Prada, Gucci, Uniqlo: women’s shirts, once a forgotten fashion afterthought, are now crisp, high quality and desirable

‘Almost every woman in the world owns a shirt’ – so why is it that most stores have historically failed to deliver a decent one? This, however, is changing

Pip Durell explains why she created shirt brand With Nothing Underneath and how the fashion market is shifting to embrace the selling power of a woman’s shirt

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A navy blue shirt from With Nothing Underneath. Women’s shirts were once a fashion afterthought, forgotten in the wake of men’s button-down shirts – but that is changing.

Published: 7:15pm, 6 Oct 2023

Pip Durell always found the lack of women’s shirting brands one of fashion’s great mysteries. Most of her female friends and relatives wore shirts at least a couple of times a week and cared about the cut, fit and quality. Yet, most stores failed to cater to them.

After years of stealing shirts from her boyfriends to wear with jeans and skirts, and over bikinis, she decided to quit her job as a stylist at British Vogue and start making them herself. The result was her brand, With Nothing Underneath.

“Women’s shirting has always been underserviced – and yet almost every woman in the world owns a shirt,” she says. “It didn’t make sense to me. And clearly, it didn’t make sense to other women: we have been going for nearly six years and the sales speak for themselves – we’ll see 125 per cent growth again this year.

“Between shape options and material options, we are able to say to any woman of any size or age, ‘We have something for you,’” she adds. “It really is the most democratic item of clothing.”

Shirts have always been a wardrobe staple for women – the glue that brings together high-waisted jeans, cigarette trousers, silk skirts and denim shorts – and yet great fit and quality have always been characteristics more associated with menswear. As a result, women’s shirts have felt like something of an afterthought.