The Big Shirt: Your Essential Transition to Autumn Item

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

If there’s one piece of clothing every women should own these days it’s an oversize big shirt. As the hot days of summer get shorter and cooler we start to plan outfits for Autumn. But early September is too soon for the browns and moss greens of a typical Fall wardrobe. This is transition time. How to easily convert summer looks for cool evenings and cloudy days? Add a layer. And the ideal layer for the start of the change from summer to Autumn is a big boyfriend style shirt in cotton or linen.

Shorts still look right at the end of summer

A linen shirt adds very little weight to an outfit. But it stops a shopping trip leaving you shivery if the day turns colder. In this post I’m just modelling one of my big shirts but you could get two or three ready to avoid getting bored. This shirt is by Boden. It’s one I bought about 18 months ago and I’ve worn it a lot. The color immediately lifts a boring outfit.

Link to same linen shirt, different colors at Boden US. Link to the linen shirt at Boden UK – this blue color no longer available.

Choosing heavier weight cotton pants for cooler days

Lots of Spring items work just as well for transition and Fall looks. Here are my cream pants from my Spring wardrobe. They don’t crease as easily as lightweight cotton chinos. They’re too heavy for a heatwave but I’m looking forward to wearing them on cloudy or windy days as I can wear them through the day and into the evening if I’m out somewhere informal.

These carrot leg pants are from M&S, see US link or see UK link to these heavier cotton elastic waist trousers

Shoes can style a summer outfit smarter

These navy cropped tapered linen pants are from several years back. They came from Marks and Spencer. I like the French seaside vibe with summer striped tee, navy pants, overshirt and heeled sandals. Today at 77 my ankles are swollen and show veins so this isn’t my every day look. But it’s fun for when I see neighbors for an evening glass of wine now and again.

As you can see the heels are low block heels so they are easy to walk in. I never wear slim heels these days. They make me look silly because the rest of me looks too large in comparison. I feel the same about pointed toe shoes.

Wearing the big shirt as a scarf

If the days starts warm and sunny, wear your big shirt over your shoulders. Then it’s ready for a breezier afternoon. With a sleeveless top it nicely covers your upper arms, if you worry about them. If you knot the sleeves of the shirt it gives a holiday feel to your look. Add sneakers to complete the vacation vibe.

Wearing the big shirt tucked in

Of course, the simplest way to wear the shirt on cooler days is to wear it alone or over a fine cotton vest. Although it’s cut wide – I often buy such shirts one size larger than usual – a linen shirt does not have too much bulk, so it can look good tucked into a skirt or pants with a belt.

I suggest wearing a belt as then you can pull the shirt out – a front tuck, a side tuck or an all round tuck as here. The belt allows you to direct attention to your center if you pull out enough fabric at the waist to mainly cover the belt at the sides and back. A large waist like mine looks better if people can’t see the exact circumference!

The open shirt

These linen shorts are several years old now. I bought them from Marks and Spencer because they were not too skimpy plus – and it’s a big plus – they have an elasticated waistband at the back. This means those holiday lunches are possible without undoing the front button! Worn today with an overshirt, I think they look reasonably slimming. The white rectangle between the front edges of the shirt plus the gold on the chain pendant then the metal buckle of the belt down to the gold trim on the sandals draw the eye up and down rather than across my hips.

I definitely wouldn’t wear these shorts with a close-fitting tee pulled down over them. You can see my reasoning in this post about styling pull-on pants.

An overshirt covers the gathers of elastic waist pants

Before it’s jacket and blazer weather it’s useful to pick out some of your large shirts to wear as a top layer. Today so many pants have an elastic waist – Thank the Lord! – but there’s always the problem of that fullness all the way round our enlarged waists after 60 or so. Sure, a heavy cardigan or jacket is the best solution as it gives a good straight line at the back. But in the transition to autumn the shirt can do the same job, as long as you don’t close it tightly across your front.

In this post all of the bottoms have elastic. The cream pants have this year’s full pull-on properties, with elastic all the way round the waist. So they work best for everyday. Really comfortable, but more difficult to wear to smarter events. The older shorts and cropped trousers both have elastic only at the back. Still comfortable and forgiving, but the flat front allows them to look smarter when you want to style for going out with friends or sightseeing round a city.

On a final note, I have to mention creasing. As you can see in these photos, although I ironed the linen shirt before wearing, it quickly creased. Personally, I think this is OK these days, for casual wear or on holiday. But I feel it’s very difficult to pull off a smart look in the evening with a linen shirt. Either the car seat belt or simply sitting on the bus (remember those?!) will already have creased the shirt before you even arrive for your evening event or date (remember those?!) So, for me, a silky satin shirt or a heavier cotton or denim shirt would work better. I have one of each of those at the ready as we approach the Fall.

If you like this try-on you could sort through your shirts for an everyday one and something more suited to ‘going out’ (remember that?!)

Let me know what you think about the whole creasing deal in the comments below.