Wednesday, July 24, 2013

review: investment silk shirts

lately i've been trying to avoid cheap purchases and invest in higher quality pieces.  (seriously, who isn't trying to do this?)  anyway, one of the items that i've been looking to invest in is some slouchy-ish silk shirts for tucking into skinny pants and pencil skirts.  i ordered a few and figured i'd post my thoughts on each since i couldn't find a good side-by-side brand comparison when i was doing my shopping.  

first up, j.crew factory's two-pocket silk shirt in neon rose.  i paid $49 for this one and they usually retail for $95, but dude, they are always having a percent off sale of some sort.
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i ordered a size small since that is my usual size for tops at j.crew factory.  the fit untucked and unrolled is pretty bad.  the sleeves are really long (and i rarely have this problem, so i'm pretty sure i do not have abnormally stumpy arms).  the shirt has some nice details like fabric covered buttons and three buttons on the cuffs, but i had some qualms with the fabric.  the finish is called "polished", so even though it feels like silk, it looks like shiny polyester in person.  the fabric is super thin and sheer in a way that's more like "flimsy" than "flowy".  it looks a little bit too much like satin pajamas for my taste.  
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next up, everlane's classic band in light grey.  i paid $80 for this shipped.
july blog post, silk shirt review, shopping for silk shirts, silk shirt investment pieces, everlane, j.crew factory two-button silk shirt, neon rose
i bought a band-collar shirt from h&m (seen in this post) a few months ago and have been a big fan of how it's somewhere between a dress shirt and a henley.  i had heard good things about everlane's tees from fran and i like the idea of a no frills company that is upfront about where their garments are produced.  the finish is "brushed" and is definitely more matte than the j.crew factory one.  i also like that it doesn't have front pockets which can look too masculine for my taste.  anyway, the silk is a good weight and the shirt champed it through an epic 15-hour workday last week.  this shirt is definitely going to become a weekly staple for my work wardrobe.  oh, and this is a size small.  
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and finally, for comparison, here is a extra-small silk shirt for zara that the boy gifted me a few years ago.  their silk shirts usually run in the $60-$100 range, so it's a similar price point to the first two.  
july blog post, silk shirt review, shopping for silk shirts, silk shirt investment pieces, everlane, j.crew factory two-button silk shirt, neon rose
this shirt has been my go-to for when i need to dress a bit more professionally and the subtle contrast between the white and washed out pink color makes it a bit more interesting than a solid white shirt.  like most light-color silk shirts, this one is a bit sheer, but i've layered it with print layers in the past to keep things interesting.  
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*this post was not sponsored in any way, i just thought i'd post a bajillion photos of myself wearing untucked shirts in our dining room.  

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