The short sleeve button-up: "summer solved" or devil's handiwork?

18 tips I discovered while testing Kelly's theory

There are two issues with summer heat. One is actually being hot. The second is feeling like you look too hot (heat hot, obvs). And that second one is in the same family as “casual dressing bullying.” You feel fine, and someone says “aren’t you hot?” Maybe they’re concerned, but I don’t know, it feels like kinda a dick move.

The thing we’ve been saying is that summer dressing, sans layers, feels a little less than.

Irene Kim (김애린)

suggested choosing pieces in interesting shapes so that even with two elements, there’s some there there. YES! And my amazing Midimalist

Kelly Williams

recently determined the short sleeve button up solves summer, giving us an interesting warm-weather item to work with. Irene test drove that theory —confirmed!

You know, I actually think you can wear your long sleeve button up in the heat. Think about it. The only difference is the sleeve. And you can roll up the sleeves! I do this fairly often, especially with unfitted cotton or linen button ups (a favorite of mine). But this still invites those “aren’t you hot?” comments. And you might just not want to deal.

I really like a short sleeve shirt. Not a short sleeved traditional oxford but something more along the lines of a camp shirt. They may not make a difference in terms of the actual heat you feel (though they may be more billowy and more likely to be all cotton than what you find in a long sleeve, especially one made for woman). But they will help you look less overheated.

Still, reading the comments on Irene and Kelly’s stories reminded me that these shirts are controversial! Some purists have always hated the short sleeve button up. “Short sleeve button down shirts have received a bad rap from the likes of creepy IT guys, Dwight Schrute, and Mormon missionaries,” Complex magazine explained back in 2012, in story helpfully titled “Are Short-Sleeve Button Downs Gross?”

Also in the comments sections, feelings about masc energy and boxiness, definitiveness on the need to get the fit just right.

It’s funny, I’ve never felt that way. For me these are overtly intended to be casual (we’re not wearing them as a 1 to 1 oxford/Mormon mission substitute, so they shouldn’t look like you took an oxford and simply hacked the sleeve). They can be loose, nonchalantly wrinkled or tucked/untucked, oversized, borrowed as if someone left them behind at your backyard party, etc. without feeling like you “got the wrong size.”

Since I like them so much, I wanted to see if I could gather some tips to help bring others to Team Short Sleeve. I channeled Anna Newton at

The Wardrobe Edit

with her notion of “outfit formulas” and pulled out outfit formulas of mine that involve a long sleeve shirt as starting points.

long sleeve inspo from my camera roll

I used shirts I already own. All but the pink bought secondhand.

• Original formula: Cute sweats (always Calders, honestly) + button-up + slim shoe. Summer formula: Gym shorts + short sleeve button-up/tank + sandal. What I’m wearing: Men’s Rick Owens button-up (technically, snap-up), shorts from an IG friend’s old line, navy Sold Out New York tank, Jil Sander sandals, secondhand Tohum necklace + secondhand Hermes Victoria/Loewe small puzzle bag.

  Takeaways

  • For a slimmer fit, look for menswear designers in that vein — European, designers who are slim themselves, etc. — without getting anything with darts or cut so slender that you loose the loucheness. This being Rick Owens illustrates what I mean.

  • A crossbody takes down the boxiness of a menswear shirt. So can a necklace, like a leather cord with something on it that lands fairly low.

  • Shiny gold or other jewelry with some oomph gives femme contrast, and it was even more important without a pop of color.

  • Some leg also achieves the above if you feel comfortable.

2. Original formula: Untucked button-up + pleated skirt + brogue. Summer formula: Untucked camp shirt + pleated skirt + sandal. What I’m wearing: Men’s Marni button-up (circa 2021, sold as women’s but I think it’s men’s), Tibi navy pleated skirt + secondhand Hermes Victoria. Below, with Tibi furry flip flops.