Alvey,

Thanks. Described as short sleeve rather than half sleeve though. Another thing to obsess about.

^AUS

I didn't see any at my local store apart from grandad linens that have no appeal to me.

I was just so bowled over with the half sleeve that I grabbed one to try on.

The Muji website imagery is shocking.

I recently bought a blue, long-sleeved, Muji OCBD and for the price I'm very happy with it. The collar is okay: longer than some of their older shirts—which I'd never have bought—with an unfused lining that keeps it fairly supple with a nice shape. The oxford cloth is quite thick and between the shape of the collar and the fabric, the collar is fairly static (i.e. doesn't move as I move my body, which is something of a mark of quality for me). So it's obviously not in the same league as Fitzgeralds, John Simons, or other much-costlier shirts. The cut is good: straight up and down, so a little roomy on my skinny frame, and a little short in the tails for my liking but presenting a classic look while tucked. Blessedly, the sleeves are the right length for me, whereas many shirts come up a little short. Otherwise it has classic styling that ticks a lot of boxes. I would certainly buy another.

I have a couple of great Uniqlo Madras shirts. I cannot remember how old they are but they get worn every Summer.

Nothing wrong with inexpensive clothing.

I haven't bought anything from Muji for a long time. What I do miss is the GAP stores, which very occasionally had stuff worth buying, at a reasonable price.

Back in the Eighties I would travel to Nottingham just to visit the Gap.

It was a 2.5 hour round trip.

I loved their pocket t shirts - that were surprisingly hard to come by, their navy blue chinos were unbeatable and their lovely chambray button downs.

They also had goat skin/ suede Harringtons.

It's hard to think that things that are now so ubiquitous were once so difficult to track down.

No doubt someone will say that in London during the Eighties the streets were paved in Americana but sadly not so in the glorious Midlands

^Robbie

Stanley Tucci backs up your Med vision. He wears lovely navy or white linen spread collar shirts on his TV show.

I plan on getting a white BB Irish linen shirt when I'm next in the States.