Reversible Short Sleeve Shirts

Historically, reversible garments were developed to serve two distinct functions. For example, a reversible jacket may be cotton on one side, and waxed canvas on the other in case of sudden inclement weather. The Stock 2-in-1 short sleeve shirts are reversible simply for the function of two different looks, or possibly to instantly and fashionably conceal an unsightly stain.

The idea came to us while browsing a swatch book from our favorite Japanese textile mill and stumbled upon a light airy double cloth. This particular fabric is unique in that it's two different woven fabrics tacked together, allowing for very different appearances (i.e. plaid/solid, stripe/polka dot).

To develop a shirt that's fully reversible, we had to get creative. The initial idea was to have buttons on the inside and outside of the placket mirroring each other. Had we done this, the shirt would have buttoned the opposite way (right over left) when reversed, which is how women's and European shirts are. To avoid the awkward sensation of buttoning a shirt backwards, we settled on staggered buttons and buttonholes. So, each side of the placket features both buttons and buttonholes- one on top of the other.

There are a couple other design subtleties we applied to make these shirts work. You'll notice that the sleeve hem is banded, rather than folded under like a standard short sleeve shirt. This avoids the appearance of a contrast hem when reversed (note: the sleeves are rolled in the image above). Likewise, the bottom hem of the shirt isn't actually hemmed- it's serged for the same reason. Unlike our standard button down shirts, we didn't put a label on the inner yoke, because when reversed, it becomes the outer yoke (and no one wants a label on their back). So, we designed a "double" printed label that folds around the front placket.