What we wear affects the way we feel

In case you guys are wondering, yes, this is a Wayne Lowe shirt and the reason it isn't in our store is because we haven't launched the collection. Wayne Lowe Egyptian Cotton Shirts teaser alert!

Good day viewers of The Art of Wayne Lowe. I'm Reine, founder of Wayne Lowe. I was asked by my team to write an article for our blog (never thought that was part of my job scope), so here's something I came up with that would hopefully be of some help to you viewers.

Okay, here's what most people think: a shirt is just something you need to put on at work, thus any shirt will do as long as it's low-priced (admit it, most of us never really budget for dress shirts :( how unfortunate...), right?

For the yaysayers to the above....NO! YOU ARE WRONG! DEAD WRONG! Do pardon me as it kills me a little inside every time someone says that a shirt is merely a necessity for work and that it brings no value to their life. Allow me to explain why by relating a part of my life experience. 

Before I founded Wayne Lowe I was a practicing lawyer (yes, surprise surprise, a lawyer who gave up lawyering and became a shirt maker) and I viewed shirts only as a necessity for work. Back then I was a recent graduate and haven't really worn shirts throughout my life (youngsters always wear t-shirts, they are more comfy than shirts , or so we thought....). So what did I do? I went to Marks and Spencer and bought myself five white CVC (chief value cotton) shirts. Oh, and how did I end up with M&S shirts? I originally wanted to buy G2000 shirts since they were seen as the 'go to' brand for work shirts (kudos to their marketing team) but being a fairly large person, I couldn't get my size which was a 17.5 collar (they only carried up to size 17). 

So my work life started, wearing a M&S CVC white shirt everyday to work. I must say back then I hated to wear shirts. There's this 'hard' and unnatural feeling about those shirts and I dreaded going out for lunch every day. Oh my god..... The moment I was exposed to sunlight I started to melt, and this is when the shirt starts to make me feel miserable. The fabric begins to 'stick' on my skin, the course feeling from the fabric felt repulsive, ugh....the shudders... Now, that wouldn't be so bad if my day went smooth and well. However, in the world of lawyering your days usually don't sail smooth as butter. I remember one day especially where I woke up late (pulled an all-nighter due to work), had to rush to work and upon arrival, sweating, panting, I saw on my desk - a whole bunch of new files gleefully staring back at me, adding to my misery. At that point of time my blood was boiling, I was feeling upset, pissed at work, and the sticky course fabric clinging onto my skin like an insane ex-girl friend who won't let go aggravated the situation. My day was ruined. 

Now now peeps, I know you're thinking 'hey, your day was ruined by the chain of events that occurred, not because u wore a lousy feeling shirt!'. Look, I won't deny that, but I will also like to point out that the lousy shirt made my day worse than what has already been a disastrous day. Okay, let me give another narrative.... 

Fast forward to recent times, I wear shirts on a daily basis now (which shirt maker wouldn't?). I'm sure you have had those days where u woke up on the wrong side of bed and just felt like calling in sick, dreading to go to work. So I had one of those days, and my old nature struck where I felt frustrated that I had to put on a shirt for a meeting. Since I'm running a company now I can't just call in sick, I reluctantly washed up and starting putting on my shirt. Here's the amazing thing that happened and I kid you not.....the moment the sleeve of the shirt went through my arm, my first thought was 'oh! This shirt is good!' ( shameless advertising - I was putting on our shirt). I took some time to enjoy the feel of the shirt draping over my body, the smooth fabric that laid gently on my skin. At that very moment my frustrations for the day vanished into thin air and I went about with my chores feeling totally fine, in fact even a little jolly. 

So, the point I'm trying to put forward is that your shirt does affect how you feel way more than you might think. Gentlemen, please stop thinking that a shirt is a mere necessity for work. Transcend that, seek the intangibles a great shirt could provide you.

I would like to end this article with a shameless advertisement for our brand. Wayne Lowe shirts provide you what generic brand shirts could not- the comfort, the confidence and pride that you are wearing a great shirt that has been crafted with your comfort in mind instead of to maximize profit. Transcend basic necessity, seek comfort and the intangibles in our shirts.