It is officially spring, transition dressing is upon us, and the time is right for my favourite reader letter of the past year. “White shirts feel like they are everywhere right now, targeted in my Instagram feed, on the shelves at stores,” Carol, 59, wrote to us. “I need some new pieces, and white feels nice and crisp and clean. But how do I style it up?”
White shirts are indeed transformative, Carol. They are a fashion editor’s secret weapon, the thing you know you can pull out and jeuje-up with pearls or an armful of bangles and head out the door feeling crisp, as you say. The look is fully democratic: the white shirt transcends all ages, all sizes, all personal styles, all genders and body types.
It also lends itself to complete individualization. Think of great white shirt moments in history: from Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s American sportswear take on it in the 90s (in fact, the release of a coffee-table book on the fashion icon late last year likely drove all those versions you are seeing in store, Carol!); to Julia Roberts borrowing Richard Gere’s white shirt in Pretty Woman; Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction; Jennifer Grey with her shirt tied at the waist in Dirty Dancing; Sharon Stone wearing a Gap version with a ballroom skirt at the Oscars; Marilyn Monroe on set of the Misfits; Oprah Winfrey and Diane Keaton at any time; Cary Grant in North By Northwest; and finally that killer group shot by Peter Lindbergh of the Supermodels at the dawn of the 90s on a beach in white shirts.
Because white shirts are so individual, I reached out to two of my all-time favourite editorial stylists, who both have flawless taste in different ways, for complementary takes on the white shirt. In fact, over the many years working with these fabulous women, I have found they channel two different angles of my own fashion personality. Susie Sheffman is about classics with a distinctly crisp preppy flavour. Roslyn Griffith Hall hews to classics with an avant-garde twist; she now works as a stylist and buyer for film and television projects, so is always on the retail prowl.
Griffith Hall says white shirts remind her of her mother’s nurse uniform—crisp and starched—a positive association if there ever was one. Eventually, white shirts became her own wardrobe staple, one that has followed her through decades working in fashion. “I love the sense of being clean and refreshed, and the contrast with my Black skin,” she says.
She tends to buy men’s white shirts, favouring Brooks Brothers; which as a tall girl myself are hot tips I have taken away from shopping trips with Griffith Hall. “I’m broad-shouldered, and have yoga arms,” she says, “the men’s shirts fit me better. They are also made better, and are longer-lasting.” She often finds women’s cuts too constricting, adding “Men’s cuts give me room to move”– an imperative for the life of a stylist, which involves a lot of lifting and hauling and bending. Plus, she adds, dry-cleaning men’s shirts is far less expensive than women’s pieces! Her dream white shirt is a Margiela. But that one stays in the dry-cleaning bag, only to be broken out for fashion emergencies.
To tuck or not to tuck? “I sort of suck at tucking in,” says Griffith Hall. Instead, she turns to layering: a great denim jacket, a black blazer, a vest, “then you can play with the cuff, add some interest around the lower arm.” As for accessories, she loves silver, especially in stacks of bracelets and bangles at the wrist. “Lately I’ve been adding little clip-on boy’s ties from the Gap. Belts worn high or low. Scarves. Plus I always have my hat.”
Always asking questions,
—Leanne Delap
