# The Yellow OCBD Debate. What say you?



## Mossback (Jan 11, 2009)

Popular in the 60's and 70's, but they've never gone out of style here. For a long time though, I seemed to be the only person wearing one, about once a month to the office. Look great with gray flannel suit or a tweed jacket. I'm sure younger people thought I was clueless. 

I'm now seeing them again. Just my imagination? Or do you see them, too? I admit, they're a bit of a novelty but the unexpected flash of color tells the world that even mossbacks have their moments.


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## CornoUltimo (Mar 8, 2015)

As a redhead, I stray away from yellow, but the look is nice. The yellow and ecru shades of Oxford definetley echo the 60's and 70's


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## Anon 18th Cent. (Oct 27, 2008)

One of my favorites. Brooks's shade of yellow has varied a lot over the years.


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## CSG (Nov 22, 2011)

I wore them young in the 60's and into the 70's and I'm wearing them again now. I have a yellow BB and a couple of McIlhenny ocbd shirts, one in solid yellow and the other a micro check yellow. I've worn the BB with a navy blazer as well as a brown tweed jacket. I seem to default to ties like my Argyle and Sutherland or a dark green and navy BB Repp. But I love just the plain yellow ocbd with khaki slacks, a surcingle belt and boat shoes.

I'm also mad about pink ocbds.


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## AldenPyle (Oct 8, 2006)

Edwin Ek said:


> One of my favorites. Brooks's shade of yellow has varied a lot over the years.


 I like yellow but Brooks seems more gold.


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## Bermuda (Aug 16, 2009)

Yellow Oxfords are great. Wear it with pride


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

What's there to debate? I wear them a lot, all year round.


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## FiscalDean (Dec 10, 2011)

I've worn yellow( in either pinpoint or braodcloth buttondowns) for years, generally with navy and gray. I also wear yellow in the summer with olive suits. I can't say I ever stopped wearing yellow.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

Can't do it, my face is too red. No reason you shouldn't, though.


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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

Yellow is not a color for me.


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## Fading Fast (Aug 22, 2012)

Washes my Casper the Friendly Ghost complexion right out, but I like them on others and, as with all OCBDs, they only get better with age and look best when faded.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

I have to say that I generally don't take my complexion into account when I pick colors. Technically, I'm sure I should. I just don't, and I'm sure because of that disregard on my part there are days I look better than other days. Basically, if I like a color, I wear it.


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## Fading Fast (Aug 22, 2012)

Duvel said:


> I have to say that I generally don't take my complexion into account when I pick colors. Technically, I'm sure I should. I just don't, and I'm sure because of that disregard on my part there are days I look better than other days. Basically, if I like a color, I wear it.


When a friend of mine who is about 5'6" said to me he doesn't like certain pants as he thinks they make him look short, I told him I never think about how pants will impact how tall I look. He shot back that he wouldn't either if he was 6'1" like I am.

My guess is your complexion goes well with almost all colors so you don't have to think about it. I, on the other hand, look like blank printer paper, so I have to think a bit about how colors work or my face disappears (not really a bad thing for my ugly mug, but scary for people to see a body walking down the street without a head attached). Consider yourself luck Duvel, I'm sure if you had complexion issues you'd be aware of it (said by the slightly bitter man with a snow-drift complexion).


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## orange fury (Dec 8, 2013)

I've always liked yellow shirts (ocbds and polos). The only yellow OCBD I have right now is a PRL one with cool hidden repp stripe details. I have two BB ecru ocbds, and when (if) the price drops again, I'm going to pick up two of their yellow ones as well.

i think a yellow OCBD with an navy blazer, khaki chinos, and a red repp stripe bow tie looks fantastic, personally.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

Perhaps. I think I'm just not aware, basically. (However, that statement might sum up just about everything about me, apparently.)



Fading Fast said:


> When a friend of mine who is about 5'6" said to me he doesn't like certain pants as he thinks they make him look short, I told him I never think about how pants will impact how tall I look. He shot back that he wouldn't either if he was 6'1" like I am.
> 
> My guess is your complexion goes well with almost all colors so you don't have to think about it. I, on the other hand, look like blank printer paper, so I have to think a bit about how colors work or my face disappears (not really a bad thing for my ugly mug, but scary for people to see a body walking down the street without a head attached). Consider yourself luck Duvel, I'm sure if you had complexion issues you'd be aware of it (said by the slightly bitter man with a snow-drift complexion).


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## thegovteach (Dec 2, 2012)

Duvel said:


> What's there to debate? I wear them a lot, all year round.


I wear mine year round too....heck, I even have one in candy striped yellow...


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

You have a striped one?! Color me green!



thegovteach said:


> I wear mine year round too....heck, I even have one in candy striped yellow...


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## Fading Fast (Aug 22, 2012)

Duvel said:


> You have a striped one?! Color me green!


Which I'm sure would go great with your perfect complexion (said the still bitter man whose head was just mistaken for an over-sized marshmallow* with hair on top).

*I think I'm out of sardonic color metaphors for my complexion.


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## thegovteach (Dec 2, 2012)

Duvel said:


> You have a striped one?! Color me green!


Have a green striped one too....hit the " mother-load" a couple a year's back, a member of the local DA's Office retired and moved to of all places Raymondville, TX. He donated all his " working shirts" to the Episcopal Thift Center. He had all sorts of OCDB shirts, striped, all my size. Green, red, pink, lt. blue, navy, gold.....$2.75 each....and all lightly worn....I mopped up that day....


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## universitystripe (Jul 13, 2013)

Yellow the next OCBD purchase on my list. I like it more than pink, actually. I just hope it goes with my complexion.


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## Youthful Repp-robate (Sep 26, 2011)

I always thought I couldn't wear yellow, but honestly I think it's more flattering on me than pink.


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## SlideGuitarist (Apr 23, 2013)

Roycru posted a lovely rig last winter: a yellow OCBD with a dark brown herringbone tweed jacket. I thought to myself, I have to try that. YRR, yellow does actually suit your complexion better. I have a slightly Levantine complexion (Arabic dad, German mom), so the the Brooks PPBD, at least, makes me look somewhat recessive. Still, that might not be so bad with quiet, cold-weather rig like Roycru's. 

I think a stronger yellow looks handsome against very dark skin, but that's not the question here, I suppose.

I vaguely remember a thread last year about pale yellow shirts with navy suit and maroon tie (some Scandinavian sartorialist...anyone remember this?). I thought it looked quite handsome on him, at least.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

YRP, I think both looks are great, but that yellow ocbd ensemble is incredibly cool. I mean, almost literally cool in the 1960s sense. Looks as hip now as it would have then.


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## JLibourel (Jun 13, 2004)

I have a couple of yellow LE OCBDs: a pale yellow Hyde Park and a somewhat bolder yellow "Original Oxford." They're not among my favorites, and I feel disinclined to get another yellow shirt, although I can't articulate why--more of a visceral thing.


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## Roycru (Apr 13, 2011)

SlideGuitarist said:


> Roycru posted a lovely rig last winter: a yellow OCBD with a dark brown herringbone tweed jacket. I thought to myself, I have to try that. YRR, yellow does actually suit your complexion better. I have a slightly Levantine complexion (Arabic dad, German mom), so the the Brooks PPBD, at least, makes me look somewhat recessive. Still, that might not be so bad with quiet, cold-weather rig like Roycru's.
> 
> I think a stronger yellow looks handsome against very dark skin, but that's not the question here, I suppose.
> 
> I vaguely remember a thread last year about pale yellow shirts with navy suit and maroon tie (some Scandinavian sartorialist...anyone remember this?). I thought it looked quite handsome on him, at least.


Was it this picture? For those who are following the adventure of the new Brooks Brothers OCBD, one of choices for the new shirts is yellow and white University stripes, like this Brooks Brothers OCBD, which dates from when they still had a pocket and cost much less money.

(For fans of "The Wizard Of Oz", this picture was taken at the Culver Hotel in Culver City, where the Munchkins stayed and rioted when they were filming "The Wizard Of Oz" across the street. The Culver City Police Department still uses "The Munchkins Are Back" as the radio call for "Riot In Progress".)


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## gamma68 (Mar 24, 2013)

I can see where some men may think a yellow OCBD doesn't work with their complexion. I don't think it affects me all that much, but I prefer pink over yellow.

To me, ecru is the most underrated and underutilized color out there. I think BB deleted ecru in its latest iteration of the OCBD, which is a shame because it's so versatile.

Speaking of versatility, a yellow OCBD works for summer and winter wear:


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## Fading Fast (Aug 22, 2012)

^^^ Nice multi-use montage of the Yellow OCBD. 

At $140, you'd think BB would put it out in every color imaginable. A nice $140 magenta OCBD anyone?


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## gamma68 (Mar 24, 2013)

Fading Fast said:


> ^^^ Nice multi-use montage of the Yellow OCBD.
> 
> At $140, you'd think BB would put it out in every color imaginable. A nice $140 magenta OCBD anyone?


Thank you, sir.

Well, BB is offering aqua stripes, but no red university stripe, for example. Makes you scratch your head a little bit.

I read that ecru accrued the fewest sales among all the BB OCBDs, so I'm not surprised that it's gone.


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## SlideGuitarist (Apr 23, 2013)

Roycru said:


>


Yeah! There's something really mellow about those colors together.


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## dukekook (Sep 5, 2008)

Bermuda said:


> Yellow Oxfords are great. Wear it with pride


+1

I'm surprised to hear that they "went" away. I keep a couple to wear with green and gray. But I'm a color-loving guy like CSG above.


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## rmpmcdermott (Oct 27, 2015)

Is that Gamma in the flesh up there? Did the paparazzi catch you a run to Orvis? Love it!


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## SquawkersMcCaw (Oct 26, 2015)

Loving all the yellow OCBDs pictured here. It's a color I have avoided most my life having gotten it in my head that yellow looks bad on me. I recently decided to try one, thrifted a PRL, and it's become one of the shirts I most look forward to wearing.


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## FiscalDean (Dec 10, 2011)

gamma68 said:


> To me, ecru is the most underrated and underutilized color out there. I think BB deleted ecru in its latest iteration of the OCBD, which is a shame because it's so versatile.
> 
> Agreed ecru, ivory and cream are very versatile.


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## efdll (Sep 11, 2008)

I went to a public high school that was basically a prep school and that's where I discovered trad -- or Ivy League, kids wore the clothes without much concern for what it was called. Somewhere in 1959, I think, yellow OCBDs was what was worn -- short-sleeves, this was the sweltering Florida Gulf Coast. Unlike my more affluent classmates I couldn't afford new styles until they trickled down to more accessible men's stores, so I had to wait till college to wear the once trendy (yes, trad had trends back in the day) yellow. Wore them off and on and, like pink, I learned they just weren't for me. I'm not convinced it's a flattering color on anyone, with apologies to those who have posted pics. Ecru is for some, but again not for me. I'm sure Alan Flusser has some explanation about skin tone and hair and all that. In fact, the most versatile and flattering OCBD for just about everyone is simply white.


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## FLMike (Sep 17, 2008)

efdll said:


> I went to a public high school that was basically a prep school and that's where I discovered trad -- or Ivy League, kids wore the clothes without much concern for what it was called. Somewhere in 1959, I think, yellow OCBDs was what was worn -- short-sleeves, this was the sweltering Florida Gulf Coast.


What HS did you attend, if you don't mind me asking?


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## Balfour (Mar 23, 2012)

efdll said:


> ...In fact, the most versatile and flattering OCBD for just about everyone is simply white.


Interesting suggestion. I would have thought, by a heavy margin on both versatility and the extent to which it flatters different complexions, pale blue.


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## FLMike (Sep 17, 2008)

Balfour said:


> Interesting suggestion. I would have thought, by a heavy margin on both versatility and the extent to which it flatters different complexions, pale blue.


Agreed. I was head-scratching on that comment, as well.


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## efdll (Sep 11, 2008)

Balfour said:


> Interesting suggestion. I would have thought, by a heavy margin on both versatility and the extent to which it flatters different complexions, pale blue.


Yes, and I have a number of blue OCBDs, but as another thread discussed, something about their becoming the uniform of big box store staff has done something to their cachet. Maybe I'm being a class snob, may Karl Marx and Bernie Sanders forgive me. Or maybe it's a bad attitude I picked up at that preppy high school. And there certainly is nothing wrong with an honest job. On merely esthetic grounds it may be that such "work" shirts are cheap knockoffs. Now, if Press or Brooks, or better yet, Mercer, was the outfitter . . .


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## Balfour (Mar 23, 2012)

efdll said:


> Yes, and I have a number of blue OCBDs, but as another thread discussed, something about their becoming the uniform of big box store staff has done something to their cachet. Maybe I'm being a class snob, may Karl Marx and Bernie Sanders forgive me. Or maybe it's a bad attitude I picked up at that preppy high school. And there certainly is nothing wrong with an honest job. On merely esthetic grounds it may be that such "work" shirts are cheap knockoffs. Now, if Press or Brooks, or better yet, Mercer, was the outfitter . . .


Hah! Yes, I didn't mean a rubbish OCBD anymore than I would wear a short-sleaved poly cotton pale blue shirt with a suit. Quality is assumed when the aesthetics of colour are discussed. I remain of my view re. pale blue being most versatile and flattering, tho'.


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## efdll (Sep 11, 2008)

FLCracka said:


> What HS did you attend, if you don't mind me asking?


Henry B Plant High School. Class of 1960.


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## Roycru (Apr 13, 2011)

Wearing a yellow and white University stripe OCBD shirt in what might be the first picture posted in this group where someone has his Chinese zodiac sign (mine is a pig) in the picture, is wearing a Vineyard Vines belt, and whose friend has messed up his pocket square (because she thought that it looked better like this) just before the picture was taken.....


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

I happen to like color yellow, to me the color yellow represents the season of autumn.


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## gamma68 (Mar 24, 2013)

efdll said:


> Yes, and I have a number of blue OCBDs, but as another thread discussed, something about their becoming the uniform of big box store staff has done something to their cachet.


Only if the blue OCBD features the company logo. Otherwise, I wouldn't give it a second thought. I find blue much more versatile than white, which can sometimes create too stark a color contrast with a sweater/jacket/tie combo.


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## Fading Fast (Aug 22, 2012)

For awhile, my local high school shared a bus with the Catholic high school and they had uniforms - the boys all wore brown pants, yellow shirts (many OCBDs), brown ties and, I think, navy blazers. My memory is vague because I was much more focused on the girls and their yellow shirts, plaid tweed skirts, knee-high socks and cuteness.


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## efdll (Sep 11, 2008)

Fading Fast said:


> For awhile, my local high school shared a bus with the Catholic high school and they had uniforms - the boys all wore brown pants, yellow shirts (many OCBDs), brown ties and, I think, navy blazers. My memory is vague because I was much more focused on the girls and their yellow shirts, plaid tweed skirts, knee-high socks and cuteness.


Ah, Catholic schoolgirls in their uniforms. Be still my heart.


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## Roycru (Apr 13, 2011)

Yellow ODBD shirts coordinate well with fried chicken sandwiches.......


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## rmpmcdermott (Oct 27, 2015)

I just picked up this Press flap pocket SS OCBD from the 70s, maybe? San Francisco label era at least. So I'm in the camp that yellow OCBDs are awesome. I'd take pink and yellow every day. Though I do have a number of standard blue and white as well.


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## WillBarrett (Feb 18, 2012)

efdll said:


> Henry B Plant High School. Class of 1960.


If I'm not mistaken, Plant turns out some incredible football players.

Sorry - I'm a recruiting junkie.


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## FLMike (Sep 17, 2008)

efdll said:


> Henry B Plant High School. Class of 1960.


My dad was Plant's quarterback, c/o 1962. My son is a junior there now.


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## CSG (Nov 22, 2011)

I wore my BB yellow ocbd today along with some tan cords, Sperry Topsiders, yellow RL crew socks and a surcingle belt of some sort ( blue with shields). Jacket was the Orvis version of a Harrington.


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## WillBarrett (Feb 18, 2012)

FLCracka said:


> My dad was Plant's quarterback, c/o 1962. My son is a junior there now.


Aaron Murray, Philip Ely...good names on that list.


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## Orgetorix (May 20, 2005)

Like many here, yellow and ecru shirts make me look like death warmed over. So I shun them.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

Orgetorix said:


> Like many here, yellow and ecru shirts make me look like death warmed over. So I shun them.


They need to be worn with care.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Walter Denton (Sep 11, 2011)

In my humble opinion it is hard to beat the combination of navy blazer, yellow OCBD, A&S tie and gray flannels.


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## SlideGuitarist (Apr 23, 2013)

tocqueville said:


> They need to be worn with care.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I thought YRR looked great, but he has a sort of rosy complexion, whereas I'm just olive-y enough that yellow (not to mention red university stripes) looks bad on me _unless_ I'm very tan. Ecru, on the other hand, registers as white on me. Different strokes, etc.


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## gamma68 (Mar 24, 2013)

Everything vintage: Brooks Brothers yellow OCBD with a 3/2 Harris Tweed for Van Boven of Detroit/Ann Arbor, Jos A Bank 'East Yorkshire Regiment' tie.

This shirt is the one BB should have reintroduced: unlined collar and cuffs, 6-button placket, chest pocket, long tails. It does, however, have 3" collar points and plastic buttons. The cloth is also thinner than in BB's most recent iteration of the OCBD.


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## FLMike (Sep 17, 2008)

I posted a yellow BB OCBD, traditional fit 16x33, for sale on the thrift exchange recently and nobody bit. Still available, in excellent condition.


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## crispyfresh (Jan 30, 2016)

Good thread....


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