Double Duty: Relaxed Linen Button Up

In October, I kicked off the Double Duty series, where I am showcasing my closet workhorses for you guys. The premise of the series is simple: my life – according to clothes – falls into three main categories: DAILY (MOM) LIFE, FUN, and DRESSY. When an item pulls ‘double-duty’ and ticks off two (or more!) of these categories, it often ends up being in high rotation for me.

Today, I’m sharing my affinity for my relaxed linen button up shirt from Everlane.

A white button up might seem like a simple, no-brainer piece to add to a wardrobe, and it is. It’s a piece that will serve you well if you choose it well. Though the item itself is simple, it’s easy to mess up. After borrowing my husband’s oxford shirt a few times, I decided to order my own, a slim cut version from the men’s section. It fit well, but it just felt too… structured. And maybe even a bit masculine, which I suppose is what I get when I shop in the men’s section. Looking back, I think I liked my husband’s because it was big on me. The more fitted version made me feel like I should be heading in to work at a desk job or something. A better option might have been Everlane’s relaxed poplin button up, but, as nice as poplin is, it’s a tad dressy for my casual lifestyle. Linen button up to the rescue!

Why It Works:

Fabric – As I mentioned, I’m not a huge fan of poplin, so this linen option is a great alternative. To me linen feels relaxed and earthy. I am not an ‘earthy’ type, but something about this quality in linen appeals to me. It just feels nice on my skin. It breathes well, and drapes nicely. But the price to pay for linen is wrinkles! When I’m ready to wear my shirt, I give it a good ol’ steamy iron down, and then I wear it and embrace the wrinkles as they fall. Sometimes I’ll even wear my shirt twice on the same iron job. The wrinkles help keep the shirt from being too serious. However, if I put a sweater over the shirt, or a snug jacket, the wrinkle-factor is a bit higher.

Cut – The shape of this top is perfect! You can see in the model photo the way the top drapes away from the body. When tucked in (as you’ll see below) the top is also nice and blouse-y.

Easy Factor: 3.5/5 – I gave this a 3.5 because of the wrinkle issue. Overall it’s very easy to style, and make an impression in a simple look, like over jean shorts, or layered under a dress.

How I Styled It:

For ‘Dressy’:

[ linen button up | wool skirt, 15 years old! | Madelyn Wool Coat, c/o Only Child | tights, old | boots, c/o Everlane ]

A fun little piece of trivia here: I’ve had this skirt since high school! Seeing that I graduated 15 years ago, I find this particularly impressive. When I was in high school, GAP was all the rage, and I loved deeply every item I owned from there. Particularly my first ever wool sweater, a charcoal gray cardigan that I wore until I got holes in the elbows, and the multi-stripe sweater that was oh-so-popular in 2000, and this skirt. It’s really well made, that’s why I always kept it, and it’s been fun to watch it rotate in and out of style over the years.

For ‘Daily (Mom) Life’:

[ linen shirt | Levi’s 501’s, thrifted | boots | Dooney & Bourke bag, thrifted ]

I love how this outfit turned out. It hit all the right notes for me – relaxed, cool, and a tad chic. The color palette works really well too. It’s amazing what a pair of jeans in a great shade of blue can do. This look felt risky when I styled it, baggy shirt with baggy jeans, but the sleek silhouette of the boots balanced out the volume nicely. Definitely a winner in my book.

And there you have it, one of my closet heroes, doing the job well!  In case you missed them, can find my previous Double Duty pieces here and here.

Have a great weekend! And if you’re in Portland, I hope you survived ‘Snowpacalypse!’