Steal This Look.
Posted on November 10, 2009 in Casual, Fall, Outfit Ideas.A button down under a sweater is one of my favorite looks for fall. Done right, it looks clean and put together, yet not overly preppy. The layering allows you to combine different colors, textures, and patterns to put together a very unique outfit.
The key is of course in the individual pieces, and how they work together. To keep the look modern you want to keep the sweater from being too bulky, and you want to make sure the proportions are right. Casual occasion? It’s OK to keep the button down untucked (as long as the shirt is hemmed and not too long). Formal? Not so much.
Typically the go-to move is to pair a solid shirt with a solid sweater. Nothing wrong with that at all. But, switch it up and play with all the possible combinations of stripes, patterns and solids for both the button down and sweater.
Looking at the new offerings by JCrew, I was stunned with how good plaid/check looks under their sweaters. It’s a very cool and modern look. To emulate this look, just ensure that everything that you have on is suitably modern.
Things to keep in mind when scrolling through the photos (I’ll let the images do the talking):
– Notice the proportion of the shirt hem (the bottom of the shirt) with respect to the length of each sweater.
– Notice the color choices. The cool thing with this look is that you can pretty much put any plaid shirt under any sweater. But, in case you want more structure just follow their lead as to what looks good:
– blues and greys
– blues and blues
– greys and deep reds
– greys and blacks
– This look is versatile. Each outfit can be dressed up with some nice chinos/dark jeans, or dressed down with a worn pair of jeans.
Photo credit: JCrew.
Photo credit: JCrew.
Photo credit: JCrew.
Photo credit: JCrew.
Photo credit: JCrew.
Photo credit: JCrew.
That point about the hem of the shirts raises an interesting issue I’ve always wondered about. Do you hem button-down shirts you intend to wear untucked? Or do you shop for a shorter length (somehow?)?
Good questions. I intended to cover this in a post about tucking your shirt in, I just never got around to posting it.
You should only wear a shirt untucked that has been hemmed. A good way to tell if it’s hemmed is if it’s a) cut shorter and b) doesn’t have the extra buttons near the bottom. Dress shirts typically remain unhemmed because it’s easier to keep a shirt tucked in that is longer.
To answer your question: yes, if you have a shirt that you’d like to wear untucked, but isn’t hemmed, take it to a tailor and he/she can hem it for you. I’ve done this to several of my shirts and it always works out well.
A lot of the mass market brands will have shirts that are hemmed so you can wear them tucked or untucked. JCrew does a good job of this.