I realized last night that I’ve started wearing fewer T-shirts to work and more button-down shirts, so I decided to go out and pick up a few more. After prowling around the local mall, I’ve come to a conclusion: the kind of shirts I like are apparently not made very often for women. I like simple, button-down collared shirts made out of decent material (I don’t like flimsy fabric–the shirts I have right now are oxford-cloth type things, but what I’m looking for doesn’t necessarily have to be). I want solid colors, stripes, simple classic patterns, preferably with a front pocket I can stash my iPod nano in during the day at work. Nothing overly feminine, no embroidery or flowers, cutesy cuts or shirts designed to “show off the female form” by being taken in at the waist and let out at the boobs–I’m a tomboy, and I don’t mind looking like one.
As I was looking around one department and lamenting my failure to find what I was looking for, the saleslady grinned and said, “Just buy men’s shirts. That’s what I do.” This struck me as strange, since apparently I’m the only person on earth who never noticed the fact that men’s and women’s shirts button on opposite sides. Despite the fact that I really am a tomboy (I could probably easily be mistaken for a lesbian most of the time), I don’t want people pointing at me behind my back and saying “Look at her, she’s wearing guy’s shirts!” T-shirts, fine. Jeans, fine. Leather jackets–definitely! Even some shoes, fine. But I’ve got this mental block about button-down shirts.
So, my questions:
Does anyone care? When you see a woman wearing a man’s shirt, do you notice that it buttons on the “wrong” side?
Women: Do you wear men’s shirts? Any hits/tips for a fledgling men’s shirt buyer who doesn’t want to look totally butch?
Got any good tips for where to find men’s shirts that would look decent on women?
Well, I doubt I’d even notice. Who looks that closely? And anyway, I think it’s pretty acceptable for women to wear men’s clothing…not so much the other way around, though.
I cannot wear men’s shirts without looking sloppy. It’s my boobs. If I find a shirt that fits across my chest…it’s to big everywhere else.
I’d think the more tailored style the better and good fabric.
I like henley shirts for everyday around the house, especially in winter. If I try the women’s-type of these, the sleeves are invariably too short. So, I buy them in the men’s department. Not only do they fit better, they usually cost less. I also buy Levi’s in the men’s department for basically the same reason: I can get the waist/inseam I want. And they cost less. :rolleyes:
Try Eddie Bauer. Their women’s shirts sound like what you’re looking for. I buy their mens button downs to use as light jackets or overshirts. Or J crew, but they can be expensive.
Sleeves are always too short when I wear long sleeve women’s shirts. I also have no waist, and very narrow hips so the shirts for women that are cut in at the waist and then flare out look nasty on me, and make my breasts look HUGE. Same goes for pants. To get the waist size I need, there are these huge flares at the side for hips I don’t have.
I wear men’s button downs all the time. Handmedowns from my dad are a staple of my work wardrobe. However, I am more than a tomboy, I’m downright butch. I get used to being called “sir” by inattentive people.
You might want to check out Land’s End. Their men’s shirts are exactly what you’re describing (duh), but you can also order a custom women’s shirt if you aren’t ready to jump off into the XY clothing sea. (Or puddle, as the case may be.)
I have some men’s buttondowns that I wear as nightshirts, but I wouldn’t wear them out in public because the arms are about six inches too long, and that is not flattering.
I mostly wear men’s shirts to work, maybe because I haven’t found enough blouses of the style that I would want to wear to work. Even though I don’t like to wear men’s clothing, I have to admit the Arrow shirts are great quality fabric, good stitching, and made in the strong rich dark colors I like best. So that makes it more OK. If you feel you must wear men’s shirts, definitely go with Arrow.
If I happened to notice you were wearing a man’s shirt, I’d just think, “Probably belongs to her boyfriend.” But would I care if you were wearing it? No.
I’ve been wearing men’s shirts for years. I teach and when I reach up to the top of the blackboard/whiteboard women’s shirts invariably come untucked, the tails are way too short. Also, I quickly found that dry-cleaners charge up to 3x as much to do a women’s shirt as a man’s shirt (that really pissed me off!). And men’s shirts are of much better quality than women’s at the same price point.
My only problem was that I have short arms so men’s shirts are way too long in the arms. I solved that problem by rolling back the cuffs and buttoning them as if they are French Cuffs.
And the best part is that you can frequently get men’s shirts in girly colors and small sizes at significant discount about the middle of the season. I prefer Nautica and Polo which I have found routinely 75% off.
I wear men’s shirts because they fit me around the chest.
Another thing to look for in men’s shirts are ones with lycra (often referred to as “stretch”). I find that those are usually cut narrower around the torso so they don’t seem as big.
That being said, go ahead an wear men’s shirts if you want. It’s certainly no weirder than the recent trend of men wearing women’s jeans.
Funny you should say that–all the button-down shirts I currently have (or at least the ones I like) are from Eddie Bauer. But I went back there on my last shopping trip and I don’t care for their current women’s styles.
Thanks, everybody! Sounds like I’m making a mountain out of a molehill and I should just head for the men’s department.
I wear men’s shirts a lot. It’s getting to the stage where I get so used to heading to the men’s department for shirts, I invariably end up there no matter what I’m looking for. Need bras. Bras=underwear. Underwear usually next to clothing section. Off to clothing. No bras here? Huh…strange. Who wears underwear with THAT on it? Oh…
Some women’s collared work type/blouse shirts are just uncomfortable or have some overtly feminine pattern that doesn’t appeal to me. Others seem to be of a design that makes it look like the person wearing them is feeling that they sort of want to give the impression that they’re being professional and wearing appropriate clothing for their job/whatever, but mostly they just want you to look at their breasts.
Men’s shirts come in better colours and the patterns are less… stupid. They cost less, both to buy and to dryclean. They’re more comfortable - not being tight/loose in seemingly random places, they don’t restrict my movement at all, the sleeves aren’t as crazy as women’s shirts and if you need to reach upwards the whole shirt doesn’t feel it has to rise up 6 inches as well. Plus anything that doesn’t squish my breasts or make them outrageously prominent earns high points.
If you want to, wear them. They’re just clothes. Apart from a very few gender-specific items, the distinction between men’s and women’s clothing is really just something we’ve bestowed upon them. Buttons, shmuttons. By the time I’ve bought it, that men’s shirt is now a woman’s.
I’m wearing one right now. Mmmm…
Clearly, I’m not a woman. But let me speak from experience.
In my home, no shirt of mine is safe. Lady Chance has been stealing (or ‘borrowing’ depending on one’s point of view) my shirts since we were teenagers.
And now the 5-year-old is doing it. She takes my T-shirts for nightgowns.
So yes, they do wear men’s shirts. I’m lucky I’m not forced to run around naked.
I had one men’s shirt. I wore it for a while and then stopped because it made me look like a man. I don’t think it’s because they button on opposite sides, I think the cut is vaguely different and more squareish. It should be noted that I don’t dress girly at all, never wear makeup, don’t do anything with my hair, own 2 pairs of shoes and walk with a gorilla slouch. Maybe if I didn’t do these things I’d be able to wear men’s shirts without looking like a transvestite. So be careful.
My problem with women’s shirts is that the waists always stop too short. I hate worrying every time I raise my arms or sit down my stomach and back will be exposed. Plus, I don’t like how a lot of trendy women shirts are tighter around the boobs so that the buttons strain, like they’re just fixin’ to pop off. Hate. That.
If I have to dress up, I will buy a woman’s shirt just cuz I’m usually trying to impress someone. But I will wear a men’s shirt in a minute.
I don’t like men’s button-down shirts, but only because I personally haven’t much in the way of a womanly shape, and the boxy cut of most men’s shirts doesn’t help matters. Were I to see another woman in a man’s shirt, however, I wouldn’t care. Wear what you like.
I have found some pretty decent oxford cloth women’s button-down shirts at JC Penney’s. They’re not overly fitted and they’re quite easy to care for.
All of my white dress shirts are men’s shirts because I find it impossible to find something in the women’s department that is not 3/4 sleeved, embroidered, ruffled, or some other totally silly looking thing doesn’t look good on me at all. But then again, I’ve never dressed very feminine anyway.
I also buy those long cotton pants that look basically like pants-length boxer shorts, since they’re amazingly comfortable for wearing to bed or lounging around the house. Yeah, I’m definitely not a girly-girl.
