How I learnt to love shirts

I spent my teenage years, and then most of my twenties, escaping from shirts. This is because shirts, worn under jumpers and neatly tucked into trousers and skirts, were a key element of my look in elementary school, as envisioned by my always-elegant mother. The shirts were rigid, uncomfortable and hateful, with scalloped collars sometimes embroidered with painfully cutesy little florals.

So it was with a raised eyebrow that my mum observed, when I was last home, “You wear shirts now,” her style efforts finally vindicated.

It is true. In the past year I have acquired two shirts, and the handful I already owned, usually relegated to the bottom of my wardrobe, have been on a heavy rotation. I’ve developed a particular affinity for silky and semi-transparent shirts as a “going out” look, often left unbuttoned both ways à la Gwyneth Paltrow in the 1998 film Great Expectations. For daytime, I’ve been opting for a light cotton men’s shirt from Givenchy that I bought at a car boot sale about eight years ago for £2. It’s flowy, light and oversized, and is easy to wear over a tank top and jeans in spring or knotted at the waist to go to the beach or the park in summer.

In short, I have discovered what most people already know: shirts are one of the most versatile items of clothing we have in our wardrobes. They can be formal and institutional, like the ones I wore in my childhood, but clever styling can open up endless possibilities.

As a beginner shirt-wearer, I’ve made plenty of mental notes walking through the streets of London, where shirting abounds, over maxi- and miniskirts, under vests and over T-shirts, worn as maxidresses and as midriff-baring crop tops. The autumn/winter catwalks were awash with shirting too, and while preppy styles were popular, many brands offered more intriguing takes: shirts with exaggerated collars at The Row, power-dressing-inspired shirts at Bottega Veneta, oversized shirts over swishing skirts at SS Daley.

Tory Burch even moved me to reconsider the hated shirt-under-jumper pairing of my childhood, with a silky brown number worn under a scarlet sweater. The open collar and the extra-long cuffs of the shirt, paired with the slouchiness of the jumper, transformed the preppiest of combinations into a grungy look. 

Inspired, I reached out to more experienced shirt-wearers for tips on how to expand my options in preparation for autumn. “We don’t realise it when we buy a shirt, but the collar and the size of it really matters, it really affects the way you express your look of the day,” says Gaëlle Drevet, founder of everyday essentials brand The Frankie Shop, donning a loosely fitted white shirt, collar unbuttoned. She advises lifting the collar to achieve a smarter look; when buttoning it all the way up, roll the sleeves to break the conservative effect. If wearing the shirt under a jumper, keeping the collar tucked in with just the white border showing, as seen at Gucci, will help modernise the ensemble.

If you, like me, are still not keen on preppy, you can turn the layering on its head, as advised by stylist Sylvie Mus. “I like the look of a simple T-shirt showing under a shirt of the same colour, with the top buttons undone,” she says. “For the colder months, I love a simple fitted turtleneck under a striped shirt. You can mix and match the colours of the shirt and turtleneck as you like.”

Otherwise, swap jumpers for dresses. “We loved this season the way some very occasion-focused brands started creating shirts to style under strapless dresses for that more casual approach to occasion dressing,” Liane Wiggins, head of womenswear at Matches Fashion, writes via email. She points to the styling of a strapless gown over a buttoned-up white shirt with tie on the Valentino runway, and to Colombia-based brand Kika Vargas, where shirts have been worn under dresses but left partially unbuttoned, giving more breadth to the neck and décolleté.

I was sceptical of the wearability of this combination in real life, but the London streets proved me wrong. I recently spotted a woman looking great in a light blue shirt worn under a black over-the-knee dress belted at the waist. It was a put-together look for the office, but the contrast between the masculine shirt and the feminine short dress was intriguing enough for an evening out afterwards.

One pairing that I would like to ace this autumn is a long skirt, denim or otherwise, and a shirt, as inspired by London-based designer SS Daley. In east London I’ve seen many long skirts worn with shirts knotted at the waist, but for a less summery look, Drevet suggests wearing an untucked oversized shirt, but only if the skirt is a certain length. “The right [length] is mid-calf,” she says. “If the skirt is a little bit tight and we can see a little bit of skin, it’s OK to have an oversized shirt on top.” I’ve seen this combination in the office and it looked both relaxed and elegant, but since I’m quite short I’m tempted to leave the shirt open, worn as a jacket over a fitted top, to avoid being engulfed. 

When playing with volume, Pip Durell, founder of shirt brand With Nothing Underneath, favours contrasts. “If you want to go really, really big with your shirt, you can’t be going for baggy trousers or an oversized skirt. It’s about balance,” she says. “That’s why a shirt and a miniskirt is such a great look. I always wear my cuffs up and not button it too high. If you’re going oversize and masculine, it’s about adding that bit of skin.”

Almost everyone already owns a shirt, but if you are looking for a new addition to your wardrobe, two friends recommend trying Swedish cult brand Our Legacy for both excellent cuts and fabrics that stand the test of time.

Personally, however, I’ve found buying shirts second-hand quite easy. Shopping across decades presents a range of different materials, fits, styles and sizes to play with. 

“When I want a new piece, I go straight to a thrift store, where I’m sure to find what I’m looking for. It’s in these places that I make my best finds,” agrees Paris-based influencer Franny Mozemba, whose Instagram profile I discovered while looking for shirt inspiration. “First of all, the colours are a little faded and the rendering is often very soft. The materials have lasted over time and they will last a good while still. And you have a tiny probability of finding it on someone else.”

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