I'm pretty confident in saying that today, in 2026, the white button down shirt is a women's wardrobe staple: it's versatile, it's classic, it has endless styling possibilities, and it can serve as the initial building block to an outfit both casual and dressed up. On the Spring 2026 runways, the white button down shirt was, in some cases, entirely reinterpreted and in other cases, reimagined through a modern lens. Most notably at all, the oversized baggy silhouette was embraced, a development fully in line with the rise of the menswear for women trend.
Chanel, Givenchy, and Balenciaga's Spring/Summer 2026 runways all featured oversized white button down shirts styled with unique details and approaches to styling. Chanel featured a button down with a bib detail, Givenchy featured a button down with oversized voluminous shoulders and sleeves, and Balenciaga featured a button down shirt with an unconventional long-line hem.
So, how did a garment typically associated with masculinity and social class become a women's capsule dressing staple?
Chanel Spring 2026
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Givenchy Spring 2026
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Balenciaga Spring 2026
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In the 19th century, the ability to own and maintain white clothing in general was considered a huge privilege. While working-class people worked jobs that tended to get their hands (and clothes) dirty and couldn't afford to was their clothes very often, upper class men would layer white button down tops with other garments and leave the collar and cuffs peeking out. The white button down top was primarily worn by men in the workplace and, for lack of a better term, symbolized that a man meant business.
"Mr. & Mrs. Smith"
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Come the 1920s, a time where women were drawn to more functional clothing, fashion designers—Coco Chanel, most notably—grew comfortable rejecting gender and class boundaries and playing with traditionally masculine pieces in womenswear. As happens with most trends, some of Hollywood's biggest stars—iconic leading ladies like Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Katherine Hepburn—wore white button down shirts onscreen, leading to a wider acceptance of the style on women. Then, the white button down began to represent women who possessed a newfound approach to modern femininity with independence at the forefront.
"Pulp Fiction"
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Today, it's fair to say that the white button down shirt (on women in particular) has had it's fair share of iconic movie moments. From Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday" to Angelina Jolie in "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" to Uma Thurman in "Pulp Fiction," the styles everlasting presence both on screen and on runways affirms that this is a wardrobe staple that's going absolutely nowhere—and might just be the key to an effortlessly chic look. Ahead, see the 10 best button down shirts to shop for a timeless wardrobe.
