The most amazing women's white shirt?

April 11, 2019 6:56 AM

After 20 years of being unable to fit my arms into most womens tops that didn't have significant stretch, I am finally getting the excess skin and fat on my upper arms removed. I always said that if this ever happened, the first thing I want to buy is a stunning white shirt. I'm looking for a crisp, long-sleeve button up the front shirt with beautiful cuffs and collar. I want to feel chic. I'm willing to drop some dough on this. $200 and under is fine. I typically wear a 1x. Thank you!
posted by KleenexMakesaVeryGoodHat to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total)

Best answer: The contradiction with white shirts is, they are like an investment piece in that they are the number one quintessential wardrobe staple but they are at their most stunning when they are new or almost new, which unfortunately means they need to be replaced once per season, no matter how good your drycleaner is. The very best I've personally found are Theory cotton oxfords but they are $250 new and even though you can often find them on sale for under $200 that's still not a twice-a-year buy. For that reason I recommend Everlane shirts, it's a good compromise between quality and ethical manufacturing standards, and price. As a plus they frequently show women size 1X video-modeling their clothes.
posted by rada at 7:25 AM on April 11, 2019 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I love Everlane and second that recommendation. This Vince top seems perfect. I don’t have any cotton shirts from them but their silk tops have lasted me years and are really beautifully cut.

These are not really crisp but are beautiful quality and long-lasting: Eileen Fisher oversized organic cotton or organic cotton twill shirt, Vince slim fit stretch silk.
posted by sallybrown at 7:34 AM on April 11, 2019

Best answer: (My only white shirt tip is to make sure your deodorant/anti-perspirant brand doesn’t stain white shirt pits—my organic deodorant ruined one of my good silk tops!)
posted by sallybrown at 7:39 AM on April 11, 2019

Best answer: This shirt from Tradlands is great, and they just expanded their sizing to XXL.
posted by quatsch at 7:52 AM on April 11, 2019

Best answer: (I work in a formal industry) My best buttondown shirts have always come form Thomas Pink. Vince and Theory have great shirts, but again, similar amounts of $$$ and you do need to try them on in person to determine fit. It might be in your best interest to go to a higher end department store (Saks or Nordstroms) and go for the personal shopping service specifically to get a white shirt. It'll feel slightly ridiculous, but they will pull all options for you, and figure out the right fit. (and it's complementary)

I tend to stay away from pure white, as honestly it's a bear to keep clean, they really do need to be replaced regularly/laundered after every wear, but man, a well fitting, white crisp shirt does feel really GOOD.

For slightly cheaper, but still rather decent options, I've gotten great fitting shirts from Jcrew, and those are closer to $60 than $200.
posted by larthegreat at 8:28 AM on April 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

Just FYI, if you want a white shirt to look amazing on you, you're going to have to look for a good fit through the bust, which in a buttondown can be quite challenging if you have any heft whatsoever in the bosom.
posted by praemunire at 9:00 AM on April 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

This Ralph Lauren cotton oxford shirt is the only white dress shirt I will ever buy again.

Also, sallybrown has a great point about deodorant stains. The solution I have found is this amazing undershirt to wear as an invisible "sweat shield"--I never wear a dress shirt, silk blouse, snug wool sweater, or anything else delicate without it, as it prevents me from having to dry clean or hand wash those kinds of pieces any time I wear them for more than an hour (after which time I will inevitably stink them up). Yes, it is expensive for a basic thin, nude undershirt but it's already easily paid for itself, and I wish I would have found it years ago.
posted by lovableiago at 9:31 AM on April 11, 2019 [5 favorites]

I just wanted to add something about Everlane. They often have different size women modeling different color variations of the same item. So if you use my link above for white shirts, you may only see junior size models but if you go to different colors in the same shirt, you may well see a plus size model - which is great because as someone already mentioned above, a button-down can look very different if you are busty.
posted by rada at 9:44 AM on April 11, 2019

Coming back to say I agree with rada about Everlane! I think a lot of their button down tops run large in general--I recently bought one in an XXS and am usually a medium!! Part of that is the current style (people are wearing them big and blousy) but you could always buy your size in one of the blousy styles and get it tailored.
posted by lovableiago at 9:56 AM on April 11, 2019

Everlane is my go-to for these, for all the reasons mentioned above.
posted by frumiousb at 6:04 PM on April 11, 2019