How to Style a Button Down Shirt

yellow and white outfit collage

Both my mother and my grandmother rock a MEAN button-down.

I actually think button down shirts are a part of my DNA because these two ladies wear them like it’s their life uniform. Seriously. 9 days out of 10 you will find:

My Grandmother in a starched, white button-down featuring a monogrammed cuff {so chic}, gold chain cufflinks, and a pressed pair of wide-legged denim.

My Mom in a white or chambray button-down, relaxed fit, half buttoned, over a cami with a gold chain necklace.

It’s actually crazy to write that out and see how I’ve naturally incorporated those elements into my own style. That’s one of the things I love most about wearing a button-down shirt: it’s timeless.

It’s also Chic AF. BUT it has to be done RIGHT.

H&M top – Shop more chic button downs HERE .//. H&M pants – Similar HERE .//. Earrings Vintage Chanel – Similar HERE

White and Yellow outfit

Shop similar tops HERE .//. Shop similar pants HERE .//. Shop similar shoes HERE .//. Shop Sunglasses HERE

How to Make a Button Down Shirt Look Chic AF

Show some skin. Honestly, this is the number one rule of button-down styling IMO. Nothing screams corporate-office-drab like a collar that goes alllll the way up your neck. Unbutton as many buttons as you feel makes a normal v-neck shape, and then unbutton one more. lol. You’d be surprised how low you can go. And if you go a little too low? Still fun, tbh, if you’re wearing a cute bralette…
Roll up your sleeves. This goes right along with showing some skin. The fastest way to get swallowed up by a button down is to hide your wrists. The very first thing I do when I put on a button-down shirt is unbutton the cuffs and roll up the sleeves. I go with a two-fold tuck typically. It’s ok if it comes undone a little bit, that’s part of the vibe.
Relax a bit. No one wants a button-down that is too tight overall, ESPECIALLY in the arms. Le fashion comes from the perfect drape all around. That effortless elegance that says “I’m put together naturally, and I definitely don’t have potato chips spilled all over the floor of my car.” {Hint- I do. Even though I don’t even like potato chips? Such is life.}
Tuck it in. There are SO many ways to tuck but no matter which one you choose, the tuck is KEY. This is your opportunity to highlight your waist and keep the shirt from drowning you. I change up my tuck depending on what I’m wearing as bottoms. Typically, the looser the bottom is, the tighter the tuck will be to balance it out. IE: If i were styling this yellow top with a skirt I would 100 tuck it all the way around to balance out my silhouette. The pants I’m wearing here are tight on the top but wide legged on the bottom, so I played around a bit to see whether I wanted fully tucked or half tucked. Ultimately I feel like the half tuck is what upped the cool factor of this look from office attire to street style.
Balance your bottoms. Since we’re leaning a little looser (even though we’re tucking in) we have to have BALANCE in our look. The key with a button down is that cinch at your waist. With that cinch you can stay relatively loose on top and bottom {as I did here}. However, if you remain untucked/uncinched at your waist that’s totally fine IF you balance it with a super tight or shorter bottoms. Think very tight jeans with an untucked shirt or even shorts or a mini skirt.
Accessorize. I think sometimes people get distracted by the buttons of a button-down shirt and think they don’t need accessories. WRONG. Accessories are what makes the shift from snooze to ooohs, my friends. Wow, really on a roll tonight with these one-liners. Anyway, you can go minimal with a dainty single chain and nothing else, pick your punch with nothing but a bold statement earring, or go for the gold in every way like I did here. Whatever you do, do SOMETHING. It will make a huge difference.
Flip the script. Because button-downs are generally thought of as conservative/formal, it’s SO fun to make them sexy. Take the extra button down, pair it with cutoff pair of denim shorts, skintight pants, or trousers with a slit up the side like these. Have fun with it!