The History of the Oxford Cloth Button-Down Shirt

The Oxford Cloth Button-Down shirt (OCBD) is one of those garments that sits somewhere between formal and casual. Technically it’s a dress shirt, but in reality it behaves more like a sports shirt. You can wear it with a suit, with jeans, under a blazer, or even with shorts. When worn without a tie, no matter how you style it, it adds a relaxed, casual tone to an outfit.

Paul Newman

The main feature of an OCBD is the soft button-down collar. It doesn’t have stiff interlining like a formal dress shirt but long collar points that roll into a soft arch. That roll happens thanks to three details: long collar points, buttons positioned slightly higher than usual, and a soft or unlined construction. The fabric has its own story. In the early 19th century, Scottish mills experimented with new weaves and created four fabrics that were named after prestigious universities: Yale, Harvard, Cambridge, and Oxford. Only Oxford weave survived, and its signature basket-weave pattern, often mixing a colored thread with white, gives it the unique, slightly textured look we still associate with casual shirting and is still used today.

Closeup photo of the oxford cloth fabric on Poszetka Blue OCBD Shirt

The button-down collar came from sport, not tailoring. British polo players in India used pins or buttons to keep their collars from flapping during matches. John E. Brooks, grandson of the Brooks Brothers founder, spotted this detail while watching a polo game in England. In 1896, he brought the idea home and launched the “Original Button-Down Polo Shirt,” introducing the modern OCBD.

Ivy League students

The shirt’s big cultural moment came in the 1950s, when Ivy League students made it part of their campus uniform. They paired it with tweed jackets, regimental ties, flannel trousers, and penny loafers. It soon became an essential of East Coast collegiate style. Brooks Brothers may have introduced the button-down collar, but they weren’t alone in shaping its history. Gant popularized ready-made versions at Yale and added details like the locker loop, and J. Press, often a little more traditional, gave us versions with flapped chest pockets. These details may seem small, but they shaped how the OCBD fit into everyday wardrobe. Hollywood quickly picked up on the look, with actors like Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Robert Redford, and Miles Davis wearing button-downs both on and off screen. Originally made for sports, the OCBD turned into a symbol of casual, effortless American style.

Ayrton Senna and Steve McQueen

Like any style, Ivy and the OCBD had moments of popularity and off-seasons. By the late 1960s, Ivy went out of style, but returned in the 1980s when preppy look became popular in USA. Around 2010, the style came back as heritage menswear started getting more attention again, thanks to the rise of social media and the reissue of the Japanese photo book Take Ivy.

The OCBD is one of those shirts that just works with pretty much anything and in almost any situation, so it should be in every man’s wardrobe. Check out my list of the Best Quality Oxford-cloth Button-down Shirts.

---

related articles