Somewhere between the 90s oversized band T-shirts we used to wear, and today’s 20-years-older-selves stealing our men’s shirts and tees to linger a little bit longer over coffee one morning, being told how sexy we looked – something happened. A sartorial click in our lives that comes with age, love for fashion, and the need to look effortless and relaxed rather than skin-tight-glamour-puss uncomfortable.
We are grown up women with a penchant for all men’s clothes. Amen to that. Once we gave boyfriend jeans and boyfriend blazers a try, we were hooked. Not on men. Pffff. But on their assets. From there on, everything went down the hill a few sizes higher, and that, coming from a girl who’s got more girly days rather than Tom-boy’ish moments, such as myself, is goddamn liberating.
So we ‘borrow’ men’s clothes. (eye roll) So we like to wear their tees and shirts. (eye roll)SO WHAT? At this point I’m practically ready to raid all my friends’ closets. A tee per male specimen should be the general rule in any group of friends. We should all shake on it and get on with our fashion lives.
The good thing ladies is we don’t need no man for this trend, unless of course we wanna do the trend per se, spend nothing on achieving the look, and nail it 100%. Hence the two ways in which BOYFRIEND TEES TREND can be done: we either buy menswear inspired tees in a few sizes up, OR we simply borrow from the beautiful boys in our lives. God knows t-shirts are their uniforms, might as well capitalise on those. Just saying.
Shocking as it may come, we are not all Beyonces or Rihannas, with 24/7 overflowing sex-appeal and swag on point no matter what we wear. So draping ourselves in menswear clothes, oversized, slouchy, and all of that, might come with the hobo-sans-chic predicament. Theoretically. I mean, it COULD be a very very tiny possibility.
The first time I tried my man’s tee on, I realised the image in my head was 1,000 light years away from the mirror’s image. And ever since I’m haunted by Elaine Bennes’ question: ‘Could it be I’m not as attractive as I thought I am?’
As any mortal out there, I shall not give up, I thought. Which I didn’t. They do say practice makes perfect. Well it may not all be perfect, but I wouldn’t be ashamed today to don a man’s shirt in public. But then again, I’m rarely ashamed.
The thing is, there are a few tips and tricks to bare in mind when rocking an oversized t-shirt, and given the on-flowing boyfriend trend attire I thought of sharing some of my tips with you.
It’s easy to put some shirt on, but if it’s at least one size up, how do we make it look chic?
1. OFFICE LOOK. A basic boyfriend t-shirt, scoop neck, V-cut, or around the neck, with or without graphic message can act like a perfect office blouse. It will look amazing tucked in a pencil skirt, office pants, with heels and a blazer on top. A statement necklace can add the right amount of femininity alongside a dash of lipstick and coloured nails.
2. GLAMOUR CHIC. A boyfriend tee can be the perfect balance piece in a super glamourous outfit: stiletto heels, bold lips, big hair, shorts, skinny jeans, mini dress.
3. DRESS-TEE. Think Beyonce or Rihanna. Those 2 can wear their boyfriend t-shirts as dresses with either sneakers or heels and look amazing. Make sure the t-shirt is long enough and you’ll feel so sexy and relaxed in it. Guaranteed. I love this look with bold lips and some extra bling.
4. EVERYDAY CASUAL. The boyfriend tee is the perfect piece when you don’t know what to wear. Just throw one on with your skinny jeans or cutoffs, those espadrilles, sneakers or gladiator sandals and sunglasses and shut the front door.
5. OVERSIZED EVERYTHING. Think hobo-chic, cause it is chic. Oversized denim shorts, or jeans can look amazing with an even bigger sized t-shirt. It’s casual Sunday brunch.
6. LOUNGEWEAR. I mean… let’s just come clean, on of the perks of those mornings after is getting to wear new clothes. Sure, kinda big, but cool and trendy nonetheless. On weekends, boyfriend tees are seriously the best pjs and loungewear out there. Why wear mine, when I can have yours?
SHOP below 9 boyfriend T-shirts for every style:
