By Michelle Crowe
Lauren Hutton exudes all-American cool in a 1970s chambray shirt tucked into an easy skirt.
They say we’re moving toward season less fashion and year-round wardrobes. Well, that might work for our friends in Houston and San Francisco, but here in Chicago we need armor for our winters and lightweight wonders for the sticky summers.
Certain staples do work well year-round, anywhere in the world, including the Midwest.
On the runway at Chloe.
A soft, lovely chambray shirt is one such item.
Ageless and season less: Cindy Crawford in chambray.
This work wear fabric is so beautiful when worn with a camel coat. It’s an ideal layering piece under a favorite sweater on the weekend. And we don’t even mind the denim on denim thing when it’s a fantastic chambray shirt with perfectly fitted jeans. If you just can’t go there, colored denim is an option or some double-faced wool trousers.
Carolyn Murphy models chambray for J. Crew.
As the year goes along, white jeans are a winner and a button-up makes a handy and stylish bathing suit cover-up.
See, a year-round wardrobe is possible.
Fashion stylist and skin care guru Linda Rodin in denim rather than chambray, but still right on.
When you find a chambray shirt that fits just right, that delights the touch with its lightweight, comforting softness, buy a backup or two. Because once you’re hooked on the versatility, you’ll be tucking yours into skirts, popping it over dresses instead of a cardigan and more.
Donatella revived this look for Versace as part of an homage to Gianni’s genius. His original baroque take on a denim and ball skirt appeared on the runway for Spring 1992.
It’s the sort of all-American style that the world loves so much that French and Italian design houses like to interpret it. Make it your own and transition onward in style.
