To get the new year off to a good start, let's start with a blank slate: the white shirt.

    In recent years, men turned to shirt colors as vibrant as the booming economy. But we are now in an era of restraint, and a simple white dress shirt sends a savvy message. It says a man is ready for work and isn't vamping for attention. 'When times are tough, men want to be more serious about their look,' says Eric Jennings, men's fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue.

    But not all white shirts are equal. Pier Luigi Loro Piana, co-chairman and CEO of the Italian luxury clothes maker Loro Piana, says he sizes men up by their shirts, taking in the thickness of the buttons and the firmness of the collar. 'The quality of clothing tells you so much of what you need to know about a person,' Mr. Loro Piana says.

    The question is: How much must one spend to attain this level of quality? It's possible to buy a fitted cotton shirt -- with the higher-end feature of removable collar stays -- from Target for less than $30. Yet a man can easily spend $400 for a white shirt that isn't even custom-made. Buying a plain shirt from a famous designer can add a hefty surcharge to the price. So, just as the financial crisis was spreading around the globe last fall, I embarked on a mission to discover the ingredients of a distinguished dress shirt.

    For an expert's view, I consulted several knowledgeable men about their own shirt choices. Narrow-cut shirts are particularly popular today, says Mr. Jennings, who is filling Saks all over the country with fitted dress shirts. Think the TV series 'Mad Men' and the urban office environment of 1965. But there's more to a great dress shirt than style.

    Mr. Loro Piana, who sells some of the most expensive clothes on the planet, says he grew up in Brooks Brothers button-downs, though he wears Loro Piana today. In choosing shirts, he says he looks first at fabric quality and button thickness, and then at the cut of the shirt, and he insists on removable collar stays, as the sewn-in ones crumple over time.

    Francesco Trapani, the chatty chief executive of Bulgari, favors bespoke shirts from Italy's Micocci -- the same maker his father wore, he said. He cherishes each shirt; indeed, the one he was wearing when I chatted with him last fall had a rather frayed collar, and he conceded he needed to order some new shirts.

    Meanwhile, Steve Sadove, chief executive of Saks Fifth Avenue, told me he prefers Charvet shirts.

    A man can't go wrong with any of those choices. But most of these shirts, with the exception of Brooks Brothers', will set you back several hundred dollars apiece. Can quality be had for less?

    I headed to Paris and Milan -- centers for high-end menswear -- and consulted Colin Woodhead, an affable British gent who knows his buttons from his 'bones' （collar stays, to us Yanks） after decades of working as a fashion marketer. At the La Vallee luxury outlet mall outside Paris, we raced through the stores of more than a dozen shirtmakers （most of which are available in the U.S.） as Mr. Woodhead sought bargains. 'I'm from Yorkshire, and the definition of a Yorkshireman is a Scotsman with all the generosity squeezed out,' he announced.

    Mr. Woodhead liked the stitched placket and stiff collar of a Faconnable shirt he found, which cost about $86 at current exchange rates, but he found the logo stitched to the front left pocket to be tacky. An S.T. Dupont shirt looked 'good,' but a $103 Givenchy shirt had an 'unlovely' flimsy fabric. Dunhill's $73 shirts, made in Romania, were deemed 'good medium level' because of the single stitching at the shoulder where the seam had been doubled and rolled -- a sign of quality workmanship.

    Charles Tyrwhitt offered a solid 'workman's shirt,' with three levels of quality at prices ranging from $87 to $176. A $60 Cacharel had a 'rim-stitched' collar with the stitches close to the edge: This signals a cheaper make, according to Mr. Woodhead, though others I consulted said they don't make note of collar stitching.

    A Paul Smith shirt priced at $130 had loose threads in the buttonhole -- possibly the reason it was discounted at an outlet. Mr. Woodhead shook his head at Emporio Armani's shirts, priced at $113 -- too costly, in his estimation, for the workmanship. Alain Figaret won the afternoon, offering fine fabric for $74.

    My outing with Mr. Woodhead was enlightening, but to really test the shirts' capacity to impress those with discerning taste -- say, a boss or a future father-in-law -- I needed some laymen's opinions. I bought four shirts and made my husband, back in L.A., wear them for a month.

    The candidates included: a wrinkle-resistant shirt with removable collar stays from Target in Los Angeles, priced at $24.99; a simple, $105 Alain Figaret from a Paris boutique （Figaret is mostly sold online in the U.S.）; an Ermenegildo Zegna shirt purchased on the Avenue Georges V in Paris for $252; and a hand-sewn Borrelli shirt from Boule de Neige, a shop in Milan, for $329.

    My husband, James, isn't normally a white-shirt man. He leans toward blue and sage, and he often wears a casual, colored T-shirt under a dress shirt. So it may have skewed the results of our entirely unscientific experiment to have him suddenly look so Atomic Age. Rather than blending in, with his new white-shirt uniform, he drew compliments and felt that people gave him a new measure of respect.

    On the first day, James said, looking pleased, that when he retrieved our children from school, he had received a notable increase in attention from the other mothers. In fact, he drew a compliment from one mom who doesn't usually greet either of us. Enough said.

    'You're looking put-together today,' said a longtime friend one day when he wore the Target shirt. Indeed, Target won the value-for-price contest. It's hard to argue with $25 -- and the quality stood up to many of the shirts that Mr. Woodhead inspected. Still, the coarser fabric wouldn't fool a discriminating judge.

    The Figaret's shortcoming was its sewn-in collar stays, which might not hold up to long use. Yet, over our monthlong test, it offered terrific value: The fabric and stitching held up well against the pricier competition. Any Zegna shirt offers bragging rights among many businessmen and financiers. But the Zegna didn't draw more notice than the Figaret, which cost one-third as much.

    The Borrelli, even when still folded, drew the attention of a well-bred British friend, who touched the collar lovingly and said, 'Nice shirt. Look at those buttons.' In fact, of the four shirts, the Borrelli's soft-yet-substantial fabric, smooth collar and mother-of-pearl buttons made it James's favorite. He has been hinting wistfully about more.

    近几年来，随着经济的繁荣，男士们开始选择色彩大胆的衬衫。如今在经济萧条的市道下，一件式样简单的白色正装衬衫却可以传达出易于理解的资讯──一位男士 正准备投入工作，而不想哗众取宠、引人注目。Saks Fifth Avenue百货店的男士时尚顾问埃瑞克？詹宁斯（Eric Jennings）说："在艰难的市道下，男士们对自己的形像更为谨慎。"

    但并不是所有的白衬衫都能带来同样的效果。意大利奢侈服装品牌Loro Piana联席董事长兼首席执行官皮埃尔？鲁吉？劳罗？皮埃纳（Pier Luigi Loro Piana）透露，他正是根据男士所穿的衬衫给他们打印象分，钮扣的厚度和领子的挺刮度都是打分的因素。皮埃纳说："从一个人所穿服装的品质中， 你就能大致了解其人。"

    问题是：要想拥有上档次的服装，需要花费多少钱呢？在Target百货买一件纯棉衬衫，并且是配有"可拆卸衣领插竹"这一高端功能的衬衫，只需要不到30 美元。不过男士们花掉400美元买一件白衬衫也不是新鲜事，而且还不是量身订做的衬衫。出自名师之手的基本款衬衫，价格自然比普通衬衫高得多。去年秋天， 在经济危机席卷全球的背景下，我开始探寻高端正装衬衫与众不同的秘密。

    为获得权威看法，我还咨询了一些内行人士，请教他们如何为自己选择衬衫。詹宁斯透露，贴身剪裁的衬衫如今特别流行，全美国的Saks百货店都在销售这种衬 衫。这种着装风潮，就类似于电视剧《广告狂人》（Mad Men）中1965年的都市职场。不过一件衬衫是否上档次，除了款式以外还有其他决定因素。

    皮埃纳所在品牌生产的某些衬衫，已经成为世界上最昂贵的衬衫之一。不过皮埃纳却是穿着Brooks Brothers牌衬衫长大的，虽然如今的他只穿自己品牌的衬衫。他说，在选择衬衫时，自己首先看布料的品质和钮扣的厚度，然后是剪裁，并且只穿带有可拆 卸衣领插竹的衬衫，因为缝死在领子上的插竹经过一段时间就会变皱。

    待人随和的宝格丽珠宝（Bulgari）首席执行官法兰西斯科？特拉帕尼（Francesco Trapani）喜欢从意大利的Micocci品牌定做衬衫，这个品牌也曾是他父亲的选择。他很珍爱每一件衬衫。去年秋天我采访他时，他所穿衬衫的领角已 经有些磨毛了，他也承认，自己需要订一些新衬衫了。

    而Saks百货首席执行官史蒂夫？萨道夫（Steve Sadove）告诉我，他偏爱巴黎Charvet的定制衬衫。

    上面提到的这些牌子，无论怎么穿，都不会丢丑。不过除了Brooks Brothers以外，其中大部分都需要几百美元一件。能不能花较少的钱，买到同样品质的衬衫呢？

    我决定前往高端男装之都──巴黎和米兰一探究竟，并且聘请柯林？沃德海德（Colin Woodhead）作为顾问。这位和蔼可亲的英国绅士已经从事时尚行销数十年，对男士衬衫的一切了若指掌，从钮扣到"骨头"（英国人对插竹的叫法）都无所 不知。在巴黎城郊的La Vallee奢侈品减价直销卖场，我们流览了十多种品牌（其中大多数都可以在美国买到）,沃德海德一边逛一边讨价还价。他说道："我可是从约克郡来的，所 谓约克郡人，就是吝啬到极点的苏格兰人。"

    沃德海德对Faconnable衬衫的缝制口袋和硬挺的领子很认同，按照现行汇率，这件衬衫售价86美元，不过在沃德海德看来，左前胸口袋上的绣花商标有 点俗气。一件都彭（S.T. Dupont）衬衫看上去"不错",另一件售价103美元的纪梵希（Givenchy）衬衫的布料太薄了，"不讨人喜欢".罗马尼亚生产的登喜路 （Dunhill）衬衫售价73美元，看上去属于"中上水准",因为肩部只是单线缝合，而这个接缝应该用双线缝合并包边，才是精细做工的标志。

    Charles Tyrwhitt提供三种档次的坚固型"上班族衬衫",价格从87美元到176美元不等。价格为60美元的Cacharel衬衫采用"边线缝合"的领子， 缝合部位靠近领子边缘，沃德海德认为这是廉价的标志。但是我咨询的其他人都表示自己并不在意领子的缝合方式。

    一件售价130美元的Paul Smith衬衫扣眼锁线有点松，可能这正是其减价的原因吧。沃德海德在一件安普里奥？阿玛尼（Emporio Armani）衬衫面前直摇头。这件衬衫标价113美元。他认为，就其做工而言，这个标价实在太高了。这个下午的胜者是Alain Figaret的衬衫，以74美元的价格提供了优质布料。

    与沃德海德的这次购物之旅对我很有启发。不过，为了检验符合专家标准的衬衫是否能打动眼光敏锐的重要人士，比如老板或未来的岳父，我需要一些外行人的意见。所以，我买了四件衬衫，让我在洛杉矶的丈夫各穿一个月。

    四件衬衫分别是：洛杉矶Target百货出售的带可拆卸插竹的防皱衬衫，售价24.99美元；一家巴黎时装店出售的Alain Figaret简单款衬衫，售价105美元（这个品牌在美国多为网上销售）;在巴黎Avenue Georges V 百货公司购买的Ermenegildo Zegna衬衫，售价252美元；以及在米兰Boule de Neige商店购得的Borrelli手工缝制衬衫，售价329美元。

    我的丈夫詹姆斯（James）并不常穿白衬衫。他偏爱蓝色和灰绿色，还喜欢在正装衬衫下面穿一件彩色休闲T恤。让他的形像忽然间变得如此富有"原子时代" 气息，可能会使这个毫无科学性的实验结果产生偏差。换上崭新的白衬衫"制服"后，詹姆斯不但没有泯然于众人，反而赢得不少赞赏，他感觉人们更加尊重他了。

    换上新制服的第一天，詹姆斯高兴地说，他去学校接孩子的时候，其他孩子的母亲对他的关注明显增加。还有一位并不经常和我们打招呼的妈妈也恭维了我的丈夫。这已经足够说明问题了。

    还有一天，我丈夫穿的是Target衬衫。 一位老朋友说："你这一身搭配得真好啊。"而这件Target衬衫也赢得了最佳性价比奖。对于25美元的价格来说，它实在是无可挑剔，其品质甚至可以与沃 德海德考察过的很多其他衬衫相媲美。不过，这件衬衫的布料比较粗糙，这逃不过挑剔鉴赏家的眼光。

    Figaret的缺点是领子插竹是缝死的，因此可能不耐穿。不过在一个月的测试中，这件衬衫还是体现出不凡的价值：布料和缝制都与价格更贵的竞争对手不分 高下。穿上Zegna衬衫，很多企业家和金融家就有了吹牛的本钱。但是这件Zegna并没有赢得比Figaret更多的关注，价格却是后者的三倍。

    而Borrelli衬衫，即使是迭着的时候，也仍然引起一位颇有修养的英国朋友的注意。他用手轻抚着领子说："很不错的衬衫，看看这些扣子！"在四件衬衫 中，这件Borrelli凭藉柔软而富有质感的面料、平滑的领子和珍珠母钮扣成为詹姆斯的最爱。他甚至一相情愿，暗示我再给他买几件。