Reviewing every single button down I own

WNU, Alex Mill, Sézane, Bias Basics, The Big Favorite, Colorful Standard, AYR

Most people would say they are jeans and a t-shirt kinda person. I own five real t-shirts, and now that is down to four after a color leak disaster in my last wash. Two whiteish (crop and long), two grey (RIP crop and long) and one black (crop). I primarily use these t-shirts are a vehicle to wear the jackets I love but I am not a t-shirt ‘girly’ so I don’t have many.

But I do love me some button-down. I own twenty two button-down. Even a few in similar colors but different material (linen for spring/summer vs cotton+cashmere blend for fall/winter). Is 22 a lot? Too little? I have no idea but given how much I depend on these for both a daily shlepping as well as for feeling put together, they are a worthy investment in my wardrobe. I’ve tried a lot of brands but six (seven if you count the one that no longer exists) currently reign strong.

Personally for me, I know button downs are a great investment because majority of my style inso pinterest board is filled with them. And it has been the case for years. Something about a billowy button down with some cropped jeans in summer or a fitted poplin shirt with some leather wide leg pants in the winter is just chefs kiss.

A smattering of screenshots from my Pinterest style board. Its a button-down world out here

Before I get into the details of the brand, I want to share some ground rules. What works for me might not work for you and vice versa. I also don’t get into the ‘value’ or price points too much because these are subjective. What I will evaluate is wearability, quality post multiple washes (no dry-cleaning here), materiality etc. With that, let’s get into the details.

Here’s an unappetizing shot of all my button downs.

Here’s the thing. No matter how hard I tried (I clearly didn’t try that hard), none of my photos of the shirts I own look that good. But I do want to show you what I have so you will see a blend of my crappy shots along with the images from each of the brand site. Some of my shirts are more than a few years old so they aren’t available to link to but I have tried my best to link¹ as many similar pieces as possible. But really if these sh!tty pictures don’t motivate me to plug in and use my Samsung Steam Closet that has been sitting unopened for two years, I don’t know what will. Review perhaps for a future newsletter?! All my clothing, including these button downs are machine washed in cold water and hung to dry on a hanger. I unbutton all my pieces before throwing them in the wash and button them back before drying them and while the picture above doesn’t do it justice, they really come out looking pretty decent and ready to wear once dry.

The breakdown

If we were to break these 22 shirts down, it would be 2 from Bias Basic (RIP Australian brand), 8 from With Nothing Underneath, 3 from Sézane, 3 from Alex Mill, 3 from AYR, 2 from Colorful Standard and 1 from The Big Favorite.

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Images screenshot from Brand’s IG. Brand has since closed shop. A different olive green version / A different yellow option

BIAS BASICS

Style - easy fit (not super oversized), curved side hemming

Material - Linen

Best for - Summer, Beach cover up, long enough to be tucked in or left out of over shorts

Let’s start with Bias Basics. I have two shirts from this brand - olive green and soft yellow. It feels a little strange to review a brand that doesn’t have an active shop any more but given my love for these shirts, this will be brief. I loved this brand. It was a relatively small brand out of Australia that made pure linen button downs, tie vest and bias cut dresses. The linen is exceptional. I lived in the shirts and the dresses when I visited Greece a few years ago. They don’t wrinkle too bad and dry so fast, making them perfect for wash and wear on vacation. They fit me just above my hip bone making it the perfect length to tuck in or leave out. Fabulous over jeans or shorts. Truly wish I had bought one in every color before the company closed its doors.

Images from brand website. Couple of the ones I own are no longer available on the site. All the other ones linked here: pink Linen / blue linen / blue stripe / green stripe / pink brushed / biscuit brushed / olive green brushed

WITH NOTHING UNDERNEATH (WNU)

Style - Menswear for women, comes in multiple styles. Boyfriend and Classic are the most common. Boyfriend style is longer and straighter, Classic is slightly shorter and more a-line. Most styles come with a curved side hemming and a reinforced tab.

Material - comes in multiple material options such as linen, organic cotton, cotton-cashmere blend, silk

Best for - Linen best for summer and Brushed (cotton cashmere blend) best for winter. Other materials work year around. Depending on the style and how you choose to size, can be worn tucked or untucked. Wears well over time and repeated wash

Next up is WNU aka With Nothing Underneath. I learned about this brand just before COVID and made my first purchase just as we hit lockdown. WNU primarily is a button down brand and I clearly fell for it because I own 8 shirts. I wear these all the time and even my oldest piece from the brand which is more than four years old, looks as good as it did on day one. These wash and wear so well and I love the softness they have as I wear them over time.

Thought I clearly love the brand, I struggle with it a little. (Just a little but not enough to stop buying more, as you can tell from how many I have.) Everything I own from the brand is the same size but for some reason they all fit me differently. The brand does have multiple silhouettes that are cut differently but 7 out of the 8 I own are all the Boyfriend style and technically they should all fall similarly on my frame, but they don’t. Because of how the boyfriend style is cut, the length doesn’t work for my 5’3 height. I have had 5 of the 8 hemmed to reduced the height by 3 inches to work for height. Which gets very expensive, very quickly.

NOTE: When I first started to shop the brand, there was only one silhouette (the aforementioned Boyfriend style) but now there are more and I’ve since discovered that the Classic style works better for my shorter frame.

Regardless, WNU has the most variety when it comes to fabrication (linen, organic cotton, silk to name a few) and of course an exceptional array of colors making it a beloved brand by many, including yours truly. Their cotton pieces are organic which I really value. The linen is beautiful and the brushed ones are a cotton-cashmere blend making it perfect winter layer. They even have silk pieces (lol if I wear one of these with my messy toddler around) and I am constantly eyeing new styles and color ways, like their summer linen sarongs. JUST YUMMMM. Depending on your wear needs, there are more fitted pieces for work to really relaxed oversized ones for errands and evenings.

Given the history of the brand (founder Pip was a former Vogue stylist and Tatler editor) and the dedication to making the best button downs ever, this is a brand that has clearly found a strong hold in my wardrobe. WNU site has a lot of details on their fit as they have expanded the range so definitely do check that before you make a purchase. I am always excited to see what they launch each season and will be keeping an eye out for their fall and winter pieces in the coming weeks.

Image from brand website. Pink Stripe / White / Blue chambray

SÉZANE

Style - feminine, very oversized, dolphin side hemming

Material - organic cotton

Best for - year around. Best to wear untucked. Might not be suitable for traditional work-wear given the silhouette. Wears well over time and repeated wash

Oh Sézane. I am pretty sure their Max shirts have a cult following and for good reason. I just love this style. It’s so oversized and the material is so wonderful with its organic cotton weave. But my favorite part of it is the side dolphin hem that gives the shirts a curve. It’s a detail that I really love in a button down, especially when it’s meant to be worn untucked. And when I say it’s oversized, it is really really really oversized. But somehow doesn’t feel like it drowns my short frame. They also wash and wear so well. Every time a new collection launches, I am on the site to see if there is a Max shirt that I want to add to my collection. Just a few weeks ago, I added the Pink and White striped one (top left) to my collection and really excited to wear it this fall with olive green pants (a color combo I love). The only white button down one I have is a Max and honestly a constant go to, year round. Similarly, the chambray Max is my only denim top and so beloved that if you zoom into the second photo at the top, you will even see I’ve sewn in a fabric patch to cover a coffee spill.

Images from brand site. I own the mens red and white stripe, which is no longer available. Here is the closest version for women’s / The toffee one I own is also mens and no longer on the site but here is the closest / My latest purchase is still on site

ALEX MILL

Style - You can shop Men’s and Women’s styles. Mens popular style is called Mills. My favorite Womens style Jo has dolphin side hemming

Material - cotton poplin

Best for - year around. Depending on how you choose to size, can be worn tucked or untucked. Wears well over time and repeated wash

Alex Mill - Another trusty brand when it comes to button down. Cotton. Check. Oversized. Check. Dolphin hem design detail (on the women’s). Check. Really just a great basic button down. Of the three I own, two are mens (the red stripe and the khaki up top in the second photo). The red stripe and the khaki ones are over 2-3 years old and can’t be purchased now (similar ones linked) but the Jo green shirt is from their latest drop. The red striped one I actually purchased for my husband but somehow it ended up in my laundry and it never made its way back into his closet.

When I saw the Jo green shirt on their social, I beelined to the site and copied the link to my wishlist folder on my phone. Somehow it was SOLD OUT within hours of dropping in my size and I was devastated. I immediately called their customer service (they have one of the best customer service team I’ve ever called) and they said it might stock back in September and to sign up for the waitlist. But much to my surprise, it was actually stocked the next week and I made the purchase instantly, and wore the shirt the day it arrived. White it’s not organic cotton, it’s still incredibly soft and feels so lovely on. That color way pairs so nicely with my dark wash jeans, or black, and I am really excited to wear it more this fall. Alex Mill Designer

somsack sikhounmuong

also writes a fab substack newsletter call

somstack

that you should check out.

Images from brand website. None of the ones I own are still sold on the site. Here are the closest versions: 1 / 2 / 3

AYR

Style - easy fit (not super oversized), cotton ones work for relaxed and work settings with curved side hemming

Material - Linen or cotton

Best for - cotton ones great for daily wear, linen best for summer/coverup

All Year Round or more popularly known as AYR is a go to for elevated basics. Nothing from this brand is very too colorful or overly printed and everything they make is of solid quality. Over the years, I have purchased three button downs, a few jeans, a jacket and a few more basic items that see a solid rotation in my closet. Many of their bottoms come with two different inseam options making it so easy to shop when you are 5’4 or under. Nothing too oversized or too cropped and everything feels really timeless and effortless.

The three bottom downs (two of which are the Deep End Style if you want to look on resale sites) I have from this brand are at least two to three years old and have been worn every season. The linen blue stripped one I tend to save more for beach wear as it gets pretty easily wrinkled but the white with brown stripes and the beige one are both cotton and work great on their own or layered under sweaters in the winter (especially since they aren’t oversized). Nothing to complain here other than I with they came in more colors/patterns.

Images from brand website. Blue / Maroon

COLORFUL STANDARD

Style - unisex styles, curved side hemming

Material - organic cotton, thicker weave than the other brands mentioned here

Best for - Year around. Depending on how you choose to size, can be worn tucked or untucked. Wears well over time and repeated wash

If you are looking for organic fabrics for your closet, Colorful Standard is the place to go. They have so many basics, many if which are unisex in style/fit and SO MANY COLORS! The two button downs I have from here are made of thick organic cotton, super durable (would work great for fall and layered in winter too). The color has stayed the same with multiple washes and the sizing details on the site are super helpful if you want to buy ones that are more fitted for work or go oversized for other wears. I didn’t love the self colored pockets it came with so I took it out and added a colorful patch to cover the area (scroll up to see photo 3), which made it a lot more interesting and fun to wear personally. These are pretty basic in their style but so well priced considering they are organic cotton. If you are thinking of testing the waters with button downs, here is where I would start as the thicker shirt quality would make it perfect for fall/winter and they style is well suited for workwear.

Images from brand site. Each color way is one of a kind. You can find all the available ones here

THE BIG FAVORITE

Style - Reworked men’s wear for feminine cut and fit, sides are cut deep to allow for style variation.

Material - cotton

Best for - Year around. Can be worn multiple ways and makes for more ‘fashion-y’ shirt when styled with the criss cross option

The Big Favorite or TBF for short is my friend Eleanor Turner’s brand. If you haven’t read my feature on her, please do! It's really inspiring:

Female Founder - Eleanor Turner

While the majority of her brand is all about making the best basics using the best material for people and the planet, her re-worked wear is a sleep hit in my opinion. I have one of REWORKED SHIRT 002 it’s a go-to for me when I want a more stylish button down. The multi way to wear the shirt makes it so perfect for a nice dinner or a ‘fashion-y’ event if you are attending any of those. These are 100% cotton shirts and since they are recut from menswear, they are oversized when you don’t pin them back and feel super feminine when you do cross it in the back. If you know

The Big Favorite

, you know they are a brand with exceptional attention for details. You just can’t go wrong with a couple of these in your wardrobe. Bonus points, since each of these is one of a kind, you won’t have to worry about anyone else showing up in a similar outfit.

What I am lusting after for AW2024

CHAVA STUDIO

Chava Studio has been on my radar for a few years now. If you are obsessed with button downs, this is the brand to know. Everything is made to order. Small runs. Impeccable fabric and cut. What’s not to love and admire? {The brand founder Olivia Villanti has been featured multiple times in

Jess Graves

’s substack The Love List. Read the brand dossier and the guide to CDMX}

Based in Mexico City, everything about the brand reads lux. The attention to detail and the slow-fashion ethics of it all is really pulling on my heartstrings. I have been craving a piece from this brand to add to my wardrobe, and when I do my fall/winter purchases soon, I’ll be adding one of these to cart. While I would love to be the kinda person who can pull off the Backless Tunic, I will likely be getting an oversized button down in either the Black or the White and Red stripes. Not to mention, the styling of the models on the site is just so cool (silver collar necklace? - yes please!).

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Are you into button downs? Is there a brand I MUST know about? What are you excited to wear this fall? If you have any questions about any of the brands above or other ones you are considering, shoot me a note!

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