Herringbone CPO Overshirt

A Special Overshirt

Unique and understated elegance. It is surprisingly soft and comfortable. Not the stiffer fabric I was expecting. Would go well with jeans and slacks. Fit is perfect. Get your normal size.

The Shirt That Couldn’t Make Up Its Mind

There was a man I once knew in Maine. Or perhaps it was Copenhagen. These things become less important with time. What I remember was the shirt. Blue. Grey. A little brown. Herringbone. He wore it over a faded T-shirt in the morning, buttoned it up when the fog came in, and by dinner had somehow transformed it into a jacket. I asked him what it was. A shirt,” he said. Later that evening, sitting beside the fire with a glass of something amber, I asked again. “A jacket.” Naturally. The Billy Reid Herringbone CPO Overshirt belongs to this small and desirable category of objects that refuse to explain themselves. Technically, it descends from the old naval CPO shirt—the sort of practical garment worn by men who knew the difference between port and starboard and presumably never required a YouTube video to tie a knot. Billy Reid has civilized it. The fabric is the thing. An oversized herringbone woven in soft cotton, with an open texture that gives it extraordinary visual depth. From across the room it appears quietly blue-grey. Come closer and the weave begins to reveal itself: threads crossing, colors shifting, the surface possessing that slightly irregular character normally found in old upholstery, handwoven blankets and very expensive things whose owners insist they have had them “for years.” You will touch it. Other people will touch it. This should be anticipated. Then comes the peculiar genius of the garment. Wear it over a T-shirt and it is a jacket.Button it and it becomes a shirt. Leave it open over an Oxford and it behaves rather like a cardigan. Roll the cuffs, put your hands in your pockets and stand thoughtfully beside a bookshelf and it becomes something else altogether. The Italians probably have a word for this. We don’t. There are dark horn buttons, chambray hidden beneath the collar and cuffs, and the little Billy Reid heirloom ribbon at the back neck—details sufficiently discreet that nobody at dinner will notice them. You will. Which is the point. The relaxed cut gives the whole thing an appealing lack of ambition. It doesn’t announce that you have dressed. It merely suggests that somewhere along the way you acquired rather good taste. Wear it to the farmers’ market on Saturday morning.Wear it to an art opening Saturday evening. Wear it Sunday with jeans while reading the newspaper and considering whether eleven-thirty is too early for a Bloody Mary. It isn’t. Some garments are designed for occasions. The Herringbone CPO Overshirt is designed for having a life. Which, when you think about it, is considerably more useful.

First buy!

After returning a size too large the garment arrived. It looks great, feels great and I am extremely happy I bought it!!!