Buying pilot shirts comes down to four decisions. Get them right once and you won't think about it again for a couple of years.

1. Eyelets or clean front

This is the only one you can get objectively wrong, so start here.

Eyelets are the small reinforced holes at the shoulder that hold your epaulets. If your airline uses shoulder boards — the bars showing rank — you need them.

Clean front shirts have no eyelets and no shoulder loops. A growing number of carriers have dropped shoulder boards entirely, and some pilots prefer the cleaner look for commuting or for non-revenue travel.

Check your airline's uniform standard before ordering. It's a two-minute check that prevents the most common return we see.

2. Fabric

The flight deck is a specific environment: direct sun through a large window, limited airflow, and long periods seated followed by a walk through a terminal with a bag. Most standard uniform shirts were not designed for it.

Poly-cotton uniform blend. The default. Durable and cheap, but it holds heat, shows sweat, and wrinkles in a suitcase.

Cotton. Comfortable and breathable, and it looks excellent — for about a day. It wrinkles readily, and hotel irons are not to be relied on.

Performance fabric. Engineered synthetic yarns with stretch. Wicks moisture instead of absorbing it, releases wrinkles as it hangs, and moves when you reach overhead. It won't feel like cotton, and if the weight is too light it can be less opaque than you'd like — worth checking before you commit to a full rotation.

The practical test: can it come out of a bag, hang in a hotel bathroom, and be worn in the morning? That question decides most of it.

3. Fit

Issued shirts are usually cut generously, because they have to fit everyone. Two things to think about:

• Through the shoulders and chest. You reach up constantly. A shirt that's tight across the back pulls out of the waistband every time you touch the overhead panel. Stretch fabric solves most of this; cut solves the rest.
• Length. If you're tall, a larger size adds width, not length — which is the wrong trade. Tall sizing adds body and sleeve length while keeping the fit.

Women's pilot shirts are worth calling out separately. A men's shirt in a smaller size is not a women's shirt — the shoulder, chest and waist proportions are different, and it shows under epaulets.

4. How many

Work backwards from the longest trip you fly regularly.

• Day trips and two-days — four shirts is comfortable.
• Three and four-day trips — six. You want one shirt per day plus a spare, because a spill on day two shouldn't ruin days three and four.
• Long international rotations — more, and prioritise fabric that can be washed in a sink and dry overnight.

The single most useful habit: pack one more shirt than the trip requires. Delays and diversions turn a three-day into a four-day with no warning.

The small stuff that matters

• Metal collar stays. Plastic ones warp and vanish in the wash. Under epaulets, a curling collar is obvious.
• Undershirts. They take the sweat so the uniform shirt doesn't, which extends the life of the whole rotation.
• Rotate, don't favour. Wearing all six shirts evenly makes them all last longer than wearing two constantly.
• Wash cool, hang immediately. Most performance fabric needs nothing else.

Common questions

Do I need eyelets on my pilot shirt?

Only if your airline uses epaulets. If it doesn't, a clean-front shirt is correct. Check the uniform standard.

How many pilot shirts do I need?

Four for short trips, six if you regularly fly three or four-day rotations — one per day plus a spare.

What is the best fabric for a pilot shirt?

Performance fabric for most pilots, because it handles heat, sweat and suitcase wrinkles. Cotton is more comfortable to the touch but needs pressing.

Can women wear men's pilot shirts?

They can, but the fit is compromised through the shoulder, chest and waist. Shirts cut for women fit properly under epaulets.

What about tall sizes?

If your sleeves ride short or the shirt untucks, tall sizing adds length without adding width. Sizing up does the opposite.

What Flight makes

Pilot uniform shirts in performance fabric — athletic stretch, moisture-wicking, wrinkle-resistant, machine washable — with epaulet eyelets or a clean front, in men's, women's and tall, at $49.99. A breathable cloud cotton option at $34.99. Plus uniform trousers, a washable black tie, performance dress socks, the Glide ratchet belt, undershirts and magnetic collar stays.