A while back I spent an afternoon reading shirt guides that told me exactly what a good business shirt should be. Long-staple cotton. A collar that holds its shape. Seams that don’t pucker after three washes. All correct, all useless, because not one of them named a single brand worth buying, or told me where a guy in Europe could actually get one.
So this is the guide I wish I’d had. Fourteen brands I’d genuinely point a friend toward, sorted by what you’ll actually pay, with the buying friction spelled out. A few of these are household names in Germany. A few you’ve probably never heard of. And a couple of obvious names you might expect aren’t here at all, which I’ll get to at the end.
How I sorted this list
Three things mattered. First, the shirt has to be good: proper cotton, a weave that isn’t see-through, a collar and cuffs without gimmicks. Second, you have to be able to buy it in Europe without a surprise. That means either a European seller or a brand that ships Delivered Duty Paid, so the price you see at checkout is the price you pay. No parcel held hostage by a courier wanting import fees. Third, the price has to make sense for what you get.
The tiers below are by price, not quality. A €70 Olymp will serve most men perfectly well for years. The €300 shirts are better made, but “better” past a certain point is about handwork and cloth you’ll notice mostly when you’re the one wearing it. Buy up the ladder because you want to, not because you think you have to. And treat every price here as a rough ballpark, not a promise. Shirts move with the collection and the sales, so the numbers are a guide, not gospel.
For colors and fabric, keep it simple: white, light blue, and a light blue-and-white stripe cover almost everything a business wardrobe needs. Poplin for a smooth, dressy finish, twill for something a touch warmer and more forgiving, pinpoint oxford for a shirt with a bit more texture and body. That holds across every brand here.
The everyday workhorses
This is where most men should start, and where a lot of them should just stay.
Olymp
The default answer in Germany for a reason. Olymp shirts are cut well, hold up to constant washing, and their non-iron finish is one of the better ones on the market if you hate ironing. Expect to pay around €50–80. If you buy one shirt from this whole list, a white Olymp Level Five or Luxor is a safe, unglamorous, correct choice. One thing to check first: a lot of Olymp shirts carry a small embroidered O on the chest. It’s discreet, but if you’d rather wear a business shirt with no branding on it at all, look at the model before you buy. olymp.com
1863 by Eterna
Eterna’s standard shirts run cheaper, but the 1863 line is the one worth your attention: better cotton, cleaner detailing, and it still sits under €100, usually around €80–100. It’s the sweet spot in Eterna’s range, and the New Kent collar options suit a business look nicely. eterna.de
Charles Tyrwhitt
The British option that actually works for us. Their EU site ships Delivered Duty Paid, so no customs games, and their near-permanent multi-buy deals (four shirts for a set price) bring the per-shirt cost down to around €45–60. Non-iron twills and pinpoint oxfords are their bread and butter. Just note the deals are the point; a single shirt at full price is less compelling. charlestyrwhitt.com/eu
Suitsupply
The one brand here with a real-world advantage: over a hundred stores across Europe, from Munich to Milan to Amsterdam, so you can walk in, try the fit, and have it altered on the spot instead of gambling online. The shirts use Italian cloth, run to a slimmer modern cut, and sit around €90–150. Worth being straight about it: Suitsupply’s loudest praise is for its suits, not specifically its shirts, and it’s a modern menswear label rather than a heritage shirtmaker. But as a no-shipping, no-customs way to get a good shirt that actually fits, it’s hard to beat. suitsupply.com
Profuomo
A Dutch family firm making shirts since 1934, and a shirt specialist rather than a fashion brand that dabbles. Their non-iron travel shirts wash, hang, and go straight back in the wardrobe without touching an iron, which is the whole point for most business shirts. Slim cuts, decent cloth, around €120 for the travel line, and easy to find across Europe. If you want a dedicated shirtmaker that isn’t German, this is a solid pick. profuomo.com
The step up
Here you’re paying for nicer cotton, more careful construction, and shirts that look a little less like everyone else’s.
Brooks Brothers
The American institution that invented the button-down collar. It has a dedicated European site (brooksbrothers.eu), so buying from the continent is clean. Their non-iron shirts are genuinely good, and the house cut runs a bit fuller, which suits men who find German slim fits punishing. Roughly €150–160. brooksbrothers.eu
van Laack
A Berlin shirtmaker since 1881, and one of the strongest classic names Germany has. It uses cloth from top Italian mills like Albini and Alumo, and the construction (clean seams, real three-hole mother-of-pearl buttons) holds up over years of washing. Most business shirts run around €140–190. One honest note: it’s excellent for the money, but set it next to a hand-finished British or Neapolitan shirt and you’ll see where the extra handwork went. For a classic German business shirt that isn’t chasing trends, it beats most of what’s around it. vanlaack.com
Sir of Sweden
A Swedish maker that leans modern: slimmer cuts, easy-care fabrics, and an extra-long-sleeve option that’s a small blessing if you have long arms and are tired of cuffs riding up. Around €100–130. More fashion-forward than the German workhorses, so try it if you want something with a sharper silhouette. sir.se
Figaret
France’s answer to a proper shirtmaker, going since 1968 and still the name a Frenchman reaches for first. Clean classic cuts, good cotton, and their signature collar options, usually around €145–165. One thing to know so you’re not surprised: despite the Paris heritage, a lot of the production is in Tunisia, which is common at this price and doesn’t hurt the quality, but it’s not the made-in-France story the name implies. A good way to bring some Parisian classicism into the rotation. figaret.com
Pini Parma
The quiet value pick of this whole guide. A Milan-based, direct-to-consumer brand making 100% Italian shirts with sartorial details (mother-of-pearl buttons, hand-finished collars) at a price that undercuts the big Italian names, generally around €130–190. If you want a taste of Italian shirt-making without the luxury markup, start here. piniparma.com
Stenströms
Swedish, and a clear step above the workhorses in cloth and finish, using two-fold cotton that feels noticeably better on. This is where you start paying premium money, anywhere from about €140 up to €340 depending on the model, and it’s worth it if you’ve worn cheaper shirts long enough to know what you’re upgrading from. Not a first-shirt purchase. stenstroms.com
The top of the range
Buy here because you appreciate the craft, not because your job requires it. It doesn’t.
Eton
The Swedish name that turned dress shirts into a luxury product. Extra-long-staple cotton, a signature wrinkle-resistant finish that doesn’t feel plasticky, and buttonholes stitched well past the industry norm. Their dress shirts run from about €150 up to around €350 depending on the line. Widely stocked across Europe, so easy to find and try on. etonshirts.com
Finamore
Handmade in Naples since 1925, and it shows: soft, largely hand-finished construction and some of the best cloth you can put on your back. This is proper luxury, with prices to match, roughly €310–365 depending on the model and fabric. A shirt for someone who already owns plenty of good ones and wants something special. Italy is in the EU, so no customs friction. finamore.it
Luigi Borrelli
Another Neapolitan house in the same league as Finamore, known for its hand details and beautiful fabrics, generally around €250–350. Less of a direct-to-consumer operation, so you’ll mostly find it through European menswear retailers rather than the brand’s own shop. If you’re spending at this level, it’s worth cross-referencing the Basic and Simple brand directory to see who stocks it near you.
Brands you might expect that aren’t here
A few obvious names are missing, and that’s on purpose.
Hugo Boss is the big one. It’s everywhere, every European department store carries it, and plenty of men reach for it first. The shirts are fine. But a good part of the €90–130 you pay is going on the name, and for that money van Laack or even a well-chosen Olymp gives you better cloth and a cleaner collar. Boss isn’t a mistake, it’s just rarely the best value in the room.
Uniqlo sits at the other end. Cheap, on every high street, and their non-iron shirts are a perfectly good stopgap if you need something by tomorrow morning. Just know the fabric is thinner and the cut blockier than the workhorses above. Fine as a backup, not the shirt you build a wardrobe on.
And the fashion labels in general (Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and the like) make decent shirts, but they’re clothing brands that happen to sell shirts, not shirtmakers. For a business shirt specifically, the specialists above give you more for your money.
So what should you actually buy?
If you take nothing else from this: you do not need a €300 shirt to look good in an office. Start with a white and a light blue from Olymp, Profuomo, or 1863 by Eterna, get the fit right, and you’re already better dressed than most of the room. Add a Charles Tyrwhitt multi-buy if you want to fill out the rotation cheaply.
Move up to Brooks Brothers, Pini Parma, or Stenströms when you know exactly what you’re upgrading and why. And treat Eton, Finamore, and Borrelli as what they are: a pleasure, not a requirement.
That afternoon of reading taught me what a good shirt is. It took a lot longer to work out where to actually get one without a fight. Now you don’t have to. Go buy the white one.
