Women’s formal shirts have become a staple of any classy lady’s wardrobe who likes to step out of her comfort zone and appear ambitious. Formal shirts effortlessly make you look elegant and dashing. Styling a formal shirt for work or meetings gives you the power to feel confident in yourself and your ideas. It is safe to say that choosing the right kind of formal shirt elevates your style from ‘meh’ to ‘yeah’ in no time.
However, the biggest question is how to choose the right shirt that drastically changes your gloomy wardrobe and solves your outfit problems in a go! If you often find yourself in a similar situation, then fret not, as you have landed at the right article.
What Qualifies as a Women’s Formal Shirt?
It is vital to distinguish women’s formal shirts from men’s as such shirts were traditionally only worn by men. Formal shirts became a significant part of women’s clothing from the mid-1800s. Since this is a detailed guide about choosing the right women’s formal shirts, let us start with enlisting a few points that describe the characteristics of women’s formal shirts.
- Women’s formal shirts have vertical buttoned opening fully lined with buttons.
- The correct length is also a defining feature of the women’s formal shirt. Ideally, the hem should be long enough to style the shirt either tucked in or left untucked.
- They are mostly made of cotton weaves.
- Dress shirts for women have long sleeves with cuffed wrists.
- Lastly, women’s formal shirt also has properly fitted collar.
Knowing these defining features is a must to benefit fully from purchasing, owning, or stylizing a dress shirt. Let us move on to the exciting part of the guide, where we learn how to choose the right formal shirt.
Choosing the Right Formal Shirt for Women
1. Correct fitting is the key
Fashion differs from region to region and can exist in many forms, but nowhere is ignoring the right fit considered a fashion or a trend. Ill-fitting clothes make you appear lazy – unless you want to hang out around the house and just chill on weekends while binge-watching your favorite show. Irrespective of the price tag on your formal shirt, it is not for you if it does not fit right.
Note two essential points when shopping for a formal women’s shirt: the actual fit of the shirt and how it really fits you. Let us explain it further. For the first point, the best-quality women’s formal shirts are specifically designed to highlight the contours of your figure. An excellent fitted shirt flatters your curves without making you appear vulgar and overly conscious.
As for the second vital point, note the following things when trying on so that you get the formal shirt that fits you perfectly.
- Try giving a hug to someone while trying out your shirt and see if you can reach forward without any problem. An excellent fitted shirt will allow you to easily move your arms forward and embrace without tugging at the back and making you uncomfortable.
- Notice if there is a gap between your shirt buttons. Space between the buttons means you must opt for a bigger size as your bust stretches the fabric too much.
- If the fitting of your shirt constantly makes you conscious about sucking your stomach in, it is not a good sign. It is safer to up a size or two as the best-adorned clothes are the ones you are relaxed and comfortable in.
- Another critical point in determining whether the shirt is a perfect fit for you or not is to ensure that the length of the shirt is long enough. Does the shirt not stay tucked in and keep coming out when you sit down? Does the length seem even a little short when you try tucking the shirt in? If the answer to these questions is yes, you need a longer fit.
- Lastly, if the sleeves of your dress shirt fail to cover your wrists, it is better to keep looking until you find a better fit.
Note: the whole point of enlisting these checklist points to get the right formal shirt is to make you look incredibly comfortable yet classy. The way we style any dress has an immense impact on our behavior. It is why you must wear the right formal shirt to your work so that you feel confident and upbeat all the time.
2. Fabric
Not all fabrics are created for all types of outfits, especially in the case of a woman’s wardrobe. The perfect fabric for a chic formal shirt that gives you the correct fit is 100% cotton. Cotton is the best choice for dress shirts as it is breathable – allowing you to carry formal attire at work the whole day effortlessly.
So, you must go for a pure cotton dress shirt to add to your wardrobe as cotton gives the right amount of flair and fitting a formal shirt requires. Pay heed to ply and thread count too.
3. The Collar
Next comes the most notable feature of a dress shirt: the collar! It is undoubtedly the most distinguishing feature of a dress shirt as it is the first thing anyone notices. The collar borders your face and neck, so it should be rightly chosen as an apt collar that matches your work persona and signals professionalism and competence.
A crisp and firm collar are the one to go for, as the type of collar does not matter, but its firmness does. A crisply ironed collar indicates your effort to dress yourself up for the day.
4. The Cuffed Sleeves
Formal outfits are scrutinized in detail and attract attention to every little effort you have put in to complete the outfit. Besides the collar’s fit, the cuffed sleeves also reflect an aesthetic taste in fashion. Therefore, when shopping for a formal shirt, always pay attention to crisp cuffs with high-end tailoring resulting in no needless lines.
French cuffs are ideal for matching your inner fashionista. The other option is to go for button cuffs. French cuffs can add style and class to your outfit. Whether you style it with a long pencil skirt or dress pants, French cuffs are easily the best way to appear chic and classy. They require cufflinks.
5. Block-Colored or Patterned
Choosing the right color or pattern for your dress shirt is subjective. However, universally, white is the most popular color for a professional look. White is also easy to match with pants, skirts, and other accessories. A crisp white formal shirt, such as one from Corroborate Shirts for Women, helps you look polished and poised with timeless elegance.
Other sophisticated color options for women’s formal shirts are light blue, pink, and black. All these three colors for formal dress shirts exude an aura of sophistication that attract attention to your competence and seriousness.
An all-black formal outfit with possibly gold cufflinks on French cuffed wrists can make you stand out from the crowd like nothing else. Black is the go-to color for many women when dressing for formal occasions and right so because black does justice to every contour and curve of the body.
Other options are floral printed formal shirts or patterned ones. Both of these options are great for a semi-professional or casual setting. A floral dress shirt in your wardrobe can provide tons of styling options, such as pairing it with white jeans or summery cotton flared skirts.
Finding the Right One
Although choosing the right formal shirt for adding to your wardrobe might seem daunting, especially to the ones buying them for the first time, it comes naturally to you once you get used to wearing dress shirts. You must invest time in searching for a perfect buy instead of hasting into a decision and regretting it later. Formal shirts for women make an excellent addition to the wardrobe, making it classier and adding elegance.
Apart from that, if you are interested to know about Traditional Indian Outfits That Every Girl Can Wear then visit our Fashion category.
