The Most Versatile Check Style

Styling inspiration + shopping guide for microcheck items.

Jul 23, 2026

∙ Paid

Whenever I’m adding something new to my wardrobe, I try and take into consideration cross-compatibility. It’s fun to have a few statement pieces that only work with a few items, but generally speaking I like having as many options as possible. The more versatile my items, the more potential combinations I have, and therefore the more likely I’ll actually wear said items.

Obviously the most versatile items are plain fabrics, but it’d be no fun if I didn’t have a bit of pattern in the mix. As of late, I’ve been getting as much microcheck as I can get my hands on. While the definition is loose, I consider a microcheck to be anything with a repeating check width of maybe a half inch or less, or an inch with less colour-contrast. Generally speaking it should fit the bill of a non-solid-solid: a pattern with a small enough scale that you can almost treat it as a solid when styling. This makes it super easy to work with because adding bigger checks, stripes of any kind, and most other patterns/prints won’t make your outfit too busy.

There’s been a big resurgence of microcheck items in the menswear space, especially in the realm of light outerwear and shirting. Today I’ve put together a list of 27 well made, contemporary microcheck items across Outerwear, Tops, and Bottoms. The list includes some of my favourite, most trusted and referenced brands, along with a few newcomers. I’ll be following this up with a 2nd hand round-up shortly, so stay tuned for that!

And you like this article, here are a few more you may enjoy.