At 62, I finally gave up on white shirts, and I do not miss them
At 62, I finally gave up on white shirts, and I do not miss them
Six things the Berinda gets right that my white shirts got wrong, from a woman who is not a fashion writer.
Caroline Richards · Customer · Nottinghamshire · 5 min read Let me be plain about who is talking. I am Caroline, I am 62, I live in Nottinghamshire, and I have never once sat down to write about a shirt. But I have owned a white shirt my whole adult life. It was my smart thing, my safe thing, the shirt you put on when you do not know what else to wear. Then one morning this autumn I caught myself in the hall mirror in my good white shirt, and it looked back at me like a hospital sheet. Stark, a bit grey round the collar, and somehow making my face look tired. So this is not a review. It is a woman who finally let go of the white shirt, saying so.
What I found is from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is called the Berinda, a relaxed button-down shirt in a fine little check, and mine is the beige: a soft stone colour and off-white, so from across a room it reads as a warm oatmeal. When the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
A checked shirt. At 62. Read on.
Here is how it happens, and I suspect it happens to most of us. We are told a white shirt is the one thing every woman should own, so we keep buying them. But bright white is harsh next to skin that has softened over the years, it shows every drop of tea and every smudge of make-up on the collar, and by lunchtime you are dabbing at your front in the café toilets. So the white shirt stays in the wardrobe for best, and best never comes.
I did not need a better white shirt. I needed a shirt that was kinder to me than white.
The Berinda is the first shirt in years I reach for without thinking, and having worn it most days since it arrived, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The afternoon it came. A lovely soft beige check, warmer in colour than I expected.
A soft colour that is kind to my face
The beige is a warm stone and off-white in a fine little check, so it does not glare up at my face the way white does. Next to my skin it looks soft and warm. My sister said I looked rested, which nobody has said to me in a white shirt for twenty years.
The beige is such a gentle colour. So much more flattering on me than white ever was.
Margaret P., BeestonA fine check is far more forgiving
A plain white shirt shows everything. The little check is far more forgiving to look at, and I have stopped checking my front in every shop window after a cup of tea. I can just wear it and get on with my day.
Up close. The fine little check, the collar and the white buttons.
I wear it all day, cooking, the grandchildren, the lot, and it still looks smart at teatime.
Sheila R., ArnoldStill a proper shirt
It has a classic collar, a full button front with little white buttons, and cuffs that button at the wrist. Everything I liked about a white shirt, the neatness and the feeling of being dressed, is still there. It just looks softer.
On the wardrobe door. The collar, the little white buttons and the curved hem.
A lovely neat shirt with a proper collar. Smart enough for lunch out, easy enough for every day.
Jean C., Long EatonRoom where I need it
It is a relaxed cut, with room through the body and the sleeves, so nothing pulls when I reach across the table or lift the shopping. But it is still a straight, neat shape, so it does not look like a tent. The boutique even lists the bust measurement each size fits, so I could check before I ordered.
Comfortable across the chest and arms without being baggy. I checked the bust size on the listing and it was spot on.
Pauline T., HucknallLoose, tucked or rolled up
The hem curves gently, so it looks nice worn loose over jeans, and it tucks in neatly when I want to be a bit smarter. The sleeves roll up easily on a busy day in the kitchen, and on a warmer day I wear it open over a vest top.
Sleeves rolled up in the kitchen, hem worn loose over my jeans.
Looks lovely loose with jeans. The curved hem is very flattering.
Brenda W., CarltonIt goes with all my autumn things
The beige sits beautifully with my camel coat, my navy cardigan and my jeans, all the things I live in from October. It also comes in seven other colours, from pink and coral to sage green and black, and in sizes from UK 8/10 right up to UK 22/24.
Bought the beige and went back for the sage. Goes with everything in my wardrobe.
Christine H., West BridgfordThis, against my white shirts
Most of us have a white shirt we were told we should own. I know, because I have had a dozen. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Stark against my face
Every drop of tea on show
Grey round the collar after a few washes
Saved for best, so never worn
Dabbing at my front by lunchtime
A soft beige check, kind to my face
A fine pattern that is far more forgiving
A classic collar and little white buttons
Worn most days, loose or tucked
Room through the body and arms
About the price
The Berinda is £29.95 at the moment. It was £60.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that with the autumn sale on the middle sizes are going first, and once this batch has gone it can be a long wait for it to come back. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you from my side is that half price is usually where I start asking what is wrong with a thing, and after weeks of wearing it, I have not found it.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered a second colour. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars, which sounded like real women rather than robots, so I read on. The same six things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other women's words.
If your white shirt is hanging in the wardrobe waiting for a best that never comes, I would start here. Not because you need more clothes, but because you deserve a shirt you actually wear. Go and have a look while your size is still there.
Caroline
BERINDA | Gingham Button-Down Shirt
- A fine gingham check in soft beige
- Classic collar and full button front
- Relaxed fit, room through the body and arms
- Long sleeves that roll up easily
- Curved hem to wear loose or tucked
- Eight colours, UK 8/10 (S) to UK 22/24 (5XL)
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The autumn sale is on now, half price. The middle sizes are going first.