Confessions of a mono-dresser: I only wear one shirt

Let’s be clear.  I don’t only have one shirt.  I have multiples.  And technically two colors.  But same shirt.  Lemme ‘splain.  Here’s the story of how I went full-on Michael Kors.

Back when I was on maternity leave with Henry, I only seemed to want to wear one shirt.  This shirt, in fact.  Don’t be fooled by its presence on the website.  It is no longer available.  They keep it up to taunt me.

See with Henry, it was fall.  I like to let my pants or jacket be the star of the outfit.  I’m usually wearing a scarf.  Maybe a necklace.  My pants + shirt + blazer + scarf recipe worked out great with the same white shirt.  And since I was doing laundry constantly, it was usually clean.

But once I realized it was the only shirt I wanted to wear, I thought, why not get more?  Alas, it was too late.  The shirt was gone, baby, gone.  And I have been on a epic white tee hunt ever since.  (Call me Ahab.)  I tried other Lands End Canvas shirts (just not the same), Gap shirts, and even small mens’ undershirts.  I contemplated expensive joie shirts or venturing to Japan with uniqlo shirts, but never pulled the trigger.  I have googled and read more “perfect tee” lists than I care to admit.

See, the perfect white shirt can’t be too sheer.  It should have a nice neck that would work with necklaces.  Some drape is nice.  I prefer a pocket, but that’s a personal choice.  And if you are doubting whether white is a good color with kids, I think white is an unsung hero.  Spit-up doesn’t show as much.  And my baby oxiclean has been adequate so far, but you’ve always got the bleach option.

Finally–when I was exploring harem-ish pants at Old Navy–I stumbled on a contender.  Enter the Drapey Pocket Tee.  (It is no longer available in white, but this one is similar.)  The day it arrived, I knew I had something I could work with.  Not too sheer.  More flowy and drapey  than stiff.  You can’t really see it on the website, but it has a nice mullet effect that I like to think gives it a little style, but is also helpful for feeding a baby.

Enter the shirt

Enter the shirt

You can guess what happened next.  I immediately ordered many more.  In white and black.  In two different sizes.  I did not want this to be the one that got away.

Now in black

Now in black

And my shirts and I lived happily ever after.  It made packing a cinch.  I have one or two other shirts in the mix, but I probably wear this shirt 90% of the time.  I love not having to think about it getting dressed.  I don’t think of it as laziness so much as efficiency born from knowing what I like.

Same shirt, different day

Same shirt, different day

The only catch:  when I started dabbling with mono-shirt on my first maternity leave, it was fall.  Now it has been warmer.  I’ll pull out the scarves and jackets soon, but it has just been too hot.  This means my shirt is front and center.  People here must think I only have one shirt.  Luckily everyone has been too nice to comment on it.

Ah, with jacket . . . note the mullet

Ah, with jacket . . . note the mullet

Are you into “mono-dressing” or does it sound awful?  Ever bought multiples of a favorite piece?  Ever tried a capsule wardrobe like a 30×30 or a Project 333 Experiment?

P.S. I tried picmonkey using my friend’s tutorial for the first time.  Uh, why wasn’t I doing this sooner??