Various forms of traditional clothing from Europe or Africa also feature embroidered patterns, but fall outside of the rules of style and are exempt from our thesis, which is this: embroidery does nothing for a man’s shirt. Much like screen-printed shirts, it’s well nigh impossible for a man to wear a shirt covered with needle-work and be taken seriously – try wearing one when you go to meet your girlfriend’s parents for the first time and see for yourself. If you want a distinctive shirt that won’t cost you your dignity, we recommend overlooking embroidery.