INTERVIEWED BY Michaela Stehr
After a successful collaboration between Jenny Le Roux of Habits and Jackie Burger of Salon 58 at the Awaken Grace soirée, we chatted to the two fashion masterminds to find out just what it is about the white shirt that works so well.
JENNY LE ROUX
Jenny Le Roux
How and when did the white shirt become a fashion staple?
I think it was the stars of the ’40s who were fashion-forward and made us all want to own white shirts, like Katharine Hepburn, who wore hers with wide legged men’s pants, and Ava Gardner, who got away with wearing it with shorts. But the day I fell in the love with the white shirt was in the ’50s when I saw Audrey Hepburn in that wonderful film Roman Holiday wearing it with rolled-up sleeves and turned-up collar.
Why does the white shirt work so well?
Think of any designer – all of them have had their white shirt moments: Dries van Noten, Coco Chanel, Donna Karan, Vivienne Westwood, Alberta Ferretti, and the clever Carolina Herrera, who wears hers with a ball skirt.
How does an item remain timeless?
How does an item remain timeless? It’s all about how you wear it. You can never have enough white shirts; they never go out of style. I’ve been doing the white shirt forever. I’ve done it in linen, organza, silk, voile and countless other fabrics, with small collars, big collars, mandarin collars and no collars. My favourite, however, is still the tuxedo shirt. It solves all my evening problems: I wear it with black velvet pants and a taffeta blazer.
JACKIE BURGER
Jackie BurgerHow should we wear the white shirt this summer?
There should be no rules except wearing it your way; dressing is about how you feel in what you wear. Fashion’s new mood embraces this notion, delivering a message of modern ease and a focus on individuality. Pair your white shirt with wide-legged trousers, creating boy-meets-girl shapes; teamed with track pants it is elevated to urban dressing; and worn with a diaphanous skirt it signals femininity. After dark, the white-shirt-and-tuxedo combo heralds YSL inspiration; or styled with a silk slip dress, oversized and slightly off-the-shoulder and buttoned down, it whispers unashamed sensuality.
How did the white shirt become a fashion staple?
Like the trench coat, it evolved from menswear, crossing over into women’s wardrobes in the 19th century. The white shirt occupies an uncontested place in fashion history and continue to be reinvented as a trend du jour.
Why does the white shirt work so well?
It is a piece you can wear every day. It is seasonless, timeless and ageless, and strikes the perfect balance between refinement and ease. It offers endless style possibilities and always delivers an air of elegance.
