Alright, so this whole oversized button shirt trend. For ages, I’d see people rocking it, looking all cool and breezy, and I figured, “How hard can it be?” Famous last words, honestly. My journey to get this look down was less of a fashion choice and more of a personal vendetta against fabric that wouldn’t drape right. It really became a whole thing for me.
My First Awful Attempts
First off, I did what anyone would do: I raided my partner’s closet. Grabbed a few of his older shirts. Disaster. I just looked like a kid playing dress-up in her dad’s clothes. Not chic, not effortless, just… frumpy. There was no “style,” just a lot of extra material hanging sadly. So, that was a bust.
Then I thought, okay, maybe I need to buy something actually labeled “oversized.” Went to a few stores, picked up a couple. One felt like wearing a cardboard box. Stiff, weirdly cut. Another was this flimsy material that clung in all the wrong places and wrinkled if you even looked at it funny. It was clear that “oversized” on a label didn’t mean much. They were just bigger, not necessarily better or styled for that specific look. Honestly, a lot of them felt like a total rip-off.
Figuring Out the Nitty-Gritty
This is where my “practice” really kicked in. I started really looking, I mean really looking, at the shirts that worked. It wasn’t just about size. It was a whole bunch of other stuff I hadn’t even considered. I spent a good while just observing and trying to pinpoint what made the good ones good.
Here’s what I slowly, painfully, figured out:
- The Fabric is King: This was a huge one. Stiff cottons? Nope. Too much structure. Thin, cheap synthetics? Even worse. I realized I needed something with a bit of weight so it would hang right, but still soft enough to drape. Think good quality cotton poplin, maybe a soft linen blend, or even some rayons.
- Shoulder Seams Matter: The good ones? The shoulder seam usually drops way down the arm. That’s what gives it that relaxed, slouchy vibe. If the shoulder seam is sitting right on your shoulder, even if the shirt is huge, it just looks like a badly fitting regular shirt.
- Cut, Not Just Size: It’s not just about taking a regular shirt and sizing it up by five. The actual pattern needs to be designed for that oversized silhouette. Things like the armhole size, the length, the way the collar sits – it all contributes.
- Less is More (Sometimes): I realized I didn’t always need to go for the absolute biggest tent I could find. Sometimes a slightly more moderate oversized fit, if the fabric and cut were perfect, looked way better.
The “Aha!” Moment and What I Do Now
My big breakthrough actually came from a thrift store. I found this men’s shirt, a few sizes too big, but it was this incredibly soft, slightly worn-in cotton. The shoulders were naturally dropped on me, and it just… worked. It cost me like, five bucks. After all that searching and spending on new stuff that was junk! That shirt became my template, my gold standard.
So, my practice now involves a lot more patience. I still look for them in thrift stores mostly. I feel the fabric immediately. I check the shoulder seams. I try it on, even if it looks massive on the hanger. I’ve learned to visualize how it’ll drape. Sometimes I’ll even do tiny alterations myself, like maybe shortening the sleeves if they’re comically long, but mostly I look for something that’s almost there.
I also got way better at styling them. A half-tuck is my best friend. Rolling up the sleeves just so. Sometimes wearing it open over a tank top. It’s not just about finding the shirt; it’s about making it look intentional, not like you just rolled out of bed in someone else’s clothes (even if you kinda did, but in a fashion way, you know?).
It took a while, and a fair bit of trial and error, but I finally feel like I’ve cracked the code on this one for myself. It’s not some big secret, just paying attention to the details that the fast fashion places often skip. So yeah, that’s my oversized shirt journey. More of an archaeological dig than a shopping trip, but hey, I got there.
