Margaret Howell Bib Front Shirt

The bib front comes out of dress shirting, where a stiffened panel across the chest held the shape under a jacket, and it survives now mostly as a decorative memory of that. Made up here in a light cotton, it does something quieter and more useful. The doubled cloth gives the front of the shirt a little more body than the rest of it, so the shirt hangs from the chest rather than clinging to it, and the panel reads as a change of surface rather than as a feature. The hem is curved and cut long, which is a shirt telling you it is not going into a waistband. Lightweight cotton with a relaxed body is the most-worn thing in most wardrobes and the hardest to get right, because everything depends on where the shoulder sits and how much cloth follows it.

Why we selected it

We wanted one plain black shirt that was not plain. The bib does that with construction rather than with a detail applied on top.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton, made in Italy. Bib front, relaxed body, curved hem. Color: Black.

Fit notes

Relaxed, meaning the cloth stands away from the body through the waist and the shoulder sits wide. The bib adds a small amount of weight at the front, which is what keeps the front from creasing into the body across a day. Cut long at the back through the curve of the hem, so it works untucked and looks deliberate rather than long.

Styling

Untucked over the flannel trousers or the pleated crop trouser, which is the version that does the most with the least. Under the raglan blazer with the collar left out. Black cotton against grey wool is the whole argument and it wants nothing else added to it.

Care

Wash cool and hang to dry rather than tumbling, which is what keeps a light cotton light. Press the bib from the reverse if you press it at all. Our general care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Monogram Shirt is a boxy body in Japanese organic cotton, and the Three Button Shirt is a light cotton with most of the placket left off. There is more on the house on the Margaret Howell designer page. Everything we carry from Margaret Howell is listed together.