The best silk shirts that ooze Seventies style

In our #woke times, any connotations with Seventies style sleaze is distinctly off the table. What once passed for a Boogie Nights lothario is thoroughly called out as a sex pest thanks to the #metoo movement. But a key component of this chap’s uniform has made a defiant return in recent months; the silk shirt.

Of course, I’m not saying that every man who wore a silk shirt in the 1970s was a seedy sort, but it was synonymous with a sort of casting couch hedonism at worst, and Bee Gees style disco cheesiness at best. Those that boogied to Night Fever are now more into Night Nurse.

Not so these days; I noticed the subtle shift a year ago at a dinner in Paris with an assortment of fashion types, no less than three of them in navy silk shirts worn with slick evening jackets (two of them, in their silky attire, went on to be praised on Instagram by fashion grande dame Carine Roitfeld, which is the sartorial equivalent of the Pope’s blessing), looking sharp and elegant.

Brioni silk shirt, ￡177,  Saks Fifth Avenue

The brand that initially put fruity shirts on the map - Versace - is reigniting the trend and taking ownership of it in its new crop of lavishly printed silk numbers, which have become cult items in certain circles.

Louis Vuitton’s silk shirts are like catnip to style bloggers and instagram stars, while the rise of pyjama shirts as options for everyday attire has seen a whole host of silken versions appear. Man of the moment Don Glover, maker of the astounding This Is America video that has gone into the viral stratosphere, has been known to sport silk shirts on the red carpet, ditto Bruno Mars.

Cobra S.C. shirt, ￡360, Matches Fashion

So is it something that should be considered? It’s certainly an elegant option for summer, perhaps best kept to holiday sojourns; a silk shirt in tropical climes with a lightweight unlined jacket can look breezy and debonair. It’s also something that’s definitely ‘evening’, the liquid smoothness and shimmer of the fabric happily complimenting that effervescent glass of prosecco at sundowners.

Printed shirt, ￡1,260, Versace

And while Versace and Vuitton would try and convince you to go all out in opulently printed varieties, it takes a brave man to pull it off; like that Parisian trio, it’s best to stick to one solid colour or keep prints minimal at best.

And it’s also worth being brutal with yourself about whether you have the body type to pull it off; silk clings, so it suits rakish, reed types best. Not a hint of Stringfellow lothario antics involved.