The Classic Ten: The White Shirt (#4)

"A white-shirt woman is a busy, inspired person... I think of Kate Hepburn as a white-shirt woman. I think of Audrey Hepburn. Mrs. Vreeland and Jackie O., definitely. Marilyn Monroe, definitely not.

-Issac Mizrahi

Are you a white-shirt woman? When I think of a crisp, white shirt I think of simple, clean, light, classy, fresh and powerful. It's something that flatters a woman dramatically-- the v-neck of a button-up and the collar just leads straight to the face of a woman. And believe or not, the book talks a bit about the sex appeal of the white shirt.

It's true that a mighty woman in the office wearing a white button-up and a professional black pencil skirt can be seen as quite sexy, and with male co-workers also wearing their own oxford shirt, one can see how this garment is fitted very differently from a man to a woman.

"The modern white shirt is adapted from men's underwear, which may explain why the sight of a woman wearing nothing but her lover's white shirt... has such an erotic charge."

-Nancy MacDonnell Smith, The Classic Ten

Two icons of style and class, Audrey Hepburn and Katharine Hepburn 

wearing their timeless white shirts.  

An array of white shirts designed for Gap. 

Well, I had to add some very cute male models wearing crisp, white shirts and skinny ties! Right?

Different from the button-up is the white tee shirt. It was adapted for women in the 1960s and improved throughout the years, creating a basic yet "luxurious" staple. Giorgio Armani, a big fan of the basic white tee, was once asked by Vogue to define luxury in his own words. He responded, "Luxury is a white T-shirt, absolutely clean, with diamond bracelets going all the way up a brown arm." Well, I don't know about getting the diamonds, but I like the idea of living an extravagant life only through a basic white tee.

Blake Lively looking 50s rock 'n roll on the cover of Esquire, February 2010.

H&M Spring 2010- long sleeve white shirt. Aren't those boots killer?

Celebrity street-style featuring the white v-neck. 

Kirsten Dunst making it look effortlessly cool, Megan Fox making it effortlessly sexy.

Errrrrr......... 

I'd like to think of myself as a "busy, inspired person," like in Issac Mizrahi quote above, but maybe all I really need is a specific garment in white.

Have a fantastic weekend!

-Raquel x