I’ve been in a constant search of dress shirt for women. I love a classy menswear aesthetic. Unfortunately as a size 0, men’s dress shirts just don’t fit me well, and the quality of shirts from average women’s fashion brands has been pretty disappointing. I don’t want an oversized, I don’t want a huge slopy collar, and I don’t like the super feminine silk satin/georgette look.
I came across With Nothing Underneath during one of my casual online windowshopping session on Liberty.uk (I love love Liberty aaaah) and their claim of ‘inspired by men’s tailoring’ had my raised an eyebrow: sounds exactly like what I’m looking for — a proper dress shirt cut to fit a female body, but could it be that good?
I was trying to find some thorough review of their shirt in terms of built quality, fit etc but couldn’t find much information, and the shirts are not easy to find in north america, but regardless I took a chance. I gathered a review article could be helpful for some girly what would be on the same boat as I did, so there we go.
The Specs/TLDR:
Brand: With Nothing Underneath (WNU)
Model/Design: The Boyfriend Stripe Tencel™ Contrast Button-Up Shirt (relaxed fit)
Bought for: $205 USD
Made in : Portugal
Collar style: Spread, with place for collar stays
Cuff style: two-button rounded
Back style: rear side pleats (pleats on the sides for extra movement)
Buttons: Mother of pearl
The Details:
Nerdy comments from someone who sews: the whole shirt used twill fabrics, pieces were stitched together by flat felled seam (english seam), including the armholes; the stitching were fine, clean and straight; the buttons feel like natural mother-of-pearl and were sewn on loosely without a shank, one could fall off (or not) after a few wears and laundries; the back yoke piece was oriented with the warp on the horizontal line for extra strength, and stripe pattern wasn’t matched (yeah I guess that’s too much to ask for a shirt at this price range). Oh and yes as described by a reddit user, the cuff and collar were interlined so they feel thincker and more structured.
Overall, this is at the same level as a men’s dress shirt. I’d say the quality is pretty impressive and worth the boutique/niche price tag. I’d put it in the same league as Polo Ralph Lauren (probably better because of the fabric and the collar, maybe comparable to the purple label/collection but I can’t remember how that feel) and Vince. If compared to those established brand, it’s pretty worth of a try.
The Fit
This is a UK6 aka a US2, so I expected it to fit a bit loose. That being said, I found the arms may be too long for me. The extended back was probably designed to look stylish so it can be worn with fashion pieces besides pairing with a suit jacket, but it also adds to the bulk if you perfer to tuck it in the old-fashioned way. The collar fits nicely, no awkward big gap.
The Look
Puting on a navy double-breated jacket, this is how it look:
Nice, innit?
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