Where I buy shirts

A #clothesmyhusbandhates moment

This green shirt is from Lisou. Worn with a silk tie from Donna Ida it is most definitely clothesmyhusbandhates

My friend Stef told me the other day I am ‘good at shirts.’ I’m not sure if I have a ‘signature style’ but I am weak in the face of a colourful and interesting shirt. I’ve built up quite a collection over the years, and whenever I wear one of my favourites for filming - on Lorraine or Palace Confidential, or more recently on Friday Night Fashion with Amanda Wakeley - I get a lot of queries. So, I decided to lean into Stef’s lovely compliment and give you a rundown of some of my favourite places to find them. There’s a good spread of price ranges here, but in defence of the super spendy ones: they tend to be from brands that make clothes that are so original that if I invest, I get a lot of wear out of it.

La Double J

I am this brand’s (broke) bitch. It was founded by American JJ Martin, a fabulous former fashion journalist who moved to Italy in the early noughties. She does tend to say things in interviews like this - ‘I’m heading to Egypt for a fortnight, where I’m co-organising a spiritual retreat with a friend of mine, who is a high priestess’. The fact that this is her life is helped in no small part by people like me who cannot resist the riot of colour, silk and beautiful vintage Italian prints that are the joyous hallmark of this maximalist Italian brand.

They’re expensive but so beautiful. My daughter often tells me that it looks like I’m wearing an expensive bathroom floor and I am fine with that. 100%. Little tip: I recently found a beautiful La Double J shirt, in pristine condition, on Vinted for £60.

Pajama shirt by La Double J

Pikol Clothing

I discovered this brand via the great stylist Angie Smith. She mentioned on her Instagram and the founder Dan is now under no illusions about how obsessed I am. In fact he will be featuring here soon in a new series where I speak to fashion people I find inspiring. He takes vintage tea towels and turns them into absolutely heavenly shirts. He recently did a collaboration with Anya Hindmarch too. He’s going places. A champion of slow fashion and upcycling, all his shirts are hand-made, which means each piece is one of a kind. Which in turn makes it damn hard to get hold of one. It takes the focus and tenacity of a rabid shopaholic (hi). I managed to nab this beauty:

Even if you’re not shopping, the Pikol Clothing Instagram feed reminds me of why we all loved Instagram in the beginning: A grid of simply gorgeous and inspiring things to look at.

Lisou

If you know me at all, you know I’m a major fan. Founder/creator Rene McDonald is the queen of the colourful print clash and her silk shirts, dresses, skirts, jumpsuits and blazers are unashamedly pretty. The brand’s commitment to sustainability is impressive too.

Lisou’s pineapple-print shirt on my weekonawall

Sebline

Charles Sebline does one thing and he does it amazingly. Shirts. He has a particular fondness for striped shirts and tuxedo details and whaddyaknow, me too. You can’t go wrong, each and every one a timeless keeper. This blanket stitched baby will not stop winking at me.

With Nothing Underneath

The whole vibe of this timeless brand is a feeling of stealing a favourite shirt from your man’s wardrobe and living in it. Oversized shapes, beautiful fabrics, chic stripes of block colours. This recent collaboration with Tart London caught my eye.

The embroidery details are all over the front too but I wanted to show you the back.

Uniqlo

You can’t beat a mooch around Uniqlo. Have you been to the new store at One Oxford Street? Worth a pop-in or two, for sure. This gingham shirt has been on heavy rotation in my wardrobe and it’s now on sale.

I have to say though, I probably buy more stuff from Uniqlo menswear. If I need a great basic shirt - crisp white, faded blue, denim - they’re great, affordable quality.

Alex Mill

I absolutely love the preppy vibes of this brand - the cheerful colours, the sharp stripes, the crisp cottons. But I have a few shirts from them that add playful details to the basic formula too. Like one basic red and white striped shirt that has great ruffle details at the wrist. Or the green striped one that has functional buttons on the back and front. Not terrifying prices either, for something that will really last.

Blake cotton shirt in ruffle voile

Hope you enjoyed this whistle stop trawl of my favourites! Let me know your thoughts on this kind of content.