Mercer's straight collar

My introduction to Mercer and Sons shirts was in the form of the introductory offer of 25 percent off. I bought oxford-cloth buttondowns in white and blue — a bold venture, I agree.

I liked them just fine, and started looking at the other fabrics on the site.

After some back and forth with David Mercer, I picked up a couple of spring/summer plaids with the straight collar.

These can be worn as sport shirts, no problem. Or you can put in the stays and wear them with a tie. For some reason they don't look goofy to me, the way a buttondown gingham with a knit tie (as seen in the Lands End catalog) does.

Reminds me of the bailiff on "Night Court." It's the "I'm wearing a tie because I have to" look.

Maybe my affection for these shirts is due to the fact that I have to save for months to afford one. If it costs this much, I damn well better like it.

I've added a couple more over the years. I know people love the Mercer buttondown collar, but BDs are a dime a dozen. (Well, maybe not a dime.)

If I'm going to drop over $100 on a shirt I want something very different than the workhorse shirts I can get by the yard elsewhere.