How to wear plain T-shirts?

Bonjour Mesdames,

Today I am gonna talk about THE most fundamental of my wardrobe staples: the plain T-shirt.

I own them in all kind of neutral colors: white of course, grey, black, nude, etc.

Why should you own some (or lots) as well?

– With such simple tops, you can pair any necklaces, jackets, pants or skirts

– They instantly make a sophisticated outfit look cool and a sexy outfit look casual.

1. What kind of T-shirts should I own?

Since almost 10 years, trendy girls wear them loose rather than skin-tight.

Which is great because I think that looser T-shirts flatter every bodytype whereas tighter ones… do not.

Loose T-shirt

Emmanuelle Alt (queen of loose tops half tucked in jeans), and blogger Nadia Aboulhosn both look great in grey loose T-shirts although they have really different body-types.

If you have big breasts, are chubby, or have athletic shoulders I recommend you to wear loose T-shirts that are not oversize (those could make you appear larger than you are). Also, choose T-shirts with low cut necklines to avoid a “block” effect.

If you are thin, you can go for oversize, but then,  wear something skinny or form hugging on the bottom in order not too look as if you were “lost in your clothes”.

They should be REALLY plain. No superfluous details: no pleats, no flounce, no little tiny itsy buttons, just plain.

By the way the perfect T-shirt is super hard to find so when you find it, buy three: in black, white and grey, or even three of the same color. I am now very sad that I did not do that with my fav – formerly white but now yellowish –  T-shirt that is, of course, not available anymore.

Ok. Now that we all have our T-shirts, let’s see how to wear them.

2. What to wear my T-shirt with?

A. With a sexy item (to soften it)

Sexy leather skirt loose T-shirt

Barbara Martelo et Gisella Francisca: sexy casual in tight leather.

B. With a dressy outfit (to make it look effortless)

Dressy skirt casual shirt

Alexa Chung and unknown (by the way, this girl is wearing a necklace that is not especially good looking but that I have seen all over pinterest, can anyone explain me why?)

C. Do not “jersey overdose”

The jersey, which is the way the T-shirt is knitted, has no structure.

Lots of other items have that jersey knit: sweaters, jumpers, cardigans, sweatpants, etc.

If you wear a to much jersey in one outfit, you’ll look floppy.

Balance your T-shirt with thicker or tailored items.

3. How to wear my T-shirt?

A. Do the half-tuck

Geraldine Saglio T-shirt by the color stalker

The super elegant Geraldine Saglio, achieves the half tuck with her skirt. Beautiful photo by the Colorstalker.

The T-shirt should be tucked in front or slightly on the side because the aim is to show your slim waist and flat belly.

You could also knot it.

You’ve guessed that, since they draw attention on your belly, you should avoid those tricks if you are not seeking for attention here.

B. Blouse it out

Loose shirt carrot pants

Unknown

Mandy Fierens, the curvy blogger red T-shirt

Mandy Fierens

When tucked in high waisted pants or skirts. Result: you’ll be as beautiful as you will be cool.

C. Accessorize

A white T-shirt has nothing special to it. You can make it be your own style with accessories!

– One or several pendant necklaces

T-shirt necklace

Unknown

T-shirt thin necklaces

Jane Birkin <3

– Chunky necklaces

Cuff necklace T-shirt Malmo streetstyle

Malmo streetstyle

D. Make it the backdrop of your jackets, perfectos, etc.

Since your T-shirt is only the basis, be creative with the rest of your outfit!

Sincerely Jules T-shirt

Sincerely Jules

55785eba655b5f5e43ebf32369c1763f

Unknown

Et pourquoi pas Coline grey T-shirt

Et pourquoi pas Coline?

And you?

Do you use T-shirts with your outfits?

Hope I got you inspired,

Bises de Paris,

Aloïs

NB: Do not throw away your tight T-shirts. They can look great with large skirts.

Comments
30 Responses to “How to wear plain T-shirts?”
  1. Bulk Threads says:

    I like your printed stuff. We are also selling printed and customised t-shirts in bulk at our website in cheap price. To know more about the products visit our website today.

  2. V says:

    Bonjour,

    Quelle bonheur de te retrouver !!!

    J’aurais une question.
    Les colliers devraient-ils suivre le col d’un tee-shirt ? Par ex col V = un sautoir.
    Mais avec des cols V, U, carrés, danseuses quelles formes de colliers seraient à privilégier ?
    Quels seraient les écueils à éviter ?

    Merci, merci

  3. Charlotte says:

    I arrived here looking for a chic way to wear a pink t-shirt (obligatoire) for the fete de fin d’annee at my son’s maternelle. It’s at the school so casual, but it’s a fete so I want to look nice but it has been so hot here (outside Paris).

    When you show it with jeans you add a jacket for interest. But it is too hot today for that. I like the image of Geraldine Saglio but the shoes would not work tonight and I’m not sure it would look as good with rose pale.

    What to wear, what to wear…

  4. Elvir says:

    Hi,
    Moi par exemple j’ai une très petite taille, des petits seins, des jambes fines, mais des fesses rebondissantes, donc quand je met un oversized ca me grossit un peu, parceque ca ne marque pas ma taille. Donc d’habitude je mets des T-shirts près du corps pour que ca me fasse de jolies formes. Oubien quand je mets des oversized, je fais un nœud que je monte juste au dessus des hanches pour qu’on puisse livre ma taille fine quoi. Est ce que vous auriez d’autres astuces pour ma morphologie avec des oversized?

    • Aloïs Guinut says:

      Hello,
      Si tu es vraiment petite, le oversize peut en effet complètement noyer ta silhouette comme tu l’as constaté. Ton truc du noeud à la taille est donc une excellente idée! Sinon les talons hauts ça marche assez bien pour contrebalancer l’oversize si tu as les jambes fines. Par exemple pour le combo pull oversize jambes nues, en collants ou en super slim. Il faut que visuellement tes jambes donnent l’impression d’occuper dans ta tenue une partie équivalente à celle occupée par la pièce oversize.

  5. Jessie says:

    Actually, though I love the look of loose t-shirts- they don’t flatter everyone! If (like me) you have a big chest, curvy hips, but a tiny waist, loose t-shirts (even if they aren’t oversized) make your waist dissapear. Tucking in a loose t-shirt in a high waisted skirt helps with the waist, but still makes the chest look bigger, and I really can’t think of any way to wear a loose t-shirt that doesn’t make me look 10kg heavier!

    • Aloïs Guinut says:

      Dear Jessie, it is why I make a difference between loose and oversize 🙂 Loose means “not skin tight”. And if you have an hourglass figure with a big chest like you, I recommend going for T-shirt that have a V-neck or low round decolletage.
      Try it and tell me if that works!
      Aloïs

  6. Bonnie B. says:

    Thank you for the informative post. White t-shirts have been a staple of mine for years. Once I find one that fits and looks good, I’ll buy a dozen of them 🙂

  7. Sarah says:

    Yes!!!!! A true staple. I love majestic filatures for lovely cotton/linen mix. Top shop boutique has really nice ones too… Any more?

  8. Great post! So many good inspirations. Thanks for featuring me!

  9. Sneza says:

    Excellent post!

  10. FFer says:

    The chunky necklace you mentioned has been a huge trend in the US for the past year or so…personally not a fan, but they’re a lot of what young people (especially late teens/college student age, I think) have been wearing, you know, the accessible fast fashion. http://www.pinterest.com/katherinek19/chunky-necklaces/ here’s a quick board I made that has a few examples

    • Aloïs Guinut says:

      Thanks for the informations!
      The thing that makes me the most confused is that not only those ladies do wear chunky necklace (that is a trend we had has well) but that they are wearing THE EXACT SAME necklace as the one in the picture. They must all have bought it from the same place!

      • Tara says:

        These necklaces were popularised by the American fashion store J. Crew. After becoming a hot selling item in their stores, lots of cheaper knock-offs were produced by different companies. They are also called “bubble necklaces”.

        • Aloïs Guinut says:

          Thanks a lot Tara! This is answer I was looking for 🙂
          ( Personnally I am not a big fan of it, and am surprized they were created by J.crew which is a brand I adore)

  11. Kay says:

    I am short and big-busted, so I’ve really not had a lot of luck in finding a t-shirt that fits well enough to go with a skirt! Most t-shirts are way too long or too big in the waist, so I always end up with sweaters instead, or a ribbed t-shirt/sweater hybrid. The looks shown here are great, but a rectangular tee just does not look right on me. 🙁

    • Aloïs Guinut says:

      Hello,
      My advice would be for you to wear a T-shirt with decolletage, but that do not show cleavage, with a super fluid fabric that will prevent you from looking “square”. Like this one. If you let the T out of your skirt, the fluid fabric should hug your hips but not your belly. If you tuck it in with an high waisted skirt make it blouse. Tell me if it works. Bests, Aloïs

  12. Estelle says:

    Très inspirant, clair, structuré, j’adore ! J’aime effectivement le tshirt lorsque je porte un gros collier, une veste à imprimés, pour modérer une silhouette trop apprêtée !

    Estelle
    lamodeestunjeu.fr

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