Shirts

Best Performance Dress Shirts for Cycling to Work [Top 5 in 2024]

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If you like to dress smartly, either for the office or just because you want to look the part, you may have found it challenging to find stylish shirts that work well when cycling. 

Often, shirts are made from restrictive materials like pure cotton, and will ride up your back as you cycle.

But fortunately, some smart people have figured out that certain cyclists actually like to look good too, and have created the ideal stylish cycling shirt for men all around the world.

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If you cycle in to work, you essentially have three options. You can wear your cycling clothes and get changed at work. You can don some ‘normal’ clothes and potentially feel uncomfortable and/or sweaty.

Or, you can wear cycling clothes that are both stylish and practical, and will still be more than acceptable under work dress codes where you have to wear a ‘proper’ shirt. That’s where this guide comes in.

Performance Dress Shirts for Commuters

Generally, you should find active dress shirts more comfortable and durable when undertaking everyday activities, including your commute to and from work.

Many will be loose-fitting, but made of moisture-wicking, breathable fabrics – primarily cotton, but also silk and more man-made materials. Indeed, they’re as comfortable as they are stretchable, for the most part.

But what’s particularly great about these shirts is how universal they are. Yes, they’re ideal for going about your day, ticking things off your to-do list, but you wouldn’t look out of place wearing one in an incredibly important business meeting, or simply for sitting at your desk from nine to five.

Plus, performance dress shirts require such little maintenance. They’re machine-washable, and dry in a flash.

Stretchy, Breathable + Moisture-Wicking Cycling Shirts

Before singling out some of the best cycling shirts for commuters in this department, let’s explore some of these qualities in a little more detail.

What makes stretchy, breathable, moisture-wicking materials so vital to a good performance dress shirt?

  • Breathable materials will help you dry off quicker – an especially important trait when commuting. If a dress shirt is breathable, it will release body moisture and vapours efficiently, preventing overheating or general discomfort.
  • Moisture-wicking fabrics adapt to any weather. In the cold, their materials will keep moisture away from your skin, lowering risk of hypothermia and other similar illnesses. When it’s warm, the fabric again diverts moisture away to help it evaporate, rather than letting it get under your skin and cause you discomfort.
  • A stretchy dress shirt, conveniently, is often a perfect blend of breathable and moisture-wicking, keeping you cool and relatively sweat-free. It provides plenty of benefits, including flexibility in fit and enhanced level of comfort, too.

So, perhaps if you’re after more shirts like Mizzen and Main, let’s get on with finding the best shirt for cycling to work:



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Stylish Shirt for Cycling to Work

1. Ministry of Supply Dress Shirts ($74 / £155)

Excellent moisture-wicking dress shirts

  • Moisture-wicking and wrinkle-resistant
  • Brushed fabric for enhanced skin-tight softness
  • Great choice of athletic material dress shirt

For lightweight dress shirts which brush off moisture and stay wrinkle-free better than most, this range from Ministry of Supply is a safe and relatively affordable bet. No ironing is required.

Its brushed fabrics only make their next-to-skin feel even softer – though, handily, they do offer the choice of either a slim or standard fit.

Available in a wide range of striking colours, including indigo and lavender, there’s also a host of women’s options to pick from on their site.

Interested? You can read our full review here.



Active Dress Shirt for Cyclists

2. Bluffworks Wrinkle-Free Dress Shirts ($98)

Best wrinkle-free shirts for cycling commuting

  • Athletic fit dress shirts
  • Anti-odour, moisture-wicking dress shirts
  • Perfect if looking for men’s stretch shirts

Perfect for slipping straight off your bike and into your desk chair, these wrinkle-free Bluffworks commuter shirts are made of stretchable materials for that extra bit of flexibility.

It doesn’t only resist wrinkles, but also odours, and is another highly efficient in wicking moistures, too. Meanwhile, handy hidden buttons will also help keep your collar in place – always a useful bonus.

That’s not all: Bluffworks are also one of the best places to find ‘cycling suits’ – check out our review of their Gramercy travel suit here.



Best Value Performance Dress Shirt for Commuters

3. UNIQLO Easy Care Stretch Slim Fit Shirt (£24.90)

Best stretch dress shirts for affordable prices

  • Particularly stretchable
  • Non-iron shirts available
  • Superb value for money

I’ve become a bit obsessed with UNIQLO recently because they offer great looking clothes with decent cycling functionality for absurdly good prices.

The Easy Care shirt is one such great example. Available for less than £25 (!) this shirt offers plenty of stretch for cycling and is crease resistant. Indeed, if you really hate ironing (I’m with you) UNIQLO even has a specialist non-iron shirt – perfect for throwing in your bag.

Available in a variety of simple yet stylish colours and fabrics, including white, black and light blue, cotton, denim and linen, they nail the classic ‘office’ look. Just excellent athleisure for cycling at an incredible price.



4. Mission Workshop The Hayes Cycling Shirt (£180)

Premium dress shirt for those prepared to splash out

  • Performance button-down shirts
  • Available in four colours and six sizes
  • Highly moisture-wicking, stretchable and breathable dress shirt

If you want stylish clothes that are perfect for commuting in, Mission Workshop provides you with plenty of excellent choices.

But this particular The Hayes Cycling Shirt is not just one of the most comfortable dress shirts to cycle in, it’s also a premium smart shirt that looks great in its own right.

This Oxford button-down technical dress shirt features performance moisture-wicking and is also breathable, yet warm. It also boasts plenty of stretch and is a very durable shirt that won’t wash out.

It even has a cool pen pocket, and is available in four stylish colours (light/dark blue chambray, charcoal chambray, natural white) and six sizes from extra small to extra-extra large, giving you a wealth of options in those departments.

You can read our full Mission Workshop Hayes Shirt review here.



5. Twillory Performance Shirts (£93)

Best performance dress shirts for commuters

  • Dynamic four-way stretch
  • Extreme breathability
  • Wrinkle-free, moisture-wicking shirts for cycling

Last but not least on our run-though of the best men’s cycling shirts, be sure to check out the fantastic Twillory performance fabric dress shirt.

With their four-way stretch and high level of breathability, you’ll feel comfortable whatever your circumstances, and their wrinkle-free, moisture-wicking properties only seal the deal.

Some of the best urban commuter cycling shirts which could fit perfectly into your workplace, they have the widest range of colours and styles on this list, as well as a bunch of deals not to be missed out on.

On their own, each costs a reasonable £93.00, but you can bag two for £130.00, three for £170.00, or four £208.00 (which works out at an astonishing £52.00 each).



Active Dress Shirts for Cycling – FAQs

What is a ‘Performance Dress Shirt’?

Performance dress shirts are styled like typical dress shirts, but boast discreet functionality for an active lifestyle. Such features include being moisture-wicking, breathable and more stretchy that standard shirts, meaning they can be comfortable for completing activities such as cycling to work.

How to Wash a Dress Shirt?

The vast majority of dress shirts are machine-washable, and will dry particularly quickly. Cold water is better for darker materials, and vice-versa for lighter or white shirts. 

Go for a low heat if also using a dryer. Ironing them while still damp will facilitate this job and also minimise the risk of shrinking the shirt.



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