Let’s start with the splurgiest option, and that’s Nili Lotan, where the quality of the cotton is supremely high and the cut flattering and chic. Pro tip: I find most of mine on The Real Real, where they sell for a fraction of their original price.
Rails is a great resource for fun prints, like this striped cheetah number. They’ve also got a decent selection of solids and silk shirts.
I’ve never not liked a shirt I got from Madewell, and I love the utilitarian vibe and khaki hue of this popover.
Alex Mill’s Bobby Shirt goes for a mere $98, comes in several good colors, and looks better the more worn-in it gets.
I’ve got a lot of shirts from Xirena, and they never disappoint: the weight is perfect, and the cotton’s a really nice combination of crisp and soft.
I have quite a few Madewell buttondowns and blouses — and will start pulling them out to wear again. I’ve also had success with Anthropologie’s (I assume) own in-house brands through the years: Cloth & Stone, Pilcro, Maeve. I can get some of them in a petite L/12, which is really rare, but the regular sized shirts/blouses can fit me ok as well.
Love a button-down and these are excellent choices. Even though a khaki color looks terrible on me I am beyond just tempted with that Madewell. Such an excellent cut! Something I’ve been enjoying since I returned home is people watching since I’m back in a city (a small city, granted, but still…)––street fashion has always interested me and I have seen some great outfits lately including one young woman who wore chinos with a decided drape (Katherine Hepburnish) in a khaki color with a slim fitting thin black turtleneck––the pants had a thin black belt and the outfit was finished with black slide flat mules. There was something so modern about the light colored pants with the black turtleneck––I usually think of that combo the other way around––black pants with a lighter colored shirt. Such fun to be inspired by the young!
Any advice on how to do a french or half tuck? It never quite looks right when I attempt it.
Look at the 2nd pic (Rails) and the last one (Xirena) – that’s how it should look! Just let your eye get used to it, I’m sure you’re doing fine.
I love love love a good button down- super classic and easy to wear with anything. I feel very pulled together when I wear one and I love all of these options. My favorite brand (I own 6 of their shirts) is Grayson (https://www.grayson.com/) Really great quality and flattering fit.
Agreed! I love my Graysons (a subsidiary of my other favorite – and much pricier – Frank & Eileen).
Pretty!
Do any of these cut for bigger than a b cup?
I have a Xirena Channing (L) that I love, except the fit in the chest (I’m a 32H for reference.) The “boyfriend” style means that it is designed to have the shoulder seams drop, so that helps it not look huge. I sewed the placket closed so it doesn’t totally gape open, but it does pull a bit at the sewn part.
Apologies for leaving you busty ladies in the lurch, Shatona. Here’s something that might work: https://rstyle.me/+6Ui9mt5YLIjBbLYTToFLxA