How To Wear a Printed Shirt | Style Guide
Well, you start by putting one arm inside a sleeve, then the other. Ugh shut up hashtag dad jokes, go away!
Printed shirts are a great way to have fun with your style and show your personality. They’re perfect for more casual events – a barbecue, a picnic, a trip to IKEA. You could wear one to a formal occasion, but only if you want to be known as ‘the wacky one’.
‘But what to wear them with?’, I hear you Google! Don’t worry, you’ve come to the right fashion-brand-blog-page…
What is a printed shirt?
What comes to mind when you hear the words, ‘Printed Shirt’? Firstly, why is someone saying ‘Printed Shirt’ out loud?
Then, maybe surf dudes with attitude (kind of groovy)? Guy Fieri? A 3D-digitally printed shirt?
A printed shirt is basically a shirt that has had a design printed on it. Not woven or embroidered. Printed. PRINTED. And it doesn’t have to be a print of palm trees or burning flames or Charlotte Church riding a dolphin. It doesn’t even have to be ‘loud’. It can be a delicate floral print, a geometric pattern, a classic paisley, tapestry…
HOW DO SHIRTS GET PRINTED?
Look at you, doing your homework!
The designs are digitally printed onto a special heat transfer paper on a sublimation printer, which is then transferred onto t-shirts with a heat press. Dye-sublimation uses heat to transform dye-based ink into gas, bonding it with synthetic materials like polyester.
Bet you wish you’d never asked.
Are printed shirts still in style?
Does Bradley Cooper want an Oscar?
Yes he does. And yes, they are.
Prints will always be in style, but they can suit different seasons. Floral prints or beach-themed prints look lovely in spring and summer. Geometric, paisley and abstract prints are better for the colder months.
But if you’re the kind of person who wears printed shirts, then you don’t follow rules do you?
With a Suit
Like Madge and Harold Bishop, a printed shirt and suit is the surprising combo that no-one expected, but works perfectly. And it means you can just about get away with wearing one to a wedding. Until one of you falls off a cliff.
And don’t think that just because your shirt says ‘I AM WILD’, your suit has to say ‘Yet I am also reassuringly normal.’
Try wearing your printed shirt with a suit in lighter colours and tones – like pastel or green. You’ll make a real statement. But a cool, understated statement. Not one that will make your partner have to apologise for you later.
With an Overshirt
A shirt over a shirt? Who are you, Shirty McShirtface? Mr Shirt Shirtington? Are you an actual shirt?
An overshirt is actually more of a jacket. I believe some people use the term ‘shacket’. We do not. It’s perfect for spring and perfect over your printed shirt. Pick a neutral tone, a colour that complements your print, or even… even.. a different print altogether. Boom.
With Straight Leg Trousers
If you want to look more Jack Kerouac and less Jack Sparrow, pair your printed shirt with some stylish straight leg trousers.
Party on the top, business on the bottom! Sorry.
Layered over a plain T Shirt
Want to show the world that you’re basically Andy Warhol on the outside, yet as reliable as Andrew Blah Blah something-or-other on the inside?
If you’re not ready for print-on-print action, then layer your printed shirt over a white t-shirt. You can leave it unbuttoned, or just show a hint of it at the top. Either way it’s a combo as classic as Charlene and her denim dungarees.
