Massimo Alba Genova Shirt – Bianco

Voile is a light, fine, plain-woven cotton with a high twist in the yarn, which is what gives it its dry, crisp handle and its slight translucency. It is the coolest thing a cotton shirt can be made from and it comes with an obvious problem: a white voile shirt in sunlight is more revealing than most people want. The Genova has solved that for a century without anyone framing it as a solution. The bib, a second layer of the same voile across the chest, doubles the cloth exactly where you would want it doubled, and the result is a shirt that is cool everywhere and opaque where it counts.

The crest is the other thing. Embroidered small and left empty, because it is there for a set of initials, which is a convention out of Italian shirt-making from when shirts were marked so they could be told apart at the laundry. Nobody needs it. It stays because the shirt is designed to be finished by the person who owns it.

We selected the Genova once and bought it three times, in three cloths, because it is the only shirt we know of that expects something from the person wearing it. The empty crest is a small piece of unfinished business and we like clothes that have one. Bianco in voile is the version that does the most work: it is the plain white shirt, and it is a better plain white shirt than most people have owned.

One hundred percent cotton voile, made in Italy. Pointed collar, inner bib in voile, embroidered crest for a monogram. Relaxed fit. Colour: Bianco.

Relaxed rather than close, which suits a cloth this fine, since voile against the body shows every line underneath it. It will crease readily and it presses back beautifully, which is the trade voile has always offered. Tuck it or wear it out.

Under the Baglietto or the Florida jacket, where the doubled bib gives the front the body a fine cotton usually lacks. With the Ionio2 in linen for the plainest summer version. With the Stan trouser in Smoke when it is warm and you have somewhere to be.

Wash cool and hang to dry, and iron damp, because voile takes a press better than almost any cotton and looks flat and tired without one. Our general care guidance covers the rest.

The Genova Shirt in Laguna is the viscose and cotton and the Genova Shirt in Soft Pink is the linen. The Noto2 Classic Shirt is the band collar, the Selma Shirt is the linen shirt cut for women, and the Baglietto Jacket is the wool jacket over it. There is more on the house on the Massimo Alba designer page. Everything we carry from Massimo Alba is listed together.