The Woodies Next Generation Performance Shirt (MIGHT BE) the Best Shirt You’ll Ever Wear

I’m not a fashion blogger, but I know a great shirt when I see one. And the Woodies Next Generation Performance Shirt is the best performance dress shirts I’ve tested. It’s made of a high-tech fabric that wicks away sweat, it has a perfect fit, and it looks great. Whether you’re wearing it to the office or out on the town, this shirt will keep you looking sharp.

Performance Shirt, Reinvented by Woodies: The Details

This shirt is full of features:

• Moisture-wicking
• Wrinkle Resistant
• Smart Stretch
• Lightweight
• Odor resistant

Keep reading our honest first impressions on getting an early version of this shirt, from Woodies.

We know a thing or two about high-performance dress shirts

While I’m no fashionista, I know a thing or two about high-performance dress shirts. I’ve tried all the major brands, from Mizzen + Main to Ministry of Supply to mainstream brands like Brooks Brothers that say their shirts are wrinkle free.

Some of them are flat-out lying (check out our guide to the best performance dress shirts), but many of them also look great (read our Mizzen + Main Review for our favorite and our Twillory Review for our least favorite – but also check out the Twillory Suit Review and our Wrinkle-Free Suit Review). It can be hard to tell what’s the real deal, and what’s not.

We get asked to review a lot of products

Let me shoot it to you straight here: I get asked to review a ton of different products. It’s actually a bit overwhelming.

It actually takes something fairly significant to get me to sit down and write a full review. I’m pretty choosy about what I want to spend my time on.

What was it about this shirt that made me interested?

The first thing is that it’s being launched as a Kickstarter campaign (more on that in just a second). It’s really tough to back something like clothing on Kickstarter, but the promise the brand made was intriguing enough to at least review.

The second reason isn’t as obvious: it comes in solid colors. Most performance dress shirts like Mizzen + Main come in a variety of patterns and colors. That’s because the patterns hide the wrinkles (and they do a good job, frankly).

But the thing is, I actually prefer solid colors. I think they look sharper and more sophisticated. And when I found out that Woodies was making a performance shirt in a solid color, I knew I had to check it out.

The Performance Shirt, Reinvented comes in four classic colors: Heathered Chambray, Light Blue, Light Blue Heathered Gingham and Vibrant White.

What is this shirt made from?

While the label says that the shirt is 100% Cotton, Woodies told me the fabric is so new that the factory didn’t have the pre-release labels correct. They said it’s a brand new 100% Machine Stretch Polyester.

For comparison, any other high-quality performance dress shirt we’ve tested is 100% Polyester, some have a blend of Spandex/Elastane.

Why You Need This Shirt

If you’re like me, you’ve probably had some bad experiences with button-down shirts. They wrinkle and they don’t always fit right. But the Woodies Next Generation Performance Shirt is different. It’s made of a high-tech fabric that wicks away sweat and keeps you cool and dry no matter what you’re doing. And it has a perfect fit thanks to Woodies’ advanced sizing algorithms.

This shirt is also really versatile. You can wear it to the office or out on the town. It looks great with jeans or dress pants. And it comes in a variety of colors so you can find the perfect shirt for any occasion.

A quick note on the sizing

Woodies does custom sizing. Yes, seriously. That means you can take your measurements at home and input them into their sizing algorithm. Then, Woodies will make a shirt that’s guaranteed to fit you perfectly.

I was a little skeptical at first. I mean, how could a computer know my body better than I do? But I have to say, the shirt fits me perfectly. I would say like a glove, as a tired cliche, but gloves are too tight to be compared with a shirt. I’d say the shirt fit me like a well-tailored suit.

The one thing I didn’t like about the Performance Shirt, Reinvented

I was able to get my hands on an early version of the Performance Shirt, Reinvented in White. To be honest, it looks awesome the second you put it on.

No need to iron and none of the “fake” looking material that plagued Mizzen + Main’s first generations of shirts (they’ve since improved).

TMI WARNING

The one thing I didn’t like was that the fabric shows thick chest hair a bit more than I would prefer. I’m self conscious about it, for some odd reason – so you may need an undershirt if you’re going to wear this and you’ve got some thicker chest hair.

I don’t have a glorious Burt Reynolds hairy chest, but the hair I do have is rather thick and can poke through the shirt. As you can see in the photos, it’s barely noticeable. I’m getting the Heathered Chambray version shortly and will post a more comprehensive review.

So, the lesson is: if you’re hairy, maybe try a darker color. If not, don’t worry about it.

Why You Should Back This Kickstarter Campaign

Woodies is running a Kickstarter campaign to fund production of this shirt. And I think it’s worth your backing for a few reasons.

First, this is a shirt that actually solves a problem. If you’re sick of button-downs that don’t fit right or that wrinkle easily, this is the shirt for you.

Second, Woodies is a small company that’s shaking up the status quo. They’re taking on the big brands with a better product and a smarter business model. I’m always excited to see underdog companies succeed.

And finally, this allows you to get in on a super early-bird pricing of only $89 a shirt (if you buy just one). You can buy 4 shirts for $299 (or about $75 a shirt). That’s a great deal for a custom-fitted, high-quality performance shirt.

So if you’re looking for a better button-down shirt, I urge you to back this Kickstarter campaign.

Plus, I’ve personally tested out the Performance Shirt, Reinvented and it’s the real deal – not a pie-in-the-sky piece of vaporware (or menswear).

The only downside to the campaign?

The only downside of the Kickstarter campaign is that you have to wait until January to get this amazing shirt on your body. But if the rest of the year has been any indication, January will be here before you know it.

So what are you waiting for? Back the Woodies Performance Shirt, Reinvented on Kickstarter now!

Next Generation Performance Shirt, Reinvented Review: Final Thoughts

The Woodies Next Generation Performance Shirt is one of the best button-down shirt I’ve ever seen. It’s made of a high-tech fabric that wicks away sweat, it has a perfect fit, and it looks great no matter where you wear it. If you’re sick of button-downs that don’t perform well, back this Kickstarter campaign today and get yourself one of these shirts. You won’t regret it.