The royal way to do casual and oh-so-cute
OF ALL the outfits Meghan Markle has worn, the one that sticks in my mind is the white boyfriend shirt over jeans she wore to the Invictus Games, on her first public date with harry.
In fact, that one turned out to be called a ‘ husband shirt’ ( still available for £175, mishanonoo.com). The designer, her friend Misha Nonoo, is married, you see, but the idea is the same: a man-style shirt made to flatter women.
Now, this same shirt is one of just five pieces the Duchess has included in her new Smart Set collection, designed in collaboration with the charity Smart Works (which helps disadvantaged women get back into the workplace).
So it’s official: the Duchess of Sussex has made the boyfriend shirt (let’s go with boyfriend, it sounds more fun) one of her signature looks.
She’s appeared in the Royal Box at Wimbledon wearing a wide- striped Ralph Lauren shirt, and recently she was pictured behind the scenes at a photoshoot wearing a skyblue-and-white- striped shirt by the fashion girl’s favourite label With Nothing Underneath (£85, withnothingunderneath. com).
As it says on the WTU website, this shirt is inspired by menswear ‘ adjusted for women’, and that’s the key to the boyfriend shirt: pitching that balance just right.
Too oversized and big- collared and you look swamped. Wearing an actual man’s shirt, however small and slim-fit never works — you end up looking like a woman in need of a suit, and that’s not the idea at all.
Thewhole point of a boyfriend shirt is to make the woman wearing it look cute, relaxed and confident in her own femininity.
‘Who needs a flirty frock when you look this good?’ is the message. It’s also the ultimate ‘ make it your own’ style statement.
Owning the boyfriend shirt is a fashion rite of passage: finding one that’s just oversized enough; rolling up the sleeves just so; undoing the right number of buttons; tucking it in, or not.
That’s why Meghan’ s husband shirt moment was so memorable: she looked great.
The outfit was perfectly pitched for the occasion, but most importantly it announced Meghan Markle as a contender for the role of international fashion icon.
Now fashion has caught up and the boyfriend shirt is having a very big moment.
The advantage of the classic
no- frills mannish shirt as favoured by the Duchess is that you can wear it now and next year with shorts or over your swimsuit; it’s a keeper.
Top of the classics list after With Nothing Underneath, is the pricey but good-looking blue- and- white stripe by Frame Denim (£280, framestore. com), a plain White Company boyfriend shirt (£89,
thewhitecompany. com) or Massimo Dutti’s sky- blue poplin shirt (£ 49.95, massimodutti.com).
It’s probably worth spending a bit more to get the right cotton quality, but there are good versions from Zara in crisp blue (£19.99, zara.com) and Uniqlo does an extra-fine stripe, now reduced (£14.90, uniqlo.com).
Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a shirt to wear out over trousers (this one is too long to tuck in), Topshop’s oversize white poplin shirt is a good bet (£39, topshop.com).
The details that make the difference between a great boyfriend shirt, and any old shirt are, in no particular order: proper cuffs — as in two button ( a double cuff is overdoing it, especially as you’re going to be rolling up the sleeves for the required easy, breezy nonchalance); a classic shirt collar, rather than a cutaway or anything fancy; and a proper tail, because you will wear it out over tailored trousers, and a shirt without a tail is just a shirt.
Always avoid slim fit — the look should be just oversize enough to look attractively billowy when tucked in to high or mid-waisted trousers and skirts. So it’s also best to avoid breast pockets.
While we’re on the subject of styling, tuck your shirt in at the front and leave the back out; the half-tuck has become a fashion tick, like hair tucked into polo necks, or hands pushed into pockets on dresses, and the all-round tuck-in risks making you look bulky.
As for colour, sky blue and fine blue and white stripes are way ahead of the game.
Then again, you might prefer a shirt that’s a little bit different from the crowd, in which case Ganni does a striped shirt with an extra full sleeve (£120, ganni.com).
Sustainable brand Mother of Pearl does a flare, cuffed, Chester shirt (£195, motherof
pearl.co.uk) or the crackersleeved wider striped Miles shirt at the same price.
And Other Stories does one in lilac (£65, stories.com), and a really oversize one in black or white silk (£120).
Which could be a pretty useful garment this autumn when you think about it.