New pink and green-stripe oxford shirts

Two new stripes in the PS Oxford shirt have been added to the shop today: a light pink and a pale green.

As is often the case with PS products, they have been chosen as particularly understated, easy-to-wear styles.

The pink is the same as that used in the plain-pink PS Oxford, but subtler with its alternating white. The green is a pale mint, and could even be mistaken for light blue or grey until the viewer gets a little closer.

I find them fresh, Spring-y options good with both tailoring and denim.

Before going into colour combinations, however, I should remind new readers of how the PS Oxford fabric is different to any other - as we’ve had a few questions about that in recent months.

The PS fabric was developed to replicate the feel of classic-Ivy oxford shirts: a little heavier, a little slubbier, wearing in and getting softer with every wash.

This is what an oxford button down used to be, back when they were seen as sports wear - very different to the fine, dressy oxfords brands now offer and which dominate swatch books for bespoke.

PS Oxford cloth uses a 2/90 yarn in the weft, which is pretty fine, but a thicker 1/10 in the warp. This creates variation in the texture, and is why it softens as it's worn.

This is different to, say, Mercer & Sons oxfords, which are still two ply both ways. And to the American Oxford cloth offered by Thomas Mason - both good cloths, but using finer yarn.

PS Oxford fabric was developed initially as just cut lengths, for readers to use for bespoke, but later made into shirts too. It is exclusive to Permanent Style. Full details here.

So, back to the colours.

I don’t think pink will be an issue for most PS readers. Even those that brought up associations on Manish’s recent article might find it a safe choice. As Manish spelt out, a washed-out pink like this is great with navy and grey, black and blue, green and brown. In a pale version like this, it’s up there among the most versatile shirt colours.

Green is instinctively harder. I doubt many readers own a green dress shirt, despite Miles Davis’s very effective marketing on the cover of Milestones.

However, a green and white stripe is much easier, and as I’ve played with it over the past few months, I’ve found I like it with almost as many colours as pink.

The important thing is that it goes with your basics: denim, as shown here, plus navy and grey. Use it to add interest under a navy jacket, especially without neckwear, or wear it with a grey suit and a brown-striped club tie.

A pale green is also great with dark brown - like the Rubato chinos for example, or my WW Chan tweed jacket. And it works with beige, looking especially fresh in that combination.

In the images here, I’m wearing the pink stripe with a new jacket from Sartoria Ciardi - pale-grey herringbone cashmere, Holland & Sherry 11oz (9219011), dark-brown high-twist trousers from Paolo Martorano (Drapers Ascot 18056) and Piccadilly loafers from Edward Green (black Utah leather).

The green stripe is shown with a pair of seventies vintage 501s, Alden snuff-suede LHS loafers, and sunglasses from Connolly. The cardigan is a new colour of the PS Indulgent Shawl, a dark brown, which will be available this Autumn.

Below is a close-up of that dark brown with the green, and of it with a navy coat (my Ettore de Cesare).

With all of these, the stripe is a nice way to add interest to an outfit that otherwise has few accessories - no tie, no pocket handkerchief.

Here are a few other points on the oxfords, to try and anticipate questions.

On these new shirts:

The cloth is available in 2m cut lengths, as well as the finished shirts
The white in the stripe is white, not cream, unlike the blue striped PS Oxford
A quick restock has been planned for, so if any size is sold out, do add yourself to the waiting list and you won't have to wait long

On the other shirts:

The white oxford shirts and cloth will be available early next month. The blue stripe and plain blue are being woven and will take a week or two longer
The yellow and the pink won’t immediately be restocked, as the new stripes are taking their place for the moment
The Lighter Everyday Denim fabric is also back in stock
All other information about the shirts and cloth should be on their respective product pages. If they’re not, do leave a question below or email the support team (support@permanentstyle.com)

Finally, a little green-shirt inspiration to show how well it can go with browns, beige, yellow and navy.