Sharp & Dapper presents: the Shirt Stay

I don’t generally seek out anything that makes dressing more time consuming or inconvenient. There's just so much more to do in the morning. Like pressing snooze on your alarm, for example. You might therefore think that I would dislike Sharp and Dapper’s Shirt Stays more than a little bit. Foremost, to wear them you have to remember to put your clothes on in a particular order (shirt first, trousers second – which is quite counter-intuitive for me) and you have to fasten four elasticated strips to your shirt and to your socks too.

 

But I actually don’t dislike them at all. In fact, apart from the odd interesting moment in the bathroom (you know, where you are in there an uncomfortably long period of time post-toilet flush), the Shirt Stays have proved very welcome in my wardrobe.

Mr Ekelund in his
Shirt Stays

I wear a shirt every day for work and I often like a collar at the weekend too. As a result, like many, I encounter that perennial problem that begins about three to five minutes after dressing. The problem of my shirt becoming untucked or riding up incessantly over my very smart wool trousers or, an even more heinous crime, over skinny jeans. When there’s no jacket to hide it you at best look like someone who just doesn't care about their appearance. At worst you look like Piers Morgan on the way home from the gym.

Shirt Stays, which the co-founder of Sharp and Dapper Johan Ekelund tells me date back to around the 1870s, attach to your shirt and socks and gently pull your shirt down to give you a clean, creaseless silhouette. They work, too. My only problem is that, like Johan, I now have the constant desire to either pull my trousers up or down to show everyone around me what this hidden accessory is doing. You’ll be pleased to hear that I’ve managed to control myself thus far.

On the intricacies of the product itself, I was a little concerned that the rubber fastenings might damage my rather expensive fine cotton shirts. However, so far this has not been the case. They are entirely comfortable to wear, although, if you don’t already, maybe go to a yoga class to give you the extra twist in your torso you need to fasten the Stays to your shirt tails (or, alternatively, attach them before you put your shirt on (it took me one wear to realise this...).

One point I would make: ensure you wear trousers that fit when you wear your Shirt Stays. As your shirt is pulled down any extra room in your trouser waistband becomes readily apparent. If you’ve lost weight recently, it might be time to take those suit trousers to the tailor! To look "Sharp and Dapper" you need the entire look, not just the Shirt Stays.

But at £15.00 my instinct is to say go buy them; they’ll come in handy for you one day!

Available from sharpanddapper.com