Stealth Shirt Patterns

When it comes to shirts, it’s easy to divide your prospective options into two distinct camps: solids and patterns. Solid-colored shirts are versatile and more professionally appropriate than patterned shirts, while patterned shirts tend to be more visually interesting yet less easy to wear. At least that’s the conventional thinking.

What’s left out from this line of thought is a category we like to call “stealth patterns.” Yes, these shirts feature patterns, but they’re the exact opposite of “big and bold.” Instead, these shirts are marked by subtle, scaled down patterns like shadow stripes, fine checks and micro-gingham, making each a safe bet for daily professional wear and pairing with just about anything in your 9-to-5 closet. We’ll discuss each in further detail below.

Shadow Stripes 
Stripes are a traditionally loud pattern, but the thin scale of the shadow stripe makes the style significantly more wearable. The stripe pattern can still be detected up close, setting up a great contrast for geometric patterned ties.

Micro-Stripes
The micro-stripe scales down its pattern to an even smaller size, so that it closely resembles a solid shirt at a distance. If you’ve already filled your closet quota for blue and white solid shirts, a micro-stripe is an excellent way to add a versatile pattern into your rotation.

Fine Checks
The loudness of a checked pattern can make it a difficult shirt to pair with or wear in more formal settings, but the reduced size of the fine check turns into something highly wearable at the office. However, the inherent casualness of a check allows it to easily snap into weekend duty as needed.

Shadow Check
The shadow check dials down the shape of the check further, turning it into something that you can wear at work with a sharp suit or a pair of chinos.

Micro-Checks
The micro-check presents the check in its smallest form. Like the micro-stripe, the tiny size of its pattern allows the micro-check to blend in as a solid shirt when observed from any distance. 

Micro-Gingham
Gingham is a pattern with big weekend vibes—it is more associated with weekend cookouts or summers by the shore than long afternoons at work. However, the paired-down scale of micro-gingham turns it into something you can easily pair with a solid-colored suit during the workweek, yet still wear with khaki shorts or jeans on a Saturday.