How To Wear A White Dress Shirt: The Ultimate Guide
Depending upon your personal style, there are plenty of different ways to choose how to wear a white dress shirt.
The versatility of a white dress shirt makes it super easy and fun to pair with the rest of your outfit.
So, whether you are attending business meetings or formal occasions, or you are just looking to dress up a more casual outfit, a white dress shirt is a great option!
Wearing white isn’t just for your wedding day, ladies! White clothing can be the simplest way to pull together a chic outfit.
Depending on your personal preference and the type of event you are attending, I will cover a little bit of everything here.
From the best choice of shoes and accessories to add to your outfit to the best material, style, and collar type to choose from, we’ll go over everything so you can easily put together the perfect fit for your next event.
As you will see, a white dress shirt is an excellent choice for different functions because it is one of the easiest articles of clothing easy to mix and match with other items in your closet.
Reasons to Wear a White Dress Shirt
White dress shirts are a great staple item to have in your closet. They are the perfect option, when paired with the right shoes and accessories, for formal events, work, interviews, and even a more casual event.
Professional
If you work in an office setting, you want to have different colored dress shirts on hand, but you should always have a white one in your collection.
A white dress shirt, maybe even with a navy blazer and some dress pants, is a classic fit for work. Wearing a white shirt with a button-down collar for work is a great idea as well.
Casual
White dress shirts aren’t just for work. When styled properly, they’re also great for casual events, like lunch or happy hour with your friends.
For example, pair a white short sleeve dress shirt with pair of cute shorts (like above) for a put-together yet laid-back look.
How to Wear a White Dress Shirt
Tucked Into A Pencil Skirt
A pencil skirt is the perfect complement to a crisp white dress shirt.
Choose a pencil skirt that flatters your body shape and fits the occasion.
A neutral color such as black, gray, or navy blue is always a great option for more formal occasions while a bondage style in a bright color is perfect for a night out with the girls.
Typically, when pairing a white dress shirt with a pencil skirt the best way to do so is to tuck the shirt in for a polished look.
Finish off the look with a pair of heels. You can’t go wrong with nude or black, but depending on the other colors in your outfit, you can play around with other hues as well.
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With A Flowy Maxi Or Midi Skirt
While a pencil skirt with a white dress shirt is great for the office, a flowy midi or maxi skirt is perfect for a summer night out or dinner with friends.
When styling the two together you can opt to add a skinny belt around the waist for added definition while also leaving the top few buttons undone for a sexier, flirtier vibe.
With Jeans & A Half-Tuck
Like most girls, you’re probably most interested in how to wear a white dress shirt with jeans – and we totally get why. Jeans are arguably the best thing ever.
Here’s a super easy way to do so.
This combo is a sexy yet “doesn’t take sh*t from anyone” look. It’s giving girl boss meets girls best friend… and we’re here for it.
With this look, you can choose whichever style of jeans you prefer and finish off the look with sneakers or heels (because really, either will work), a chic bag, and a statement pair of earrings.
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By Layering With A Tank Top
If you don’t know what to wear under a white dress shirt, no need to worry – it’s actually quite simple.
A basic tank top in cotton fabric is great for more laid-back looks, while a satin or lace style is better for dressing it up a bit.
If you’re going to go the classic route, we love this slim fit white undershirt because it’s incredibly versatile and holds up well in the wash.
You can layer them under a dressier shirt for a business casual look but you can also pair them with sweaters and hoodies in winter and wear them solo in the warmer months.
With A Trench Coat Or Moto Jacket
A jacket is one of the easiest but cutest ways to layer a dress shirt. Depending on the collar style of your shirt, you can really wear any type of jacket over it.
You can choose a lightweight jacket for the warmer months or a heavier type of jacket when the weather gets cool.
A moto jacket is a great way to edge a little edge to the look while still looking presentable and put together and a trench coat is great for more business-related occasions.
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With A Scarf
To get a little more creative, you can wear a dark color or multi-colored scarf for an eclectic vibe or a houndstooth/check style for a professional look. This is a great way to add something a bit fun to your outfit while giving it an extra pop of color or material.Â
Scarves are also great because just like with a jacket, you can choose a lighter or thicker option depending on the weather.Â
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With A Blazer
Every woman should have a good blazer in her closet, period.
This blazer is hands down our favorite because it’s not only great quality, but it also comes in a ton of different colors and it can be styled both casually and more formally.Â
​This blazer paired with a white dress shirt, skinny jeans, and a chic pair of pumps is perfect for the board room but can also take you right out to drinks with friends.Â
With A Sweater
Look for a sweater that complements the style of your dress shirt. For example, if you are wearing a slim-fit dress shirt, opt for a slim-fit sweater.
Similarly, if your dress shirt has a formal collar, a sweater that has a v-neck or crew neck will be the most flattering.
Since your dress shirt is white, you have the ability to choose whichever color sweater you’d like.
If you’re going for a timeless and classic look, stick to neutral colors such as navy blue, gray, or black, but to make a statement, a bright red or blue, or even a fun print like leopard is a great choice.Â
Off The Shoulder With A Lace Bra Underneath
If you’re looking to go the sexier route you can wear your shirt off the shoulder and let your bra show. With this look, you’ll want to wear a bra that has some detail to it.
Here’s a sexy lace bra that would be a perfect choice for this outfit. Just throw on your favorite jeans and you’re good to go.
As a Cover-Up
If you have a longer white dress shirt and want to wear it in a unique or unexpected way, you can opt to use it as a cover-up vs. as an actual shirt.
Here’s a long white dress shirt that would work great for this look.
By Adding Color With Accessories
Choosing accessories to add that pop of color is also a fun way to complete your outfit. You can go with vibrant, dangly earrings or even a colorful watch or bracelet.
Here are a few ways you can accessorize an outfit with a white dress shirt:
Jewelry
The jewelry you choose will be largely dependent on the neckline of your shirt as well as the details of your outfit as a whole. For example, if you have a lot of embroidery in your outfit, you may want to wear simple pearl earrings.
I love this dainty necklace from Amazon that goes really well with a lower-cut top. It’s simple but super sexy and goes really well with a white dress shirt.
Shoes
If you are spending all night on the dance floor, you may want to go with a more comfortable outfit but, of course, still super cute shoes. A simple wedge shoe or even short, chunky heels may be great for this!
Alternatively, if you’re headed to a work meeting and need something more professional to pair with a white dress shirt and tailored pants, a pair of black pumps is a great option.
Belt
Typically, when pairing a belt with a white dress shirt, you’ll be wearing it through the belt loops of a pair of pants.
Opting for a skinny belt style is a great choice if you’re wearing a pair of slim-fitting work pants, whereas a wider style is a better choice for pairing with jeans.Â
Things to Consider When Choosing the Right White Dress Shirt
You want to make sure that you choose the right shirt depending on the bottoms you’re wearing.
For example, if you are wearing pants you may want a shorter shirt, and if you are wearing a skirt you might want a longer shirt that tucks in.
Additionally, here are a few more considerations:
Collar Type
- V-neck: this will dip down a bit more around your chest area
- Swoop neck: this collar will dip down more but in a swoop type of way
- Ruffle: added material and dimension to your outfit
- Smock: normally will have a collar and a type of bow tie at the top
- Turtle neck: will go all the way up to your neck and cover (in some cases) your entire chest
- Peplum: normally a button-up that is tighter at the top and more flowy on the bottom
Sleeve Length
Sleeve length is important, especially for layering. You can choose a shorter sleeve, sleeveless or even a long sleeve white dress shirt, depending on what you choose to wear over it.
You may choose to wear a short sleeve shirt and accessorize it with a cute jacket, or a long sleeve shirt that you can accessorize with some cute earrings and a necklace.
Front Closure & Style
These can include shirts that either button up, zip up, or shirts that have ruffle details on the sleeves or front closure.
For example, If your shirt is ruffled short sleeve style you won’t want to pair it with a slim fitting cardigan.
Best White Dress Shirts
If you’re in need of the perfect white dress shirt, here are some of our top picks:
- Floerns Solid Puff Sleeve, Mock Neck Blouse
- XIDURE Summer Ruffle V Neck Blouse
- Gemolly Basic Button Down Long Sleeve Blouse
- SheIn Long Sleeve Button Down Lotus Ruffled Blouse
- GRACE KARIN Peplum Elegant Wrap V Neck Blouse with Long Sleeve Shaw
- MANGOPOP Mock Turtle Neck Long Sleeve Bodysuit
FAQs
What to wear under a white dress shirt for women?
When putting together a white dress shirt outfit, a simple rule to follow is to try and stick to nude colors underneath.
You can make it a sexy look by wearing a nude color lace bralette or cami. For a more formal look, you may want to wear a high-quality tank top underneath.
Finding the perfect undershirt for your dress shirt fit can be challenging since not many colors work well underneath white.
So, depending on where you are going and if you want a more casual option or a more formal one, you can pretty much count on nude or grey colors for the best undershirts.
How do you wear a white shirt without a bra showing?
Wearing a white shirt without your bra showing can be a little trickier than when wearing a darker color.
When you wear those other colors, you can find bras to wear way easier; for example, if you are wearing a black shirt, you can wear virtually any color underneath since it won’t show thorugh.
An easy way to fix your bra from showing underneath your white shirt is to wear a nude bra or bra that mimics your skin tone.
If you choose to wear a white or darker-colored bra, you will definitely be able to see your bra or (at least your bra outline), especially in a more sheer shirt.
With white shirts, really the only way to avoid showing your bra is to choose a skin color that blends into your skin instead of sticking out.
If, for some reason, you do not have the option of wearing a nude or skin-colored bra, another good choice would be to wear some sort of shelf tank top underneath, especially for casual shirts.
What color pants go with a white shirt for ladies?
The good news is, even though it is tricky to find a great option for underneath your white dress shirt, finding a pair of pants is way easier.
You can make it more of a bold look by choosing a pop of color for your pants, like maroon, or a more neutral look by choosing blue jeans.
A cute pair of dark rinse jeans with a classy white t-shirt is perfect for happy hour with the girls!
The best options when it comes to choosing pants for your white shirt are either a pair of black pants, blue pants, or maroon pants.
Do white shirts make you look more attractive?
Ladies, let’s be honest…we all love our men in a nice white V-neck t-shirt, right? For some reason, it doesn’t get sexier than that! White button-ups with dark grey pants for the men, I mean, WHEW! And there is a good reason for this.
The main reason for that is that when you wear white, it tricks your mind and makes you look like you have a smaller waist.
For men, it also makes it look like their shoulders are broader. So it is a real thing to be attracted to your man when he is in that white shirt of his!
Depending on your body type, white can really give you that extra boost of confidence for your night on the town!
Is it OK to wear a black bra under a white shirt?
If you are going for that super chic fashionista look, you can absolutely pull off wearing a black bra underneath your white shirt.
You have to have the right fit, however, to pull this off. For instance, if you are wearing more of a sheer, see-through white shirt or even with formal shirts, you may not want to go this route.
We have to keep it classy, ladies! You want your black bra to be noticeable but not distracting. Keep in mind where you are going in this outfit and potential dress codes.
Conclusion
When the base of your outfit is a white dress shirt, you have the ability to take your outfit in many directions.
Whether you work in an office setting or you just want a more polished look for your everyday routine, having a good white dress shirt in your closet is a must.
Hopefully, this post has helped you decide how to wear a white dress shirt. No matter what you decide to wear, make sure you feel sexy and confident, and as always, have a great time!
It can be fun accessorizing and putting together a super cute outfit!
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