The TRAVEL WARDROBE: The White Shirt

 Perhaps it's the beautiful sunny weather, or perhaps it's the sale season, but I have an unstoppable urge to go through and cleanse my closet and streamline it to actual items that will:

1. make it easier to get dressed everyday,
2. make it easier to pack a cohesive and effective suitcase,
3. accurately reflect my style and taste.

So I'm starting a new section about building the "perfect wardrobe" as I do it myself. And how better to start than with the quintessential basic: the White Shirt. 

The white shirt can be worn with anything. It can be dressed up and dressed down. So it's worth splurging if you find the white shirt of your dreams. I personally have a small army of white shirts (or rather blouses - as none of them are fitted...) and still feel like I'm missing the shirt of my dreams.

Anatomy of a White Shirt
Length
When choosing a white shirt, make sure you understand your proportions and know what length best suits you. Get a length that you know you can wear both tucked and untucked.
Remember that if you have wider hips, you'll want to get something a little longer than hip-length.

Fabric
Cotton is always a winner when it comes to basics as it works both for cooler and warmer areas. I prefer a lightweight cotton which can be worn under sweaters without creating an unsightly bulge, or on a warm summer day without blocking out any cool breeze there might be - not to mention how fantastically little space it will take up in your suitcase.

Cotton is also an easy fabric to take care of, and the light cotton will mean that you will be able to wash and dry it relatively quickly - great as well since it will likely have crinkled up in your suitcase, and you'll likely want to steam it up in the bathroom (while taking a shower) to let it hang dry those wrinkles out.

Style
 I find that loose, boyfriend-style shirts are the most versatile, definitely the most comfortable and flattering on many body shapes. But at the end it does come down to your personal taste. As do the details and finishes of the shirt. Whether it has pockets or not, plain buttons or gold ones, roll up sleeves or not is really up to you. I will say, though, that a collar does give a certain je ne sais quoi, and works better under sweaters, as well as giving you more control over how buttoned up or unbuttoned you want your shirt to be.