More Than A White Shirt

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In our lives we often overlook and take for granted many remarkable things. Perhaps we are so accustomed to having them that they don’t pique our attention much. But our oversight does not deprive such things of their excellence. A white shirt is one such thing. It is so ubiquitous that we rarely think of it as a monumental piece of fashion and design. But our obliviousness should not deprive the white shirt of its well-deserved accolades.

The simple piece of garment conceals within it a deep history, cultural relevance, and an intercontinental presence. It may seem like a blank canvas devoid of a personality, but it hides within it a formidable character.

The reasons why it continues to be relevant are varied and layered. When explored further, they make evident why the basic item of clothing is, in fact, not so basic at all.

The Color White 

Scientifically, a surface appears white when it reflects and scatters much of the visible light that falls on it. This makes the color white akin to a gentle reflector. And this has practical consequences. An object placed near white can appear sharper and brighter. It is why photographers use a white bounce card. And similarly, white garments make other pieces of clothing, jewelry and even the skin, more striking, more noticeable—as if having a very subtle halo effect. A white shirt paired with gray trousers will make the outfit appear bright and will make the gray bottoms more pronounced. However, the same gray trousers with a black shirt may make the whole look far more muted.

Furthermore, because white fabric can reflect back much of the light striking it, it tends to feel cooler in the summer. Of course, there are many other reasons that contribute to how fabric feels. A white woolen sweater in the summer heat will certainly not feel cool. But if two otherwise identical shirts, one white and one black, are compared, the white shirt will generally feel cooler.

These differences in how fabrics interact with light also affect their maintenance. A colored shirt absorbs and scatters some wavelengths of light and may be able to hide small stains. A white shirt, on the other hand, reflecting most of the light wavelengths, has nowhere to hide. Dirt and stains appear especially prominent on white fabric—making its maintenance cumbersome.

Additionally, over time, white natural fibers, like cotton and linen, can develop a pale yellow tint. To counteract this, clothing and textile manufacturers often use optical brighteners—chemicals that absorb ultraviolet light and re-emit it as blue light. This compensates for yellowish tones and can make the fabric appear whiter.  

Laundry bluing, commonly used in households, works on a similar visual principle by adding a minute amount of blue pigment or dye to counteract yellowing.

Cleanliness, Class and Craftsmanship

Because the upkeep of a white shirt requires effort and care, it also creates a perception of cleanliness. If a white shirt appears clean—it most probably is.

But before the advent of chemicals we commonly use today for laundry, it was constant washing, scrubbing with lye, starching and drying in the sun that kept white clothing white. This labor-intensive process of keeping white white once made white clothing an expensive possession. It became an indicator of a social class that had the means—domestic help, spare clothing, laundering—to maintain a white garment. 

This association between clean white clothing and social distinction eventually found another expression in the term ‘White Collar’. It symbolized, and still does, office-based, professional jobs that require intellect rather than manual labor. The reciprocal term, “Blue Collar”, became a reference to jobs that require physical effort and could potentially “dirty” one’s garments.

Today, however, with the advance of modern detergents, bleaching and washing machines, the process has been made far simpler. The white garment thus has crossed class lines and has been adopted by many.

Not only is white attire perceived as clean, respectable, and dignified, but it also feels simple and unpretentious. Therefore, in several religious traditions white was and continues to be associated with purity, rebirth, innocence, renunciation, or equality before the Divine. That is why white clothing was embraced for religious rituals in several faiths.

Modesty to Modernity

The white shirt, however, for much of Western history, was worn under coats and jackets, showing only the collar and the cuffs. The shirt absorbed the body’s sweat and oils, thus protecting the more expensive outer layers. In fact, a shirt without an outer layer was considered inappropriate in 18th century Europe. Moreover, it was predominantly a masculine garment initially.

Eventually it came to be adopted by women too. But in those early years, where a man wearing a white shirt was seen as respectable, a woman in a white shirt indicated a streak of revolutionary and independent character. As women joined the workforce in the 19th and 20th centuries, they traded their constricting attire for white button downs and simpler skirts. Women’s adoption of the white shirt became a marker of changing gender roles.

Women also utilized the white shirt in the Suffragist movement of the USA. This trend found its way onto the screen as well. Hollywood actresses, Louise Brooks, Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn, dressed in comfortable white shirts. Their images projected autonomy, modernity, while still retaining their glamour. 

Civil Rights marchers also used white shirts to appear dignified and undeniable in photographs. For similar reasons, even today, the white shirt is a part of many uniforms in schools, militaries, healthcare and service industries.

From the West, the white shirt also made its way into other parts of the globe. Colonialism, trade, travel, migration, and the global influence of fashion and entertainment all contributed, in different ways, to its worldwide embrace.

Thus, gradually the white shirt has accumulated much more meaning than it started with. A contemporary white shirt could reflect authority and respectability. When worn loosely, unbuttoned it could signify independence, nonchalance, sensuality or confidence.

Why It Stays and Feels Timeless

One reason why the white shirt stays in fashion is that it is endlessly adaptable. It can be a tailored cotton shirt or a relaxed linen shirt, or luxurious in silk or satin. It can be well-fitted or oversized, long or cropped. The sleeve lengths can vary. The collar can change. Embroidery, weaving, sequins, cutouts, ruffles, and lace could all change the character of the white shirt. It could make a statement or be the ultimate neutral. Yet every iteration, the white shirt remains.

And perhaps, the endless mutability of a white shirt makes it feel perennial. For the same reason the white shirt continues to inspire designers. Carolina Herrera and Karl Lagerfeld were both frequently seen wearing one. The Italian Gianfranco Ferré made the white shirt a recurring part of his collections, constantly reinterpreting its basic form.

And this is why the white shirt is worth our attention. In the rush of daily life, it may appear simple. But it is an extraordinary design in plain sight. It is complex and interesting. The white shirt is a play between the physics of light, the religious and social connotations of color and design, and the artistic, political and revolutionary ideas of liberation, reliability, and evolution.

Given how much range the white shirt can have, it's worth seeing what shape it takes today. Motloom's Benable Curation of White Shirts gathers a range of new and unexpected interpretations that might genuinely surprise you. You can browse the collection by clicking the link below and hopefully be inspired to add a few pieces to your own wardrobe.

Browse White Shirts

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Disclosure: Some links in this post may lead to curated shopping collections where I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.