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Up Close: Linen Open Collar Shirt.

Up Close: Linen Open Collar Shirt.
Up close shot of a tan linen shirt.
A man wears a linen shirt and natural colored chinos.

At 3sixteen, we are relentlessly focused on details - those tiny differences that we hope make our pieces into one of the first things you look for in your closet when you get ready to face the day. While we try to make our webshop as informative as possible, not everything we love about certain pieces can be translated to a simple description.

The very best solution would be for you to come to our flagship store or visit one of our retail partners to see, touch, ask questions about, and try on a piece you're interested in. As powerful and wonderful as the Internet is, we strongly believe there is no substitute for an in-person experience. This isn't feasible or convenient for everybody though, so every now and again we'll be taking some time out to talk more about pieces that we think you'd love if you saw them up close.

A young man in a linen shirt looks into the camera.
The back of the linen shirt has a grid print.

When we set out to design a piece, we are very intentional about how to make it the best it can be; but sometimes it’s hard to tell just how it will work in the context of daily life. For all our seventeen years of experience, there’s that occasional piece that surprises even us once we truly put it to the test. One of our newest releases, the LS Open Collar Shirt, has us excited right now for many reasons. From the print, to fabric, to the construction, there’s a lot to dive into.

While the open collar style has been a mainstay in our collection for years and has popped up on many short sleeve shirts, this is the first long sleeve we’ve offered with an open collar.  Open collars were common on classic Cuban shirt styles, especially shirts worn in the fields by farmers. The collar style added a feel of ease to the otherwise hardwearing workshirts that these Cuban farmers wore. The shirt style infiltrated the American zeitgeist and quickly became a mid-century favorite. To keep with the traditionally relaxed feel of these shirts, we opted for a boxier fit and split hems. The split hem detailing helps the shirt sit nicely on the waist without being too tight. Overall, the shirt is built to be easy wearing and comfortable.

We love how soft the linen fabric is right of the bat. When we began conversations with our factory in India, we explained that we wanted a hefty but comfortable linen fabric.  What they wove us perfectly fit the bill. The undyed nature of the linen fibers creates a beautiful variance of color and texture throughout the shirt. In some areas, there is noticeable nep and color differentiation and in other areas there’s consistency. The subtle irregularity embodies exactly what we look for in fabric.

A detailed look at the shirt texture.
An image of an Agnes Martin grid painting that inspired the print on the back of the shirt.

You’ll notice a grid print on the back of the shirt. This print is inspired by one of our favorite artists Agnes Martin. Martin was well known, much to her own chagrin, as one of the early pioneers of minimalist art. Her work focused on simple forms and the interplay of materials and tonal colors. Much of her best-known work features variants of grid patterns said to be inspired by the grid layout of New York City’s streets. We were inspired by the simple, but impactful nature of her work and felt this shirt was a perfect opportunity to share it. The natural color of the fabric is representative of the unprimed linen canvases or slightly yellowed paper she used as the foundation for her works. The print itself, based on her aforementioned grid works, is inked on using wood blocks that are carved by hand. The hand-done nature of the print creates subtle variances between each shirt that are only possible with this method of printing. We opted for a light gray ink to further call back to graphite pencils Martin used in her work.

Because we want you to have a chance to see and appreciate the Open Collar Shirt in person, for this weekend only we are offering free domestic returns on this piece. Place an order for one before Monday (1/11), and if you're not in love with it when you receive it, email us at info@3sixteen.com and we'll generate a return shipping label for you to send the order back at no cost to you.  

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