At 5ft 2”, a large amount of clothing – unless tailored, tweaked or fitted – is oversized on me. I approach every purchase with the assumption that I’ll likely have to hem it on my sewing machine or take it to a specialist – like the independent makers on The Seam – to get it altered.
Shirting is a different story. Unlike baggy trousers, I can get away with wearing a loose-fitting shirt, provided that the length works in my favour. Over the years, I have embraced the oversized shirt’s endless styling possibilities. The best versions I own are vintage: a flannel Pendleton board shirt I found in Brighton last year, rendered in a similar plaid pattern to the viral leather style that Kate Moss wore on Bottega Veneta’s spring/summer 2023 runway, and a striped Gucci shirt with contrasting cuffs and collar that looks good with just about anything. Both are counted among some of the most complimented pieces I own.
The oversized shirt is suitable for wear all year round, but I also have a handful of styles that I wear when the weather warms up. Over the past few summers, I’ve dug out my retina-searing orange Lui shirt from The Frankie Shop, which I wear with matching cotton-poplin shorts, and two shirts I picked up from a car-boot sale in France – one comes with Bode-esque embroidery, while the other is made from lemon meringue-yellow linen.
My trick to finding the perfect oversized shirt? Try them on! I rarely take sizing into account when scouring brick-and-mortar stores and prefer to take something to the changing room to see how (and if) it fits. It might fit better than you initially thought, or with anything that doesn’t fit as well, you can consider any alterations you might want to make. Don’t forget to check out the menswear section, too, as men’s shirts traditionally offer a boxier silhouette, making it easy to achieve that “oversized” look.
While I enjoy shopping for shirts in vintage stores, there are plenty of timeless new season silhouettes that are sure to catch your eye. Scroll on to see some expertly-crafted oversized shirts available now.
The original article can be found on Vogue UK.
