One Shirt, Two Shirt, White Shirt, Blue...

Is there any fashion item that's more lauded than the simple white shirt? Probably not. It's on every "must-have list" of "wardrobe staples" I've ever read. You know, those fashion items we're told every girl or woman needs in their closet. Right up there with a great pair of jeans. The white shirt has been on the cover of fashion magazines like Vogue countless times. Even on their famous 100th Anniversary issue in April 1992. By the way if you want to get your hands on a copy of this so-called "iconic" issue.... there's one for sale on Kijiji for only $50.00. Seriously.

     

I'm not disputing the value of a great white shirt. Or blouse. I always have a couple in my closet. Right now I own a classic, white, button down shirt. As well as a tuxedo-style one with ruffles down the front. It looks great under a mannish tweed jacket for fall.    

Some women just have the knack of looking fabulous in a white shirt. Lauren Bacall. Audrey Hepburn. Ines de la Fressange. And Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. She had great style, didn't she?

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The white shirt look, below, has attracted a fair bit of on-line attention lately, and been hailed as the "look du jour." That's Danish stylist and fashion blogger Pernille Teisbaek. She features lots of really interesting outfits and other fashion tidbits on her blog Look de Pernille. I must say, though, that this is not one of my favourites. I think I'm too old ...or maybe just too prissy... for the rumpled shirt, ragged hem thing. 

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But even though the white shirt, however you wear it, rumpled or pressed, is still the reigning queen, fashion does seem to be having a blue shirt moment. I loved this blue shirt when I saw it in a post by Alyson Walsh on her blog That's Not My Age. She talks about how this cover for the July issue of British Vogue garnered all kinds of on-line yammering... mostly negative. You can read Alyson's post here. But despite the slings and arrows hurled at Vogue about this cover, I agree with Alyson... Stella Tennant looks wonderful. The very epitome of "ageless style" at only forty-four. I might be biased, though. After all her grandmother was a Mitford.

Jenna Lyons, creative director and president of J. Crew, also sports a blue shirt with pizzazz. 

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So is the blue shirt becoming the new white shirt? Ines de la Fressange says it is. She thinks it's a "wardrobe staple," clean and crisp and not as boring as a white shirt. You can read the rest of her "must-have" list here.

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I'm not comfortable tucking in my shirt these days, so this look below appealed to me; definitely more my style. Portuguese blogger Tatiana show us a whole array of blue shirt looks in this post. It seems that that other French fashion icon, Emanuelle Alt, is a fan of the blue shirt. 

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As am I. I bought this blue, checked sleeveless shirt in the spring. And on a sunny, breezy, not-too-hot summer day, I love it with my NYDJ cropped, white jeans and my Helmut Lang jacket. I wore this to lunch last week with my friend Barbara. As usual, we discussed fashion, our recent travels, and books, book, books. It was Barb who put me on to the Mitford sisters years ago. 

And this is my new, blue, going-into-fall shirt. I bought this blue Equipment shirt at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. I like the shirt-tail hem, and the generous cut. And I love it with these Paige high-rise, skinny jeans. And my Stuart Weitzman loafers. I'll probably add my blue Smythe blazer in the fall. Or I have a longer (mid-thigh length) black, Elie Tahari jacket that might be even better. Fall outfit planning is so satisfying. 

But for now, I swapped the loafers for my Stan Smith Adidas for a day of shopping with my sister. We were picking up a gorgeous Escada dress that she bought last week at the Anniversary Sale, and had altered. And we had appointments at Nordstrom for a bra fitting. Shopping for a bra can be sooo frustrating. The overwhelming number of brands, and styles and colours.... and sizes. It is not an activity for the faint of heart.

So I'm off. Hopefully looking casual and cool in my new blue shirt. Even if I'm not rumpled and frayed like the really cool girls. I can't bring myself to do rumpled. Or wrinkled. Well, except for the other non-trendy wrinkled-ness... definitely got that going on. 

Ah well, you work with what ya got, people. Three hours after I took this shot, and two new perfectly fitting bras each to the good, my sister and I were scarfing down thin crust pizza at the restaurant in Nordstrom and giggling like teenagers. Wrinkles and all.

We do love our sisterly shopping days. 

By the way. The title for this blog post is from that kids book: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Ever since I decided to write about white shirts vs blue shirts, I haven't been able to get it out of my head. 

What about you? White shirt or blue shirt? Rumpled or pressed?

Linking up this week with:  What I Wore at The Pleated Poppy, Style Me Wednesday at Shopping My Closet, Passion 4 Fashion at Rachel the Hat, Fun Fashion Friday at Fashion Should Be Fun, Friday Finds at Forage Fashion, Casual Friday at Two Thirty-Five Designs, Hello Monday at More Pieces of Me