Gender bender white shirt is today’s ‘it’ item
The shirt — an office must-have, a garment in pale colours, something that saves the common man from the dayto-day wardrobe crisis — is one of the most trending fashion statements right now. The appeal of Hollywood charmer Sharon Stone’s original and cool statement from the 1998 Academy Awards, where she paired her husband’s Oxford shirt with a Vera Wang skirt, has finally kicked in. The muted shirt is now the choicest pick for both the minimalist and the maximalist. Some call it a state of mind, some a brave choice and many identify with its effortless style.
WOMENSWEAR, TOO
Fashion writer, author and anthropologist Phyllida Jay says, “It’s crossed over from being a formal male garment to being a staple of womenswear and has shifted from formal tailoring to casual wear. But, it has retained its associations with the uniformity of men’s tailoring, which now translates into an aura of insouciance and antifashion. It’s that paradox between uniformity and rebellion that lends the white shirt its mystique and place as a classic wardrobe staple.”
The costume dressing trend in India during the 1900s saw the bulky shirt in many avatars. Be it the puffy sleeved midriff-tied shirt, or the belted long shapes with funky stockings on women and the ballooned shirt balanced with mid-waist denim on men, the shirt always drew attention in one way or the other. A vintage hangover, the regular shirt — often oversized — always spoke of a certain character. A safe territory to experiment with body type, comfort and style as we understood it back then, the staple garment is getting its due now.
RESILIENT TREND
The office dressing favourite is truly out of the box now, defining power dressing and street style at the same time.
While the homegrown labels and the high street fashion brands swear by this gender bender classic trend, the big names of curated international luxury style space have flagged it as one of the longest running trends in the recent times. The extra fabric and structure doesn’t seem to bother us anymore.
Designer Arjun Saluja says, “The concept of the oversized shirt was basically taking a large shirt for a man and a woman wearing it or vice versa. Now it has been deconstructed and shaped in various forms. With androgyny being misused in fashion all over, it has now just become a trend. There’s a certain sense of power and sensuality... almost a subversive unsaid exchange. For us as a label, we look at it in more in form of shape and how we can alter the fit or volume by cutting techniques.”
FIND YOUR STYLE
The key thing is how it’s worn. You can try the fresh, crispy buttoned-up and neatly tucked in look, or keep it open at the neck and have fun with the collars or leave a few buttons open at the end and enjoy the flair.
Flaunt your devil-maycare attitude with rolled up sleeves or a knot around your waist. The shirt has also entered the wedding style space and the gaudy
lehengas have found a subtle partner to make the look stand-out in many ways. Supersize style is here to stay and how.