Tell me who I am

If you are a man, your choice of what you wear is more restricted than if you are a woman. Still, sometimes one might wonder whether that holds true any longer since the dividing line is sometimes rather blurred. But if we are talking shirts, then there seem to be some very interesting statements being made. Like: Look at me - this is what I am.

So, politicians, almost always wear white shirts and sober old boy ties (I am dependable and trustworthy)

Celebrities only know the colour black - black shirt, black tie, black suit but sometimes it is a black T-shirt.

Would-be celebrities also wear black shirts, usually open-necked, with a lot of gold jewellery on show, still leaving plenty of visible chest hair.

For doctors, the plumage gets brighter and brighter as they progress upward. Consultants have the finest line of ultra bright but very tasteful, Jermyn Street shirts but never a jacket.

Workmen, of course, do not wear shirts, only T-shirts and, unless it's snowing, shorts are the order of the day, preferable with really clunky boots.

For the rest of the male population, any kind of shirt, non-descript or otherwise, is never the background to a tie, never buttoned at the neck, unless work demands it or you are invited to the Lord Mayor's Banquet.