Some of the most common patterns when it comes to Men's cotton shirts are the chalk stripes where the thickness of chalk stripes is very high. Whereas there is this self-stripes pattern that give an impression of stripes due to the weave the fabric has.

There is no basic difference in colour between the stripe and the background. The check/plaid shirts are the most common patterns usually used synonymously though there is a slight difference.

When we talk about checks, the shirts have squares/rectangles, etc. In different colors and resemble a checker board. Each square/rectangle is referred to as a check.

While in plaids, wide ranging patterns are composed of bars of varied, multiple stripes which cross at right angles to form squares or rectangles of different design or colors that are regularly repeated.

In terms of sleeves of the cotton shirts, the two most well known sleeves are short (or half) and long (or full) sleeves. The sleeve length in both these classes varies from brand to brand and style to style.

  In full sleeve cotton shirts, the normal sleeve length is 84-86 cm. The cuff on the sleeves of these cotton shirts is also of two types such as the single cuff where the buttons are provided to close the cuff. The second one is the double cuff wherein the cuff has two layers of cloth i.e. the cuff is reversed.

Double cuff are worn with cuff links and the cuffs are also a little broader than in single cuff. However, cuff links can be worn on single cuff shirts also. In cotton shirts pleats are provided at the back of the shirt.

There can be two pleats or one single pleat in the middle. In Men's cotton shirts the buttons are usually made from plastic but in premium shirts, mother of pearl buttons are also used. These kinds of buttons are made from sea-shells and give a distinct shine.