The white shirt. It’s cool. It’s hot! It’s back.

It can be prim and posh sexy and slouchy buttoned up or down mannish or feminine The shirt strikes once again telling you as if sartorially to inhaleexhale as the lockdown stretches on and along with it our nervesldquoLast year was a weird one Its effects lockdown continue to represent different emotions for different people I thrive on perfection personally but the uncertainty of the pandemic taught me that nothing is perfect Itrsquos okay to let gordquo says Mumbai designer Payal Khandwala ldquoVincentrdquo ldquoDanielrdquo ldquoTimotheerdquomdashpart of All White range by The Summer HouseImperfect andmdashin the fullest sense of the wordmdashliberated A tailored buttondown poplin shirt comes nicely undone with asymmetrical cuffs a highpitched collar and a sash in Khandwalarsquos Release 4 collection ldquoI love the idea of a sash something that flaps with the rhythm of your movement My sash design is more karate belt than pussybow necktie though And itrsquos these minor tweaks that renew the interest in a classic item like the shirtrdquo she saysKhandwala has often styled her white shirts with brocade lehengas and now palazzos It is as if she is telling her clients ldquoYou donrsquot have to buy another white shirt to get this lookrdquo The trick she says is to invest in a shirt with just the right fit structure and oomph and keep repeating it with different bottomsRishta by Arjun SalujaThe opposite style is an interplay of crisp contradictions in Arjun Salujarsquos collection Its twin narrative perhaps mirroring changing feminine attitudes Salujarsquos design in a way conforms to the shirting traditions in the front frame but goes on to strategically subvert and break the purist rules to give us a circular drape on the back ldquoItrsquos still a shirt but not really a shirt or is it a shirt dressrdquo he laughs ldquoA shirt should allow women to be as complicated and contradictory as they wishrdquoSeen in all sorts of exploratory configurations the white shirt is the hero in summer drops and we are happy to report that its decided casting is less about a trend and everything about a peppy nod to ldquoyou got thisrdquo chinup confidence ldquoI wonrsquot say that a white shirt is essential no clothing is But itrsquos definitely a classic and lends itself to many moods and interpretationsrdquo thinks Shivangini Parihar founder and creative director at The Summer HousePayal Khandwalarsquos Release 4 collectionWhite is wonderful ldquoWe love them white shirts in Khadi Two years ago Rekha Datla business head and I launched a range of seven shirts and they remain a constant feature in our collections which we keep updatingrdquo informs Parihar The whole point of introducing a wardrobe of seven Khadi shirts in different styles for body types and preferences she says is simply to not leave any one aesthetic out within the gamut of XS to XL ldquoEvery woman likes a white shirt but not necessarily in the same style We donrsquot make shirts beyond the XL scale Not yet But we are happy to customiserdquoThat the shirts are named after ldquogoodlooking actorsrdquo is an interesting detail Who doesnrsquot fancy a ldquoHarrisonrdquo a slim collar shirt with a partial placket and a single pleat for added room in their closet There is ldquoVincentrdquo a kimonolike shawlcollar shirt You could if you like enjoy a glass of Bourbon with ldquoDanielrdquo a bellowing long shirt with batwing sleeves If Laurie is your sort of beat ldquoTimotheacuteerdquo is up for grabs too a pleated trapeze shirt with three quarter lengthsleevesCat CrossStitch Shirt By HaragoThe return of the white shirt has been begging for a partner itrsquos after all the fundamental backbone of every manrsquos wardrobe Launched in 2019 Harago is a relatively new unisex label but one that has quickly become a favourite with a generation of urban men whose choice in shirts makes hash of outdated norms of masculinity And they have Harsh Agarwal its creative director to thank He didnrsquot study fashion but had a peculiar affinity towards boxy shirts with camp collars a shirting style reminiscent of 1950s leisurewear ldquoMenrsquos shirts available in the market are boring and thatrsquos when I started getting my shirts tailored way back in collegerdquo he saysThe urge then was personal Soon Agarwal founded the label in Jaipur with his sister Yashika and a team of eight including master tailors and embroiderers Harago shirts champion artfully calibrated gender blending as a nonchalant countercultural gesture Chromatic crossstitch embroiderymdashinspired by domestic wares like tablecloths curtains bed sheets cushion covers and old sareesmdashappears as a recurring feature across a shirtrsquos seams pockets collars and sleevesSo there you have it White remarkably practical quietly graceful predictably versatile and occasionally tricky but mostly a sartorial antidoteThe curious case of buttons this onersquos for the ladies We spend time ensuring a shirtrsquos fit and form and often forget to check the bust area The latter is the best way to find out whether the shirt is for you or not The button placement should allow room for your bust even if yoursquore generously endowed without creating a gap or causing you to size up from your regular size Most buttonup shirts have buttons all the way up to the collarmdashlike a menrsquos shirtmdashso you end up with one button below the bust and one button above the bust lineThis is what creates the dreaded ldquoboob gaprdquo ldquoThe right shirt for you is the one that will have a button that lines up with your bustlinerdquo suggests Khandwala But before you rush into a frenzy of trying out shirts from your wardrobe make sure you are wearing a bra and the right fitting one You need a bra that lifts as well as separates so that your bust sits in the right placeHow to remove stains from white clothes By The Summer HouseDonrsquot use bleach White is also a colour and using chlorine bleach will fade it Opt for a coloursafe bleach that has hydrogen peroxideRed wine stain Directly pour salt on the stain to absorb the moisture Scrape it off after some time Next blot the stain with liberal amounts of club sodaGrass and ink stain Drench the stain in cheap vodka yes vodka and wash as usualArmpit stain Mix 4 tablespoons of baking soda and just enough water to form a paste Scrub the mixture into the stains Let it sit for a few minutes then wash as usual The key to keeping the underarms of shirts white is to treat them even if you canrsquot see staining just yetCurry stain Treat the stain immediately by applying talcum powder the powder soaks in the oil and let it sit Next wash with hand soapRust stain Saturate the stain in lemon juice and then sprinkle salt directly on it Let the mixture react overnight then rinse it with cold water