Big Shirt – The Oversize Everyday Favourite

Short answer: A big shirt is an oversize garment for women with broad shoulders, a loose drape and good length. It has become an everyday favourite, because it combines comfort with a relaxed look, and in bamboo viscose it also gains a soft, heavy drape that looks expensive.

What is a big shirt?

Big shirt covers oversize T-shirts and shirt styles cut large with dropped shoulder seams and extra length. The point is that it is designed loose rather than simply bought too big, which is why it falls correctly across the shoulders and hips instead of hanging at random.

How to style it

Balance the loose top half with something fitted below: leggings, narrow trousers or cycling shorts. See bamboo leggings for women as the obvious partner. For a more dress like look a bamboo T-shirt dress can take the role with even more length.

Find your model

Look for loose fits in the range of bamboo T-shirts for women and bamboo tops for women. A couple of centimetres of difference in length changes the whole look, so compare the measurements rather than going by the name of the model alone.

Fabric weight is decisive

An oversize model needs a heavier fabric, otherwise it hangs shapelessly. Bamboo viscose falls more heavily than cotton jersey and therefore holds its shape in a loose cut. That is the single thing separating a big shirt that looks considered from one that just looks large.

Length and the hip

A big shirt should end either above the widest part of the hip or a good way below it. If it ends exactly at the widest point, the whole thing reads as wide. It is the same rule as for ordinary tops, but it shows more clearly when the cut is already loose.

The shoulder may drop

On a big shirt the shoulder seam may sit two to four centimetres down the upper arm. Further down and the sleeve starts to look borrowed, and the neckline begins to slide off the shoulder. The shoulder rather than the chest decides whether the model looks considered.

For autumn and winter

Under a jacket a big shirt adds a lot of bulk, so it works best as the outer layer or under a large cardigan. In winter a thin layer underneath can give warmth without volume, if it lies flat and does not crease inside the loose fabric.

Washing and shape

Wash at 30 degrees without fabric softener, and never hang a big shirt on a narrow hanger, because the broad shoulders stretch out. The tumble dryer is worst, because it shrinks the length first, and a big shirt without length loses its whole point. See also bamboo and temperature regulation.