The best white dress shirts to form the foundation of any formal look

Edward Sexton

• Fabrication: Cotton
• Sizes: 14.5-18

To the sartorially discerning gents looking for an ultra-dapper dress shirt, few places provide it better than Edward Sexton. A purveyor of tailored garments which are built with traditional craftsmanship and imbued with 1970s touches, this staple white shirt exemplifies both in action: made from a crisp cotton, framed with wide French cuffs and fastened with a dagger-like collar. Be sure to pair it with a sharp black suit – ideally flared in the trousers – to really channel the decade.

• Fabrication: Stretch cotton
• Sizes: XXS-XXXL

Whilst British heritage brand Burberry might be best known for its checked shirts, its more formal take on the dress shirts does not disappoint. Coming in a slim-fit with an especially crisp, bright-white hue, it's set apart by its Vintage Check-lined cuffs and inner collar.

• Fabrication: Cotton
• Sizes: XS-XXL

Whether dressed down for a smart-casual feel or levelled up for formality, this Polo Ralph Lauren white shirt always hits. Finished with an embroidered Bear motif at the pocket, this piece is certainly the most smile-inducing and inner-child-healing of any of this list.

• Fabrication: Cotton
• Sizes: 37-43

As one of our favourite high street stores for enduring style, Cos' latest atelier collection includes this poplin white dress shirt. Combining specialised craft and innovative applications in its production, its classic silhouette has been assembled from a tactile cotton which is known to maintain a fresh finish for endless wears. Topped with a nifty collar and framed with a curved hem, this is the definition of affordable quality.

• Fabrication: Cotton
• Sizes: 39-44

If you want to communicate a touch more opulence through your white dress shirt of choice, a bib-front design is the way to do it, which is where Brioni comes in. Expressing the Italian brand's flair for luxury formalwear, this slim-fit style features subtle raised stripes across its central front detail, rising to an excellent spread collar which caters particularly well to bow-ties. The ultimate companion to bring some elegance to your black tie dinner.

• Fabrication: 100% cotton
• Sizes: 14.5-21

Proving that black tie shopping need not break the bank, Marks and Spencer has designed the perfect combination for a wedding day tux with this pure cotton design. Finished with all the accoutrements of a far spennier dress shirt – including double cuffs, a traditional pleated bib, removable collar bones and polished black buttons to name a few – it's an affordable option that is sure to layer excellently with your dinner jacket or blazer of choice.

• Fabrication: Cotton
• Sizes: 15.5 -17.5

A simple white dress shirt is always effective but, if you want to embrace it in a more fashionable manner, allow us to introduce this style by Alexander McQueen. Crafted from 100 per cent cotton, its slick white frame is brilliantly contrasted by a black abstract graphic – running across the shoulders and around the top of the back. Elevating your silhouette to a more modern and artistic standing, it's currently on sale at Farfetch, so be sure to add it to your basket stat.

• Fabrication: Organic cotton
• Sizes: 37-43

As one of the strongest high street stores for evergreen style, Cos' latest menswear collection includes this timeless white tailored shirt. Shaped to sit with a regular fit (and therefore accommodate all body types), its classic silhouette has been assembled from cotton poplin and is fused with minimal finishing touches – from the tonal buttons down the front to the subtly curved back hem at the base. Simple, well-crafted and bound to last.

• Fabrication: Cotton blend
• Sizes: 14.5-20

Beyond its expansive suiting collection, Moss can also be relied upon for those everyday foundational formal pieces. In a brilliant white hue stitched from a lightweight cotton blend, this pick allows for a generous stretch across the wearer's frame.

• Fabrication: Cotton
• Sizes: S-XXL

Have you ever heard a white dress shirt described as risqué? Well, prepare one’s self. “Voile” is (as the internet confirms) French for “veil”, and so, cotton-voile is the term given to a loose weave cotton fabric. The material is lightweight breathable and a little sheer, perhaps making it NSFW, but VSF (very safe for) your evening tailoring, weekend garms, and holiday fits.

• Fabrication: Cotton blend
• Sizes: XS-XXL

Distinctly Scandi in aesthetic, minimalist brand Theory plays host to a delectable array of casually cool and expertly tailored pieces made from premium materials. Case in point, this structured Sylvain dress shirt, which makes for a timeless wardrobe staple that ensures longevity of style and durability.

• Fabrication: Cotton
• Sizes: XS-XXL

Classic white poplin shirt but ultra-lightweight: that's the idea behind this Sunspel shirt. In fact, the lightweight poplin fabric will give the sensation that you are in fact wearing no shirt at all. Pair with lax tailoring to maximum style points.

• Fabrication: Supima cotton
• Sizes: 36-46

This bright white mother-of-pearl button-down shirt from Asket has been constructed with all the hallmarks of a stellar dress shirt: strong Supima cotton for freshly-starched looking smarts, stiff cutaway collars that stay sharp without the need for a suit lapel or tie, and tidy, fitted tailoring for the most formal of finishes. As if that wasn't enough, it's been sustainably crafted to last you a lifetime, and so does your wardrobe and the planet a world of good.

• Fabrication: Cotton
• Sizes: 14.5-19

Established in 1885, British sartorial brand Turnbull & Asser has held a Royal Warrant since 1980, so it's safe to say that it knows a thing or two about good shirting. Our favourite style to see you through endless dinners to come? This cotton dress shirt. Framed with the brand's signature T&A collar and a pleated front, it's guaranteed to make you stand out from the crowd – so too enabled by the premium cotton fabric and formal double cuffs. Just excellent.

• Fabrication: Cotton
• Sizes: 38-45

Designed from a breathable cotton-poplin texture, Tom Ford's latest approach to the white dress shirt is every bit as sophisticated as the designer himself. Exclusive to Mr Porter, this one is a failsafe ingredient to underpin your tailoring with the utmost precision – featuring a traditional piqué bib front and buttoned cuffs at the base of the sleeves. We suggest sticking to slim-cut garments in your surrounding outfit for enduring appeal.