripes

At Acorn Fabrics, you’ll find a huge range of striped fabrics. We’ve got bold designs, like our Hampton 201 Red Striped Fabric, and more traditional designs, like our Burneside 300 Sky Striped Fabric, which is ideal for the workplace. However, when it comes to colour, anything goes – as long as it suits the occasion and your personality. If you work in a creative industry, one of our brighter patterns, like our Kewsick NH Pink Striped Fabric, will look just the part. For those important business meetings, stick to something a little more reserved, like our Grasmere GAF Blue Striped Fabric.

Completing the striped look

Once you’ve chosen your striped fabric, it’s time to start thinking about the rest of your attire. When you wear stripes, it’s best to stay away from mixing in other patterns or other striped materials. A striped shirt adds just enough style to your attire. Saying that, when done right, a fine pinstripe suit can work well with a striped shirt – as long as the suit and shirt have stripes of different weight.

Team your striped shirt with a plain jacket and trousers in complementary colours. In the workplace, you may want to stick to formal colours like black and dark blue. Outside of the workplace, jeans and chinos would work too. To tone down the look, you could also add a plain V-neck sweater, allowing just a little bit of pattern to be exposed.

If country checks are more your thing, why not shop our fantastic selection of check fabrics. Whether you’re looking for something smart or something casual for the weekend, you’re sure to find the perfect checked fabric in our country checks collection.

Which of our striped fabrics are top of your wardrobe wish list? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @AcornFabrics