A Breezy Striped Tunic

There’s something about a tunic that’s so freeing. You can either wear it as a layering shirt with shorter sweaters over top, or as a blouse with it tucked into your bottoms. And it’s finding the perfect tunic that makes it difficult. I’ve always wanted an Oxford style blouse with the right lapels and cuffs, but have never quite found the right one for my body shape and size.

I stumbled across this one from Dynamite a couple of months back, and ever since, I can’t seem to stop reaching for it every single morning. It’s weird because it’s such a simple shirt, but it packs such a bang to your outfit. I honestly think that it’s the stripes that does all of the work for me.

It’s nice that the direction of stripes varies from the shirt itself to the pockets, so it creates something interesting that pulls your eyes to it.

In line with a boyfriend styled shirt, this one in particular is long and slim, but without the crazy darting that I’ve seen in a lot of blouses. Darts are just something that don’t work with my body. Being a permanent member of the itty-bitty-titty commitee, I’ve always had trouble finding shirts that don’t accentuate the fact that I don’t have much of a bust.

Darts often create this strange triangle silhouette (queue Madonna’s iconic bra) that when isn’t filled out, just looks sad. No one wants to look sad – especially if the emotions aren’t being expressed from your face.

And then beyond the darts, there are the narrow shoulders with short sleeves. I’ve got these gorilla like arms (or so I’d like to call them) that really require wider shoulders and longer sleeves, but sometimes when you ask for that, you also get wider sleeves with the bargain.

I have long gangly limbs, but they’re relatively quite slim, so all that extra baggage space in the sleeves makes me look like I’m drowning in fabric. Not a pretty look.

I was elated when I received this shirt from Dynamite and instantly began coming up with different outfits that I could put together with it. One of the first ones that instantly came to my mind was this comfortable “a day about town” look that’s not only comfortable, but cleanly put together.

Comfort on the top also means comfort on the bottom. On days when I’m running about, I like to make sure that sneakers are stuck to my feet. Ever since the weather has been warmer, all I’ve been wearing are my Chucks and  Superstars, so grabbing my All Stars were easily the one pair of shoes that would fit with this outfit.

There’s something about a good striped shirt that screams casual chic to me. And when paired together with the right breezy spring jacket, everything just comes together perfectly. The only thing that I’m missing now is some sort of bike with a basket in the front and a bouquet of peonies. But only one thing at a time right?

Top – c/o Dynamite | Jacket – c/o Dynamite | Trousers – J. Crew | Shoes – Converse | Sunglasses – borrowed from Mel Inspired