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If I were ever to be rendered as a cartoon character, I feel like there’s a pretty good chance I’d be wearing jeans, a brown pair of boots, some sort of chore coat and, at the center of it all, a blue Oxford cloth button-down.
I’ve owned dozens of them over the years. I stuck with J.Crew through much of my 20s before falling in love with the now-discontinued Hyde Park from Lands’ End, vintage-style offerings from Brooks Brothers and J.Press, as well as a surprisingly outstanding example from Huckberry’s in-house label Flint & Tinder that I’ve been wearing regularly for five-plus years now.
My current favorite, though, is not technically an Oxford at all, if we’re splitting hairs, but it certainly functions like one — and then some. The Billy Reid Tuscumbia Shirt does everything I want an Oxford to do. It looks good with various types of trousers and a blazer. Tucked or untucked with a pair of jeans. Under a sweater. Opened atop a T-shirt. When it comes to menswear, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a garment quite so versatile.
What sets Billy Reid’s Tuscumbia apart from your more run-of-the-mill options is that it’s cut from a heavily brushed cotton, which makes it incredibly soft. And here’s a thing about me: I find it very annoying when everyone’s like, “Oh, you have to feel this blanket, it’s so soft” or “You will not believe how soft this sweatshirt is.” I think there are other, more important markers of quality, for one, and with some of the more affordable products that are lauded for their softness, the materials being used to create this faux sense of luxury are about as far from natural as you can get.
With the Tuscumbia, though, we’re talking 100% cotton that is literally brushed, which creates a texture that can only be described as…fluffy? That texture, combined with lightweight, airy construction and a slightly relaxed fit, makes this one of the most wearable shirts I’ve ever owned. It’s absolutely perfect for spring, and I suspect I’ll keep reaching for it throughout summer as well. Highly recommended.
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