How to Chic Up a Chambray Shirt for Spring

by Anna Villaruel
(Seoul, South Korea)

March 5, 2012: One of my favorite casual closet pieces has to be the chambray shirt (as well as denim shirt). It's very versatile and you can wear it with all kinds of clothing styles to create an unexpected chic look.

Courtesy of (left to right): Isabella Oliver - Nordstrom - JCrew
My own fashion persona is Classic, so adding some feminine touch to this cool shirt helps adjust it to my personal style.

Let me show you 5 chic ways to look feminine in a chambray or denim shirt:

Statement Necklace

A bright-colored statement necklace gives a spiff of up-to-date edge to the shirt. Not sure what necklace to wear it with? Try multiple strand bead, gemstone focal piece or a solid metal necklace.

A blue shirt looks pretty and sleek with neutrals such as beige, browns and olive greens. Silver or gold-only (or a mix) statement necklace looks amazing with the chambray shirt too. You can use gold or silver to warm up or cool down the blue. But since most denim shirts have a cool blue you'll accentuate the hue with silver!


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Do you love wearing colors?

Want to create maximum style impact? Wear the blue shirt with colors that make up a gorgeous combo. Experiment with one of these color schemes:

Monochromatic (eg. same hue but in different nuances, such as turquoise or bright blue)

Analogus (colors next to each other on the color wheel, eg. hues of purple and green)

or Complementary (colors opposite from each other on the color wheel, eg. orange, yellow, blue)

And in my personal opinion, the best way to combine blue is to select the right hue that harmonizes with it:

• Same color intensity (eg. light blue with light pink, medium blue with medium yellow, dark blue with dark purple), or


• Same color undertone (eg. warm blue with coral pink, soft light blue with hot pink) - however an exception is neutrals such as gold or silver because they go with anything

Pearls and Crystal Studs

Wearing the shirt with a sleek pearl necklace and a pair of crystal stud earrings add the right amount of classy-glam to the shirt. A trendy twist is to wear multiple layers of pearl strands or a pair of clear crystal hoop or huggie earrings :-)


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Make sure to select the right shade of pearl white according to your coloring. Cream and ivory look best on warm complexions - pure white on cool colorings. Off-white works on most because it's neutral.

Pretty Skirt

Wearing a skirt with a denim shirt may require shirt tucking depending on your vertical body shape and your personal style. Wearing it untucked creates a relaxed look and tucking it in looks more polished. If you have a short waist or just want to look extra sleek - you might want to secure a slim-fitted chambray or denim shirt so that it won't add bulge to your waist when wearing it tucked in.


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Create a chic juxtaposition with either a classy draped or romantic pleated skirt. Another glam and trendy alternative is an asymmetric tail hem skirt which is short in the front and long at the back. Finish it off with a wide belt around the waistband :-)

Belt it

Wrapping a belt around your waist helps polish your look. A wide belt updates the shirt - a skinny belt on the other hand is much more sophisticated and won't draw to much attention to it, which is ideal if you want to play up your outfit with jewelry and a purse without making it look too much.


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In my opinion, a wider belt goes hand in hand with the chambray shirt if you want to wear it with a skirt (it adds to the flirty look of the skirt), while a skinny one flows better with shirts, pants and denim jeans.

Pair it with Pink

What better way to mix casual-cool with a touch of girly pink? Wear the chambray or denim shirt with pink nail polish, pink necklace, pink belt, pink day clutch purse or... you get my idea :-)


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There are plenty of pink shades to choose from, but the ideal one is based on the shirt's blue color. For example, if it's a light blue - pair it with pastel pink or light fuschia. If it's a medium to deep blue - then it'll look good with darker pinks such as fuschia, neon/hot pink pink, peach or coral pink.


What do you think? How are you going to wear your chambray or denim shirt this springtime?