Margaret Howell MHL Oversized Collarless Shirt

Lyocell is worth understanding because it is the one modern fiber that is genuinely good rather than merely cheap. It is made from wood pulp dissolved in a solvent that is recovered and reused in a closed loop, and the filament that comes out is smooth, strong, and unusually good at moving moisture. What it does in a cloth is drape: a lyocell blend hangs with a fluid weight that neither cotton nor linen can produce on its own. Blended half and half with cotton, you get the drape and the coolness of the lyocell with the body and the dry hand of the cotton, and neither one dominates. The shirt around it takes the collar off entirely, which removes the one part of a shirt that has to be starched, positioned, and lived up to, and leaves a plain neckline that sits where it falls. MHL by Margaret Howell has put the work into the pockets instead: there is a patch pocket on the outside and another on the inside, and a curved hem cut to be worn out.

Collarless shirts usually look unfinished. This one does not, because the hem and the pockets are doing the work the collar would otherwise do.

Fifty percent cotton and fifty percent lyocell, made in Portugal. Oversized, collarless, with a patch pocket outside and one inside, and a curved hem. Color: Olive.

Oversized through the body with a curved hem cut long, so it is worn out. Lettered sizing. A lyocell blend hangs heavier than the same weight in pure cotton and moves more, which is what makes an oversized cut work rather than look large.

Over the MHL Painters Trouser or the MHL Wide Leg Jogger. Under the MHL Flap Pocket Blazer, where olive against moss is closer than it sounds and works because both have grey in them.

This is the one garment in the line with a fiber that behaves differently from what the label suggests. Lyocell loses strength while it is wet, more so than cotton, so wash it cool, do not wring it, and dry it flat rather than hanging it heavy with water. Low heat if any. Our general care guidance covers the rest, including the section on garments made of more than one material.

The MHL Big Pocket Swing Shirt is an off-white cotton drafted to widen from the shoulder, and the MHL S/S Flat Pocket Shirt is a plain white cotton with a pocket set flat against the front. MHL by Margaret Howell is a line of its own rather than a part of the main Margaret Howell collection, and there is more on the house on the Margaret Howell designer page.