# Brooks Brothers Oxford in ecru... Your thoughts please



## Brio1 (May 13, 2010)

I brought home several more Oxfords from Brooks Brothers recently, but I'm a little undecided regarding the one in ecru. Perhaps it is attributable to the lighting at home under which I'm inspecting the shirt. My understanding is that ecru is a nice alternative to wearing white in the winter for those of us that have less coloring in our complexion. However, sometimes upon glancing at the shirt it does appear to look "dirty" or have a "cheap" appearance about it. I may reserve this color for wearing under a sweater. Incidentally, the lady of the house likes this color.

#1 How does the Brooks Brothers Oxford shade of ecru compare to other shirtmakers offering in ecru such as Mercer?

#2 Is this a noble color and does it look good against most skin complexions?

#3 What are the best colors to match with?

https://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCa...BLUE&sort_by=&sectioncolor=&sectionsize=#null

Thank you.:icon_study:


----------



## CMDC (Jan 31, 2009)

I have one and wear it all the time during the colder months. Its especially good with other earth tones--think brown herringbone jacket and other tweeds. I've got very fair/pale skin so I like that it adds a bit of contrast, as opposed to white which can make me look even more pale.


----------



## Brio1 (May 13, 2010)

CMDC said:


> I have one and wear it all the time during the colder months. Its especially good with other earth tones--think brown herringbone jacket and other tweeds. I've got very fair/pale skin so I like that it adds a bit of contrast, as opposed to white which can make me look even more pale.


Thanks for the prompt response. I will take your comments into consideration.


----------



## Epaminondas (Oct 19, 2009)

Brio1 said:


> However, sometimes upon glancing at the shirt it does appear to look "dirty" or have a "cheap" appearance about it.


That's pretty much the way I view Ecru - it looks muddled and dingy to me. It may work with browns and earth tones, but I'd just wear blue, pink, or a patterned shirt instead.


----------



## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

I can't imagine a flattering way to wear this color.


----------



## Larsd4 (Oct 14, 2005)

I have a brand new BB in ecru. I must qualify new in that I've had it sitting in my shirt drawer unwrapped for seven years. I always select a white one to open when given the choice. Someday I'll open it and wear it. It's too close to white IMO. It should be a bit more yellow.


----------



## Brio1 (May 13, 2010)

Larsd4 said:


> I have a brand new BB in ecru. I must qualify new in that I've had it sitting in my shirt drawer unwrapped for seven years. I always select a white one to open when given the choice. Someday I'll open it and wear it. It's too close to white IMO. It should be a bit more yellow.


Do you feel that the white "washes you out" in the dead of winter? Perhaps the solution would be to get more sun in the dead of the winter.


----------



## erbs (Feb 18, 2008)

Ecru looks a bit dowdy in my opinion. I can't really think of a situation where it would be better than blue or white.


----------



## brozek (Sep 24, 2006)

Fair or not, but ecru shirts always seem Dwight-esque to me -


----------



## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

I like to wear the Ecru now and then for a change of pace. I do think it looks good with earth tones....olives, browns, rust, etc. I have even worn it with navy on occasion. Interestingly, the OP mentioned that the lady of the house liked it very much. So does mine. Apparently the ladies see something in it. While I pick out all my own clothes...I have learned over the years not to dismiss the feminine sense of color out of hand. They have an eye for that sort of thing. I think it is one of those colors that looks better when worn than when looked at by itself.


----------



## roman totale XVII (Sep 18, 2009)

The BB Ecru is a perfect color. Anything more yellow does me no favors.

I find it highly versatile and have no trouble pairing it with both navy and earth tones. It will be a go to as the weather cools and the tweeds, herringbones and moleskins come out to play. 

My white OCDB gets the least wear of all. Blue, Pink, Ecru and the U Stripes all see far more usage.


----------



## Brio1 (May 13, 2010)

brozek said:


> Fair or not, but ecru shirts always seem Dwight-esque to me -


To my eye this is more closer to taupe.


----------



## 3button Max (Feb 6, 2006)

dwight is wearing a shirt color i havent(thankfully) seen since the 70s.
i had and loved a Brooks ocbd ecru in early 80s wore it with navy flannel suit and tie or brown herringbone,--never replaced it .


----------



## Dragoon (Apr 1, 2010)

Some shades that I have seen presented as ecru I like and some I don't. I have a cream ocbd on order from Mercer and I hope it will look good.

Not sure about the female and ecru thing either but if I ever ask my wife's opinion on whether the blue shirt or white shirt looks better with whatever; she usually tells me I need an ecru one.


----------



## swb120 (Aug 9, 2005)

Didn't like BB ecru shirts in the 80s, don't like them now. Save your money.


----------



## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

I'll chime in as a strong supporter of the BB ecru OCBD, which has no relation to Dwight's shirt above. It's perfect in fall and winter with tweeds and such. White is often too harsh of a contrast. In the cool months I wear it a lot more often than white.

As stated above, it's really a cream color.


----------



## Cowtown (Aug 10, 2006)

I don't think Dwight's shirt is ecru.

I agree with the other posters that ecru can work well with earth tones. I have a very pale complexion and do minimize white shirts in the winter for fear of looking too pale. I just don't like the ecru color and opt for blue or pink.


----------



## MidWestTrad (Aug 14, 2010)

Not my cup of tea. Will reach for a blue shirt or something with stripes if don't want all white.


----------



## ArtVandalay (Apr 29, 2010)

Cowtown said:


> I don't think Dwight's shirt is ecru.


More like a spicy dijon.


----------



## brozek (Sep 24, 2006)

I posted the photo, but I don't think Dwight's shirt is ecru either - that's just what off-white/cream/yellow-ish shirts always remind me of. Again, fair comparison or not, but I stay away from them.


----------



## TheWGP (Jan 15, 2010)

I have a couple - but only as the result of thrift finds. I find myself wearing them on some occasions, mostly with earth tones, but have had concerns about its being too yellowish as well. Had I not acquired these for no more than a couple of dollars each, I would not own them - I wouldn't purchase one at full price. Then again, thanks to the Exchange and trades, I purchase very little at full price these days! 

It seems the consensus is that you should wear ecru if you feel you must, but if you haven't, don't bother with it without serious consideration.


----------



## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

I'm with the fans of ecru and wear it year round.


----------



## JakeLA (Oct 30, 2006)

My favorite BB OCBD shirt color. But then I prefer off-white, bone, cream, etc. shades to pure white; that's usually what I get when I have Mytailor make up a shirt.


----------



## TheWGP (Jan 15, 2010)

Cards, I have to say that at least on my monitor, in those lights, at least two of the shirts look just plain white! I do like the look with the red shorts, though, that's a way to wear one I hadn't considered. Alas, neither of my ecrus is a buttondown, so I can't pull that off!


----------



## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

^^ They're all ecru - just different shades from different companies. I think there's a BB, Hathaway, and Sero shown above. Of the three, the Hathaway is closest to white, then BB, and the "darkest" or "creamiest" is the Sero. It never really occured to me that ecru would be considered "dingy" or "dirty" since when white shirts get "dingy" over time they always struck me as kind of grayish.


----------



## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

As for the Mercer ecru - Mississippi Mud has one so you might PM him and ask about the color.

Here's some more ecru from the WAYW thread

CMDC









ds23pallas

Patrick









Tucker


----------



## Sir Cingle (Aug 22, 2009)

This is an interesting discussion, with a good variety of opinion. It's funny: It's never even occurred to me before to buy an ecru shirt. For some reason, it just wasn't on the radar screen. And this is the case despite the fact that sometimes I get the sneaking suspicion that a white shirt can make me look unflatteringly pale. Perhaps I should think about an ecru shirt, though I'm not sold on the idea yet.

Press apparently carries an "eggshell" shirt. I take it that this is the same color, more or less, though I'm a bit colorblind myself.

https://jpressonline.com/shirts_solid_detail.php?id=750EGGK


----------



## Brio1 (May 13, 2010)

Cardinals5 said:


> I'm with the fans of ecru and wear it year round.


Are you wearing a Brooks Brothers Oxford (ecru) in the photos? Thanks.


----------



## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

Brio1 said:


> Are you wearing a Brooks Brothers Oxford (ecru) in the photos? Thanks.


I think pics 1 and 4 are a BB ecru ocbd, pic 2 is a Hathaway pinpoint, and pic 3 is a Sero ocbd.


----------



## jean-paul sartorial (Jul 28, 2010)

There's a guy in my building who wears almost everything BB and he's got an ecru in regular rotation. Typically pairs it up with a good ol' BB #1 in maroon/blue and navy jacket. It looks surprisingly good. The ecru looks better on him than white, plus I think the slight bit of yellow works as a complement to the navy.


----------



## EastVillageTrad (May 12, 2006)

My thoughts are that this thread is inane.

If you like them, buy it and wear it.

Full stop.


----------



## DocVenture (Sep 30, 2010)

I have one and I like it. Wear it with a brown corduroy sport coat all the time. As others mentioned, it would go nicely with tweeds and the like as well.


----------



## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

EastVillageTrad said:


> My thoughts are that this thread is inane.
> 
> If you like them, buy it and wear it.
> 
> Full stop.


And so ended all clothing forums.


----------



## EastVillageTrad (May 12, 2006)

AlanC said:


> And so ended all clothing forums.


Wouldn't be the worst thing ever. Back to basics...


----------



## tlocke (Jan 9, 2010)

I am in the supporter camp for the BB ecru ocbd. I have olive toned skin and wear lots of earth tones during the colder months. Ecru seems to be better with my skin tone than say the BB blue ocbd.


----------



## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

I own a number of solid ecru/cream/ivory shirts and like them for tweedwear as well as wear with olive or gray suits. I think they go especially well with burgundy, rust, or russet-colored ties, particularly in the soft madder tones.


----------



## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

Brio1 said:


> To my eye this is more closer to taupe.


IIRC, in one episode of the show Jim and Pam discuss "what shade of mustard" shirt Dwight is wearing during one of their snarky _sotto voce_ intra-office phone calls.

Schrute is usually shown in something pea green or mustardy, I believe, and seldom or never in anything as classy and understated as an ecru.

The shirt shades are meant to go w/ the glasses, the long out-of-fashion center-parted pompadour and longish sideburns, and the Firebird (again IIRC), all of which mark Dwight as a stylistic holdover from the 70s, which had to have been the formative decade during which he first watched a lot of TV. He also wears a Bundeswehr-surplus officer's overcoat as outerwear, and probably keeps sets of nunchuks and throwing stars in the trunk of his ride too.


----------



## Larsd4 (Oct 14, 2005)

Brio1 said:


> Do you feel that the white "washes you out" in the dead of winter? Perhaps the solution would be to get more sun in the dead of the winter.


Not likely in Minnesota. I have had other ecru shirts in the past that were further from white, maybe halfway from white to khaki. These look better on me for some reason.


----------



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

Top marks for ecru. Variety is the spice of life.


----------



## unmodern (Aug 10, 2009)

I agree that BB's ecru color is spot-on. Any lighter and it might as well be white; any yellower and it's severely limited in application. Like tlocke I have olive skin and ecru looks smashing on me, whereas solid blues of any shade only look decent. I tend to stick to ecru and stripes as a matter of fact. Like other commenters I own white OCBD's but they are always somehow disappointing.


----------



## Shriver (Apr 23, 2005)

Brooks' ecru shirt is the perfect ecru color.


----------



## brantley11 (Mar 31, 2009)

You are wearing my former bow tie, I love it.



Cardinals5 said:


> I'm with the fans of ecru and wear it year round.


----------



## snakeroot (Aug 30, 2008)

Ecru's not a real go-to, but I find it useful in a couple of narrow situations.

First is if I'm doing something relatively aggressive with jacket and/or tie color, particularly involving yellow accents, and want reduced contrast with the shirt to keep it within bounds and bridge/harmonize the yellow tones.

I also have some vintage bowties that with stripes/figures that were last pure white during Eisenhower's presidency. Wearing the "dingier" ecru shirt makes them read as white(r) and thus patinated rather than grubby.

Regards,


----------



## Reptilicus (Dec 14, 2004)

I prefer the Pima Cotton Oxford in cream from Mercer & Sons. A lot less yellow than ecru, and works well as a soft white.


----------



## Penang Lawyer (May 27, 2008)

I have worn them since they first came out. To me a great color.


----------



## Wisco (Dec 3, 2009)

Ecru in its various shades can work for some men, but it's all about your skin tone, eyes and hair. I think Flusser summarizes things pretty well here (Wikipedia entry below):

*Alan Flusser, Dressing the Man (2002)*

Flusser lays out two relatively simple rules:


*The degree of contrast between the wearer's skin and his / her hair and eyes should be reflected in the degree of contrast between the colors in his / her clothes.* "[The] great variety of shadings ... can be scaled down into two basic formats: contrast or muted. If your hair is dark and your skin light, you have a contrast format. If your hair and skin tone are similar, your complexion would be considered muted or tonal."[39] A high-contrast individual should dress in clothes with highly contrasting colors. The result will be that the "high-contrast format [of the clothing] actually invites the eye to look at [the wearer's] face because of its compatibility with his [dark] hair and light skin." By contrast, "Encasing a low-intensity complexion within a higher-contrast setting dilutes the face's natural pigmentation in addition to distracting the viewer's eye."[40]
*One or more of the tones in the skin and hair should be repeated in an article of clothing near the face.* One option is to repeat the color of the hair in a jacket, tie or scarf, in order to "frame" the face: "The obvious choice of suit shade would be that which repeated his hair color, thereby drawing the observer's attention to what was bracketed in between--in other words, his face."[39] Flusser uses a series of photos of models to demonstrate that it is possible to achieve attractive results by repeating the eye color or the skin tones in clothing articles that are close to the face, and that it is even more desirable to use several colors in the clothes to match some combination of skin / hair / eye colors.[41]


----------



## DCLawyer68 (Jun 1, 2009)

"Ecru" really can mean very different things. It can run from cream to something more akin to tan. I've bought and liked some, and others (those leaning more tan) I've discarded. A cream (just one shade away from white) with khaki and tan, or a brown sport coat, can be a really nice look. That said, I'm not particularly familiar with BB's ecru.


----------



## DCLawyer68 (Jun 1, 2009)

EastVillageTrad said:


> My thoughts are that this thread is inane.
> 
> If you like them, buy it and wear it.
> 
> Full stop.


I suppose that can be said about this entire forum.


----------



## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

Wisco said:


> Ecru in its various shades can work for some men, but it's all about your skin tone, eyes and hair. I think Flusser summarizes things pretty well here (Wikipedia entry below):
> 
> *Alan Flusser, Dressing the Man (2002)*
> 
> ...


Astute information Wisco...but way too complicated for me when I'm getting ready in the morning


----------

