Prada, Gucci, Uniqlo: women’s shirts, once a forgotten fashion afterthought, are now crisp, high quality and desirable

‘Almost every woman in the world owns a shirt’ – so why is it that most stores have historically failed to deliver a decent one? This, however, is changing
Pip Durell explains why she created shirt brand With Nothing Underneath and how the fashion market is shifting to embrace the selling power of a woman’s shirt

Fashion

Melissa Twigg

Published: 7:15pm, 6 Oct 2023

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Pip Durell always found the lack of women’s shirting brands one of fashion’s great mysteries. Most of her female friends and relatives wore shirts at least a couple of times a week and cared about the cut, fit and quality. Yet, most stores failed to cater to them.

After years of stealing shirts from her boyfriends to wear with jeans and skirts, and over bikinis, she decided to quit her job as a stylist at British Vogue and start making them herself. The result was her brand, With Nothing Underneath.

“Women’s shirting has always been underserviced – and yet almost every woman in the world owns a shirt,” she says. “It didn’t make sense to me. And clearly, it didn’t make sense to other women: we have been going for nearly six years and the sales speak for themselves – we’ll see 125 per cent growth again this year.

“Between shape options and material options, we are able to say to any woman of any size or age, ‘We have something for you,’” she adds. “It really is the most democratic item of clothing.”

Shirts have always been a wardrobe staple for women – the glue that brings together high-waisted jeans, cigarette trousers, silk skirts and denim shorts – and yet great fit and quality have always been characteristics more associated with menswear. As a result, women’s shirts have felt like something of an afterthought.

Thankfully, this is changing. This season, women’s shirts are dominating both designer and mid-range collections and leapfrogging from the “work” section of wardrobes onto the main stage.

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Luxury brands in particular have focused on women’s shirts in their core collections. Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons made shirts the linchpin of Prada’s autumn/winter 2023 offering and played up their masculinity with pockets at the chest and a stiff, buttoned-up finish – but not before adding some va-va-voom with miniskirts and bow-embellished shoes.

The “borrowing from the boys” trend continued at Bottega Veneta, where pinstriped shirts were paired with matching men’s boxers, and at Versace, where oversized white shirts were sent down the catwalk over baggy jeans.

Alexander McQueen also focused on structured shirting silhouettes, as did Loewe, Valentino, Tod’s, Gucci, Christian Dior, Emilia Wickstead, Proenza Schouler and Sacai. And in nearly every case, the crisp, tailored designs bore more of a resemblance to the high-quality, thick cotton styles men have bought for decades than the skimpy blouses women have usually been left with.

A look from Bottega Veneta’s autumn 2023 collection.

For Durell, the high-end women’s market has always sold well-made shirts; it was the mid-range that was sorely lacking.

“I was forced to wear men’s shirts before I started WNU,” she says. “Most of the women’s shirting you find is either great quality but inordinately expensive, or accessibly priced and awful quality. I wanted to bridge that gap, and give the sort of middle offering that men have always had – great shirts at an accessible price.”

As well as the quality of the cotton and the all-important cut, Durell points to the importance of small details that are far more likely to be overlooked in womenswear than menswear.

“The material and the finish are all essential – the same with any good piece of clothing. But for a really good shirt to work, the finish matters. Buttons are often an oversight and we take great pride in using natural materials for ours, such as nuts and shells.”

A look from Prada’s autumn/winter 2023 collection.

As women start demanding higher-quality shirts, brands from across the price spectrum have stepped up. Savile Row – once a great bastion of male design – has taken note of women’s desire for beautifully cut, well-made shirts and iconic brands like Huntsman are now releasing their men’s collections in women’s sizes. Many of their most profitable pieces have been shirts.

On the other end of the spectrum, high-street stores like Uniqlo and Arket have expanded their women’s shirting options, citing an increase in sales across various markets, in particular for plain white or pinstriped numbers rather than anything too floral or print-laden.

French brands are also leading the pack, with Maison Standards – once a menswear label – now making space for women’s fashion by designing shirts and jumpers in the same materials and colours as their male offerings, but adjusting for a woman’s body.

A khaki green shirt from With Nothing Underneath.

Once called girlfriend dressing, this shift is fast becoming such a standard part of women’s fashion that it no longer needs a name. Getting the best of menswear while retaining the flair and creativity of women’s fashion? Sounds like a win to me.

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