Quick! Look down. Are you wearing a shirt? Is it gingham? Is it from J. Crew? Chances are good that it's the Secret Wash Faded Gingham shirt, item number 19417, an innocuous blue shirt so versatile and ubiquitous that it now has its own Instagram account: @thatjcrewginghamshirt. The accompanying website copy purports this button-down "is the shirt every guy needs in his arsenal, in a classic gingham pattern," and as the Instagram photos show, every other man on Earth probably does have it in his arsenal.
Let's be honest though—it's pretty safe to bet good money that more dudes have the selvedge chambray shirts. Remember those? The blue and gray ones are given out in #Menswear 101, along with a Hill-Side patterned tie, Dockers Alpha Khakis, Alden Indy boots, and every single A Continuous Lean blog post printed out in book form. J. Crew's slow and steady takeover of the male wardrobe has hit critical mass—not that it's a bad thing. Still, though, now you're going to pretty much see this shirt every minute of every day now that you're looking for it.
[via The Cut]
