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Home » The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 34: short-sleeved neutral shirt

The Weekly Timeless Wardrobe, Week 34: short-sleeved neutral shirt

February 24, 2020

I thought that shirts like this would be EVERYWHERE by now… Silly me!

shell pink linen shirt – L.L.Bean

But after I thought for a minute about the overall plan, I realized that any lightweight shirt in which one can roll their sleeves is what we really want. This shirt covers the back of your neck when it gets too sunny, protects you from vicious air conditioning, and covers anything that you’d like to keep under wraps! (these shirt can make great swimsuit coverups…)

First up, remember our 6 scarves? There are, of course, nice summery shirts that are perfect with these scarves:

navy lion and peacock scarf – Aspinal of London; navy twill shirt – Lands’ End; mustard “A” Floral scarf – Aspinal of London; gray shirt – REMAIN Birger Christensen; Magenta Robins scarf – Aspinal of London; black twill shirt – Lands’ End

mint green “A” Floral scarf – Aspinal of London; chambray linen blend shirt – Dorothy Perkins; Earth Mandala scarf – GISY; olive linen-blend shirt – H&M; shield scarf – Aspinal of London; brown linen shirt – Uniqlo

A shirt like this is perfect is you work in 1 of those “no shirts above the elbow” environments (I promise you, they exist!), but you want to go outside during lunch and sit under a tree…

earrings – Banana Republic; necklace – Gorjana; black ¾ sleeve shirt – Lands’ End; striped tee shirt – Uniqlo; cotton no-wrinkle pants – L.L.Bean; canvas shoes – Keds

If you want to tone-down a tee shirt (this following one is gold!), an over-shirt of some sort is the perfect way to do it.  Maybe it’s got an inscription that you don’t want everyone to see? Or it’s a bit revealing, because you’ve got romantic plans later? Fear not…

earrings – Kate Spade New York; necklace – Halogen; gold tee shirt – Only; oatmeal linen shirt – L.L.Bean; olive no-wrinkle cotton pants – L.L.Bean; gold espadrilles – Old Navy

Maybe you just want to look fresh and crisp…

earrings – Bhavesh; necklace – Majorica; tee shirt – Banana Republic; white poplin tunic – Banana Republic; granite canvas pants – L.L.Bean; loafers – Carvela Comfort

If you’re outdoors a lot, a shirt that repels insects and blocks SUV rays is always important! This is one of those “is your neck getting sunburned?” moments:

earrings – Soft Surroundings; necklace – Allsaints; white tropicwear shirt – L.L.Bean;  cheer blue tee shirt – Lands’ End; pants – Karen Kane; shoes – P.F. Flyers

If the rest of your outfit is understated, some dots can be fun!

earrings – Talbots; necklace – Talbots; white tee – L.L.Bean; navy dot shirt – L.L.Bean; wrinkle-free cotton pants – L.L.Bean; canvas boat shoes – Sperry

Maybe leopard is one of your neutrals?

earrings – Jenny Bird; Earth pendant – Astley Clarke; leopard shirt – All In Favor; twig chinos – L.L.Bean; leather & straw bag – Pamela Munson; sandals – Vince

This wardrobe finally looks VERY different – a new accent color! While this means that I can’t wear this new pink shirt under a cobalt cardigan, that seems a small price to pay for the added verve of another accent color!

white, black and red tees – Lands’ End; floral tee – Lands’ End; linen cardigan – Halogen; shell pink linen shirt – L.L.Bean; striped Henley – Lands’ End; black metallic hoodie – Michael Kors Collection; cobalt cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End; black cropped pants – L.L.Bean; black wrinkle free cotton pants – L.L.Bean; velvet skirt – Marks & Spencer; striped sweater dress – Banana Republic

The list of remaining items keeps getting shorter and shorter…

It’s going to be interesting to see how this all works out, in the end! I have some ideas…

love,

Janice

p.s. Four years ago we built a capsule wardrobe in brown, camel, cream and turquoise – 1 Piece at a Time.

THE WEEKLY TIMELESS WARDROBE, WEEK 34_ SHORT-SLEEVED NEUTRAL SHIRT

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02.24.20 13 Comments

Tags: shirts, warm weather, Weekly Timeless Wardrobe
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Comments

  1. Lise says

    February 24, 2020 at 6:30 am

    Hi Janice, the Pinterest pin buttons seem to be missing.. Lise

    Reply
  2. Nancy says

    February 24, 2020 at 9:14 am

    Collared shirts are practical all year long..I wear them under sweaters..when I don’t want a scarf or necklace, and also just for extra warmth. Love the oatmeal linen shirt!

    Reply
  3. TinaD says

    February 24, 2020 at 9:24 am

    Love a linen shirt for “dress like a grownup” occasions, especially ones with roll sleeves & sleeve tabs; around here they’re 3-season attire. I may be missing something, but I’m not sure why you couldn’t wear the pink shirt under the cobalt sweater—if it’s about color intensities, pink and kelly green have, in the past, been all the rage and are a similar pastel+jewel tone.

    Reply
    • Janice says

      February 24, 2020 at 12:56 pm

      Good point! Thanks for taking the time to point this out…
      hugs,
      Janice

      Reply
  4. Kathleen says

    February 24, 2020 at 10:49 am

    I use Lands End swim shirts that are SPF for the summer. They are long sleeved but you can feel the breeze through them. Put a shirt over them and you are save from the arctic air conditioning.

    Reply
  5. Beth T says

    February 24, 2020 at 1:53 pm

    I love the pink shirt. However the link is broken and I can’t find it on the LL Bean website. Thought you ought to know.

    I’ve just bought a similar pink shirt by Liz Claiborne – found it for a bargain price in a charity shop! I will wear mine with light grey. Grey and pink seems a very 80’s combination but I love it.

    With your hair and colouring, I reckon that you would look great wearing a stronger and brighter pink, like cerise, to wear under a cobalt cardigan. Pink and black, though, do look classy.

    Reply
    • Janice says

      February 24, 2020 at 4:25 pm

      The link worked for me, but that proves entirely NOTHING in the computer world…

      This is the link for the short-sleeved shirt: https://shopstyle.it/l/bd3V1

      This is the link for the long-sleeved version: https://shopstyle.it/l/bd3V2

      and THIS is the link for the linen tunic! https://shopstyle.it/l/bd3Vc

      With my newly-born love of pink, I’m going to HAVE to have one of these, right?
      hugs,
      Janice

      Reply
  6. Mimi says

    February 24, 2020 at 2:21 pm

    Hi, By chance am I missing the link to the white UPF shirt that’s part of the outfit with the cheer blue tee shirt? I have gone in the past to the Columbia outlet and purchased the PFG UPF longsleeve, roll-tabs, collard shirts for long days outdoors. The buttons are snaps and I was told by another shopper that these are best, the button snaps, if you are into kayaking or paddle boarding as all you need to do is unsnap the shirt, dip it into the cool water quickly and put it back on over your swim top or athletic bra– you keep cool that way.

    Reply
    • Janice says

      February 24, 2020 at 4:23 pm

      Nope, that was entirely me missing that link! I don’t know what I use for brains some days…

      It’s there now; thanks for letting me know.

      hugs,
      Janice

      Reply
  7. Robyn says

    February 25, 2020 at 2:59 pm

    Not the main focus, but the leopard set’s sandals and bag could make me break my shopping fast!

    Reply
  8. Margery says

    February 25, 2020 at 9:31 pm

    Absolutely love the pink linen shirt! So perfect whether it’s with black, beige, navy, taupe, grey or white pants. Or chocolate brown, denim blues. Honestly is there a neutral that it wouldn’t go with?

    I’ve begun to see it as a neutral in its own right. This soft slightly warm tinged pink.

    Reply
  9. Alice says

    February 26, 2020 at 6:48 am

    I love the idea of using a short-sleeved shirt as a swimsuit coverup! I burn easily but overheat just as easily, so a breezy linen shirt might save me. And I actually already have one that I don’t use as much as I’d like!

    Reply
  10. Gail Leverett says

    February 28, 2020 at 7:39 am

    Just a heads up, a few years ago I used my ExOfficio UPF 30 long sleeve white shirt as a cover-up for a day of swimming and snorkeling. The sunscreen that I had used while the shirt was off caused yellow stains that I never got out. The shirt worked wonderfully well to keep me from having a sunburn, but I ruined the shirt.

    Reply

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The Vivienne Files is a unique personal style blog with carefully-selected capsule wardrobes based on color palettes drawn from works of art, nature, and more. It helps women buy less clothing, and to love what they buy. Read more...
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