Tonic Shirts

[PHOTO: Courtesy of Moss Brothers of London, we have this very nice hidden button long sleeve dress-casual tonic shirt. Thank you, Moss. Now please send me five. My neck size is approximately 18.]


I've found a few of these via Geoffrey Beene, Donna Karan/DKNY, Liz Claiborne, Kenneth Cole, Structure, and a few other obscure and/or nondescript department store labels. Generally the two tones brought to bear are the standard (copper + slate blue = a sort of shimmery, almost metallic violet) - although one of them comes together as rose and tourquoise to offer a sort of dark magenta - at the moment I have, I don't know, two or three long sleeve dress shirts and one polo.

It used to be you had to scour thrift stores like a lunatic in order to score the occasional ill-fitting, threadbare tonic blazer with missing buttons etc. The advent of the tonic dress shirt is, at least to me, somewhat revelatory. The goddamned things go with any damn thing you please. They sort of are a diabolical secret weapon - you can have the most prosaic gray outfit and throw in one of these, WHA-AM! All of a sudden, you have style.

I'd like some tonic dress socks now, please......