I love the idea of the link up happening at Putting Me Together of showing how to wear one piece many ways! I've said it before but in case you're new to this blog, a chambray shirt is such an essential wardrobe staple to have, so I knew that that's what I wanted to showcase for this post. Seriously, they can be dressed up or down, tucked, untucked, tied, sleeves rolled up or down, buttoned, unbuttoned, layered over, layered under, and the list goes on. It's such a great piece to invest in because I promise, you'll be wearing it all the time. I got mine from DKNY, but you can find a good one from many stores. Here are some outfits I've created based on outfits that I've worn or could wear because I own similar or the exact pieces.
I suffered an unfortunate fall last week which has really aggravated the nerve condition I have to an extreme level, so I've spent the past week resting and elevating my legs whenever I've been home. Therefore I don't have pictures of me actually wearing all of the outfits, but I do have the polyvore sets, which can also be clicked on to shop the items or similar ones. If there are any outfits you'd like to see worn though, you can request it and I'll try to wear it as soon as possible!
chambray and purple shorts by greathappiness featuring a pearl necklace
This is an outfit I've worn and posted before on this blog (
see the post here). Denim on denim is on trend right now but if you're like me and not really sure about pulling it off, you can cheat a little with purple jeans instead. They're still close in color, but it made me feel more comfortable than actually wearing blue denim on denim. The pop of yellow in the shoes of this outfit adds some fun to it, while the jewelry is piled on but stays with silver and pearl- neutral colors. I seriously loved wearing this outfit!
mint, black, and chambray by greathappiness featuring cotton shirts
I think the mint, black, and chambray color combo of this outfit works so great. The black top and the mint pants could be seen as more dressy, but by putting on the chambray and the sandals, it gives it a more casual vibe. I would leave the top unbuttoned and tie it around the waist for this outfit so it gives you more shape and still looks a little nicer to go with the pants than it would just hanging down. The sandals can easily be substituted for closed toed shoes in cooler weather.
fall layers by greathappiness featuring leather platform boots
I can't wait until Fall so I can wear this outfit! This is the first example of using the top as a shirt layered under other layers. It would go great with an oatmeal cardigan, and when you pair it with some brown boots and a cute scarf in the brown/tan family, doesn't it just make you want to spend the day on a ranch?
lbd and chambray by greathappiness featuring topshop
So another wardrobe staple that is super versatile is a little black dress. By putting an unbuttoned hanging loose chambray top over it, you keep the look more casual but totally classic at the same time. I added some mixed metals for the accessories, and a belt as well, which I would wear under the chambray top for a more easy breezy vibe, however, I'm sure it would totally work worn over it too for a bit more structured look!
chambray and stripes by greathappiness featuring skinny straight leg jeans
Here is the top layered over another top again, but this time a patterned one. As you can tell, I love some stripes. Because there are a lot of layered components to this outfit it's harder to see it all on together just looking at this collage, but try to picture it. It makes for a totally adorable outfit with the pop of color through the red knit scarf, another casual look that I can't wait to try out when Fall gets here!
chambray and floral by greathappiness featuring vintage shirts
I got this pair of pants from Loft a few months ago because they were on sale for a great price and I love floral patterns. I used to be scared of floral pants because I thought they were too loud, but then I took the plunge with another pair I bought before these, and when I wore them for the first time, I realized they're not so scary after all! The thing is, that floral pants make enough of a big statement by themselves that you can just stay totally toned down with the rest of your outfit and look great. And a chambray top is perfect for that, looking great with these pants. I just finished the look off with some simple black flats. I didn't add any accessories here but you totally still could, although I would keep them simple.
chambray and purple shorts by greathappiness featuring sterling silver jewelry
For the warm weather days of summer, here's a nice and cool look. The sleeves of the top can easily be rolled up to be cooler and many times the shirts have buttons and loops to secure them there. You can pair the top with any printed shorts, I just happen to have purple plaid ones. Because denim is a neutral, any color or pattern goes!
Fall outfit by greathappiness featuring button down tops
This is an outfit full of neutrals but still done in an interesting way. The chambray with a brown leather jacket makes me swoon over this combination. And I had been looking for a black knit infinity scarf and happened to find one for $5 at ILY Couture- score! This could be worn on a chilly day in late Fall or early Winter.
chambray and black shorts by greathappiness featuring ballet flats
I wore this outfit in a recent post (see it here), but I went with red wedge sandals instead for a pop of color, and I added a peach necklace, which is hard to see in this picture. Another great summery outfit and it's a classy nice casual one that you can't go wrong with. As I mentioned in the post, I tied the bottom of the shirt in the front because the shorts aren't fitted in order to give the look more definition. If I had left it hanging it would have looked frumpy, can you imagine it and see the difference? But look at the top outfit that I wore. That one I let hang down with the loose fit because the skinny jeans that I was wearing were fitted and gave definition, so it was ok for the top to be loose. Loose on loose is frumpy, so if you want part of your outfit to be baggy, go with something fitted for the other half.
red and chambray by greathappiness featuring charlotte russe jewelry
Another cardigan and boots look but different from the other one, so cute right? I really love red with the chambray- I think they look great together. Again for this one, I would wear the belt over the shirt and under the cardigan. I'm realizing how many of these outfits have black pants, but if you're more comfortable with denim on denim than I am, a darker wash skinny jean would work just as well.
burgundy and chambray by greathappiness featuring printed jeans
This outfit is a little different because it plays on the color blue in the top, rather than treating it as a neutral. This adorable scarf that I have from Charlotte Russe picks up the blue in the polka dots of it, and I love it paired with the burgundy color of the scarf. If you don't have the same scarf, though, don't worry, you can get the same effect with another scarf, or a necklace, bracelet, ring, or detail in a shoe that matches the top in color.
coral and leopard by greathappiness featuring long sleeve shirts
And finally for the last outfit, I paired the top with a pullover sweater to be layered underneath for a twist on the preppy look. I like the coral with it, but any color would be great. I envision wearing this outfit at a holiday party of some kind. Top it off with a simply colored statement necklace this this white bubble one, and I added the leopard flats for something fun.
I hope that if you have a chambray shirt this helped to provide you with some new outfit ideas and if you don't, you're able to see just how versatile they are. I have 12 different outfits here, but I could go on and on!
