Yes, You Can Pull Off a Collarless Shirt — Here Are Our 20 Favorites Available Right Now

The collarless shirt comes with a confusing array of nomenclature: there’s the band collar, grandad collar, mandarin collar, standing collar, choker collar and officer collar.

While these terms represent minor stylistic differences, they all refer to collars that don’t fold and can’t be worn with a tie. This style represents a unique, Eastern-inspired alternative to the traditional men’s dress shirt collar. The best collarless shirts are still formal enough to be worn at dinner or the workplace, but also speak to your more laid-back, fashion-forward aesthetic.

Before we dive into our list of the best collarless shirts available online, let’s break down the different styles. A mandarin collar is a short, unfolded stand-up collar that “…can be traced back to early 200 BC where it was a traditional feature on the gowns worn by the Mandarins in Imperial China.” In modern men’s fashion, choker collars, standing collars, and band collars are various types of mandarin collars.

A grandad collar (often used synonymously with “collarless shirts”) is generally flatter with the shirt than a Mandarin collar, and this style allegedly originated in 1920s New York, when housewife Hannah Montague cut off the collars to wash separately to get more wear from the shirt. This could, in the absence of fact, be nothing more than a marketing ad’s fictional origin story. When it comes to styling grandad collars, don’t overthink it. Like with any dress shirt, the shirt’s silhouette and material determine how you wear it and what you wear it with.

The Best Long-Sleeve Collarless Shirts

With that brief explanation out of the way, let’s take a look at the best collarless shirts available right now. Because the weather’s warming up and most guys are shopping for summer, we’ve listed long-sleeve options at the top and short-sleeve options at the bottom. However, even a lot of the long-sleeve collarless shirts below are perfect for summer wear, as we selected options made from lighter fabrics like linen and chambray.

So if you’re looking to upgrade your summer wardrobe with the best collarless shirts for men, check out our favorite styles for the season.

1. Everlane The Linen Band Collar Shirt

BEST OVERALL

We love this black collarless shirt from Everlane. Black is incredibly easy to match, which makes this one an easy pick up. You can pair with black pants or chinos and black boots for a clean look, or leave it open over a white T-shirt for a casual take. You can even dress up this shirt by wearing it under a sweater or blazer (thanks to the band collar), and it will have the same formality as a formal dress shirt when worn by itself. Plus, the linen fabric gives this piece the breathable nature of a regular tee, making it an ideal staple to have on hand in the warmer months. Best part of all? This shirt normally goes for $50, but right now, you can catch this beauty for $30 instead.

2. Topman White Grandad Collar Slim Shirt

BEST FORMAL SHIRT

Class your look up a bit with this White Grandad Collar Slim Shirt from Topman. This cotton-polyester slim-fit shirt has a clean, pressed, starched look with a flat hem on the front and tail, which are typically meant to be tucked in. Dress it with some nice slacks and a pair of Oxfords or brogues for an effortlessly formal look that’s dialed up a notch for the office or a nice cocktail bar.

3. Joseph Abboud Beige Stripe Mandarin Collar Sport Shirt

BEST “WITH ANYTHING” SHIRT

This Joseph Abboud Beige Stripe Mandarin Collar Sport Shirt will go with anything you want it to. The beige can go with black or khaki colors, you can dress it up with a blazer or wear it down with jeans. The modern fit of the shirt plus the combination of polyester and linen also help keep the shirt breathable and wearable by wicking moisture and trapping odor.

And in a great bonus for any button-down shirt, it’s machine washable.

4. Banana Republic Untucked Slim-Fit Chambray Shirt

BEST WEEKEND WEAR

This lightweight Untucked Slim-Fit Chambray Shirt from Banana Republic has the weekend written all over it. Chambray is a woven cotton fabric similar to denim, but it’s generally a bit lighter in both appearance and breathability. This shirt comes in a denim color and it’s designed to be untucked for a casual look as you make moves from place to place. Whether it’s a cool evening hitting the bars or a warm backyard barbecue, this shirt will have your back. It also goes with just about everything for easy dressing. Try pairing it with a pair of khaki chinos or jeans of any color with sneakers.

5. Scotch & Soda Collarless Shirt

QUALITY WEEKEND WEAR

This Scotch & Soda Collarless Shirt in a regular fit accomplishes exactly what the brand sets out to do: elevate the basics. It’s 100% cotton and 100% timeless, meant to go with any casual outfit you want to throw together.

6. Eleven Eleven Virgo Shirt

BEST FASHIONABLE PIECE

The Virgo shirt from Eleven Eleven is sure to catch eyes from across any party. Not only is it eye-catching due to the multicolored stripes, but it’s high quality. It’s made from hand-spun cotton in natural indigo for that relaxed, natural, lived-in look. Just be careful washing it as natural indigo can bleed and stain other clothing.

7. Proper Cloth Albini Beige and White Cotton Linen Shirt

ALSO CONSIDER FASHIONABLE PIECE

This Albini Beige and White Cotton Linen shirt from Proper Cloth will quietly stand out wherever you are. The white pyramid stripes are subtle, so the shirt looks like basic beige at first blush until you get a little closer. There aren’t too many shirts out there with an embroidered pattern of stripes like this.

The primarily-linen-with-a-touch-of-cotton fabric also gives the shirt plenty of body and wrinkle-resistance while remaining breathable.

8. Traditional Irish Grandfather Collarless Shirt

MOST RADICAL

Though it might be traditional grandfather wear in Ireland (if the name can be trusted(, the Traditional Irish Grandfather Collarless Shirt is pretty radical for everyone else. It’s got 11 buttons running from the mid-chest straight up to the top for a look you won’t see every day. Pick it up in one of five colors to fill your closet.

9. Mango 100% Linen Regular Fit Shirt

BEST CASUAL

Can’t commit to the full button-up look? Try out this linen fit shirt from mango that rocks a half button-up design in deep blue. This shirt is part of Mango’s “Committed” line of products, meaning it’s been produced using sustainable fibers and/or processes in order to reduce the brand’s environmental impact. Therefore, it’s a trendy, collarless design that both looks great on and supports eco-friendly production operations.

10. Margaret Howell Button Through Collarless Shirt

BEST UPSCALE CASUAL

So you want to dress casual, but you still want a cool, quality shirt? That’s where the Margaret Howell Button Through Collarless Shirt comes in. Equal parts classic and contemporary, this is one cool grandad shirt with a simple black striped style and a nearly camouflaged shirt pocket.

11. Zara Mandarin Collar Oxford Shirt

BEST RELAXED SHIRT

While some stiffness and lightness can be good in a button-down shirt, there’s something to be said for a truly relaxed fit shirt in a handful of colors. That’s what you get with the Zara Mandarin Collar Oxford Shirt. It’s basic, it’s comfortable and it’s cool.

12. Brooks Brothers Band Collar Linen Shirt

PREMIUM PICK

Brooks Brothers has been making premium American clothing for over 200 years, and the company’s take on the collarless shirt fits nicely into that tradition.

The Brooks Brothers Band Collar Linen Shirt is made from 100% linen woven in Italy. It’s great for warm weather, but it’ll move into the fall no problem with an extra layer. Pick it up in white or blue and at a heavily marked down price for such a quality linen collarless shirt.

13. Goodthreads Men’s Long-Sleeve Band-Collar Denim Shirt

BUDGET BUY

Amazon has been trying to quietly enter the fashion game with a number of Amazon-owned brands and storefronts. Because Amazon sees everything that’s purchased, it’s trying to put that knowledge to use by offering lower-priced versions of the most popular and essential items. While that might be a pro or a con depending on what kind of shopper you are, it does mean consumers can get some pretty solid basic pieces for their wardrobes. That brings us to Goodthread’s Band Collar Denim Shirt. This Amazon brand offers the essential casual band collar denim shirt here in five different basic colors for a bit of variety. Basic design with a medium weight denim translates to an all-year-round shirt at a price you can afford. Pick up one or more of these shirts and you’ll always have a solid band collar shirt option to wear.

14. H&M Regular Fit Collarless Shirt

ALSO CONSIDER BUDGET

You probably hear quite a bit about the demise of fast fashion these days. There are a lot of good, compelling reasons for that discussion, but at the end of the day, fast fashion continues to exist and thrive due to its variety of pieces and generally low prices. If you’re cool with shopping fast fashion, H&M is still around and still doing what it does best: offering cool fashion at great prices. That’s why we recommend the H&M Regular Fit Collarless Shirt. The light woven cotton shirt comes in a variety of colors with a rounded hem and a regular but tailored fit for a comfortable, modern feel. This shirt can’t go formal, but it’ll work with anything casual.

15. Proper Cloth Portuguese White Seersucker

BEST FOR SUMMER

Seersucker has got to be the best-known spring and summer wear in the U.S. So if you want to take on summer in style, you’ll do well in the Proper Cloth Portuguese White Seersucker. A staple of Southern fashion, the signature puckering of seersucker makes for less skin contact and improved breathability for those hot summer days. This 100% cotton shirt will do just fine on its own, but it’ll pair wonderfully with a blazer too.

16. Proper Cloth Design A Shirt

MOST CUSTOMIZABLE

We’ve thrown a ton of options your way to consider, but if you don’t know what you want or just plain didn’t find something your style here, you can always make your own collarless shirt over at Proper Cloth.

Every element you can think of from the fabric, cuffs, pocket and hem to the buttons, placket and collar can all be customized. Not to mention, the shirt will be made to your exact size, which Proper Cloth can also help you figure out through a series of questions.

Just be sure to select the grandad collar or the band collar, which is slightly taller, for a collarless look.

The only downside is that not every fabric can go with every style option, but the combinations are still endless. Just playing around, we almost bought the Albiate Multi-Color Large Floral Print shirt with a grandad collar (pictured below).

The Best Short-Sleeve Collarless Shirts

Up next we’ve got out favorite short-sleeve collarless and Mandarin-collar shirts from brands like Uniqlo, COS and ASOS. Choose from slim-fit collarless shirts and looser fits that are ideal for hot summer days.

1. Uniqlo Men Linen Cotton Short-Sleeve Shirt

BEST OVERALL

This short-sleeve collarless shirt from Uniqlo is perfect for wearing during the hot summer months at that weekend pool party or out to a classy brunch. It comes in a few cool colors for the hot weather and is a perfect combination of the freshness of linen and the soft comfort of cotton. The collar makes it easy to wear with jeans, slacks or other flowy pants for a super laidback look. It’ll keep you looking and feeling cool during the warmer summer months and lasts longest after machine washing in cold water.

2. Ted Baker Glate Short-Sleeved Grandad Collar Shirt

CLASSIEST SHIRT

Ted Baker is pretty young as far as British luxury retailers go, but that’s no reason to doubt the fine quality of its clothes. The Ted Baker Glate Short-Sleeved Grandad Collar Shirt is a stylish, fitted and classy addition to any closet. This collarless shirt is made from 100% cotton and features a silver-rounded button on the shirt pocket for extra flair.

3. ASOS DESIGN Stretch Skinny Shirt With Grandad Collar

BEST SKINNY SHIRT

This ASOS Design shirt has a grandad collar and a skinny, flattering fit. The short sleeves will keep you cool but the structured chest button-up still gives off a more formal, trendy vibe. It’s a shirt that’s worthy of a spot in your closet for its versatility. Pair it with jeans and sneakers for Sunday brunch or black pants and a nice jacket for a night out. Afterward, all it takes is a machine wash to look good as new.

4. Flint & Tinder Supima Air Knit Henley

BEST HENLEY

OK, so when thinking of band collar shirts, we typically think of button-down shirts. That’s only because pretty much all other kinds of shirts except for polo-style shirts don’t even have collars. They have neck-hole shapes, like crew neck or V-neck. Henley shirts are somewhere in between, and we figure if you’re into band collar short-sleeve shirts, then you might be into a nice short-sleeve henley shirt.

We love just about everything from Flint & Tinder and the brand’s Supima Air Knit Henley has warm weather written all over it. The shirt is soft, fitting, airy to keep you cool and preshrunk so it’ll always fit.

Looking for something more traditional? Try these Oxford shirts