A solid collection of shirts is the cornerstone of any decent wardrobe. Menswear has skewed extra-casual over the past decade, but the shirt has survived – not only as the foundation of any formal dress code, but also as a reliable staple that’s easy to wear in any number of contexts across the smart-casual spectrum. Layered under a sweater, over a T-shirt or worn with a suit, there’s perhaps no item that you’ll get more mileage out of. Of course, they come in all stripes. Here, the definitive list of the five shirt types that every man should own.

The signs are there. The days are tangibly longer. The metrological thermostat has been dialled up just a notch. Spring is so close now you can smell it. Don’t get too excited, though. The new-season collections are here, but winter hasn’t been bundled out the door just yet. So, what are you supposed to wear right now?

The Palazzo INPS building, a state institution dedicated to social security, looms over Piazza Missori in the heart of Milan. Designed by the architect Marcello Piacentini, its façade is austere, wrought in slate-grey stone and articulated by two rows of arched windows framed by paler pilasters. On the lower floors, allegorical sculptures lean out over the street, while a series of symbolic friezes illustrating themes of labour and social welfare wrap the hulking, oversized entranceway.

We all know the edict: only between Memorial Day and Labor Day should you even think about wearing white. But when it comes to white jeans, is even that too much? The pitfalls of pale pants are well known. You’ll want to stand well away from children and condiments – and especially children with condiments. That aside, you have to ask yourself if you really want your jeans to be the main character of your outfit. The worse-case scenario here is teetering into boy-band territory. Or ending up a meme.

A solid collection of shirts is the cornerstone of any decent wardrobe. Menswear has skewed extra-casual over the past decade, but the shirt has survived – not only as the foundation of any formal dress code, but also as a reliable staple that’s easy to wear in any number of contexts across the smart-casual spectrum. Layered under a sweater, over a T-shirt or worn with a suit, there’s perhaps no item that you’ll get more mileage out of. Of course, they come in all stripes. Here, the definitive list of the five shirt types that every man should own.

The signs are there. The days are tangibly longer. The metrological thermostat has been dialled up just a notch. Spring is so close now you can smell it. Don’t get too excited, though. The new-season collections are here, but winter hasn’t been bundled out the door just yet. So, what are you supposed to wear right now?