Button Up, The Way To Wear Shirts In 2024
There aren't many investments that you can make for your wardrobe that are more timeless or more enduring than a great shirt. A truly good one should last you a lifetime, and when it comes to warm-weather dressing, a shirt can smarten up a look without causing you to overheat.
My 'perfect' shirt is a second-hand find in a great vintage shop in Paris (ODETA). While it's labelless (apologies), it's oversized in just the right way and cut from blue and white striped cotton. It's my go-to as soon as the weather warms up. You can easily replicate the fit–see Zara's linen blend stripe or Mara Hoffman's excellent throw-on and go 'Hailey' shirt.
It's been to the park (admittedly, sometimes used as a blanket), to dinner, and out dancing. Tucked in, left loose, unbuttoned with a great pair of jeans and a white vest or dressed up with a skirt and kitten heels, it works no matter what. Now, as the sunshine rolls in, the style set has set out some rules of thumb for warm-weather shirting this summer.
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Unsurprisingly, the first thing to note is the white shirt, but pay attention to the styling. Eva Longoria showed how it's done at Cannes with rolled cuffs and a few undone buttons, which she wore with a gold-embellished mini-skirt and black-heeled pumps. Of course, you could dress this down with trainers and a woven bag, but for cool-girl summer evening energy, a white shirt goes a long way.
The actress also stepped out for a second time at the festival in a white shirt, this time pairing her more sheer cross-tucked iteration with a high-shine sequin midi. Pamela Anderson too has cosigned the sequin skirt and white shirt style, as seen at cocktail party in New York's La Mercerie.
You've seen them on the runway as well. Crisp cotton classics were on display at the Gucci Cruise 2025 show, with white shirts tucked into wide-leg mid-wash jeans. Note the styling here for a more casual take: tousled hair, sunglasses, and a pair of ballet flats, which add effortless flare, perfect for warm afternoon lunches or city breaks.
Cate Blanchette and Anderson both made a strong case for Chambray. The former wore a dark wash set with wide-leg trousers, and the latter opted for a double denim look with her loosely tucked western shirt, complete with strappy heels and tinted sunglasses. This variation has a strong 1970s air to it and is the more low-key entrance to the world of double denim.
For Bottega's pre-fall 2025 collection, there's a shirt to suit every mood. From the louder 1980s-style ruffled dress shirts and lumberjack styles to the chic, classic blue stripes styled beneath crew neck pullovers (great for transitional dressing).
Miu Miu, too, provides the goods for 2024 shirting, continuing from the subverted preppy persona of the Italian label's SS24 collection. Over in Cannes at the Miu Miu Summer Club (yes, that was a thing), you can get plenty of inspiration, particularly polo t-shirts overtop striped styles. This 2024 shirting look is all about off-duty sportswear mixing, styling tennis skirts with shirts under jerseys or loose stripped variations over boxer shorts. The ideal look for heading to the park or strolling around town as the temperature heats up.
There's also a new shirt in town: the knotted crop. This might sound like an 1980s flashback, but it can be surprisingly chic. While the trend airs on the super-cropped side, there's room to play with the silhouette. The good news is that it doesn't require buying anything new; just tie up what you already have.
Whichever style you choose, a shirt is a wardrobe classic you won't regret, so be it cropped or left loose, stripped or crisp white, button up this summer.
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