As an estranged uncle of the crop top clan, knotted shirts occupy some weird fashion territory. First of all, they carry a substantial amount of sartorial baggage, from the literal (visible midriff alert) to the more figurative (pretty much every last minute Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island Halloween costume ever). Knotted shirts also have an unfortunate historical relationship with Mariah Carey circa whenever, Daisy-Duke-style jorts of the lower-ass-quadrant-baring variety, visible bras, plastic cowgirl hats, and French manicured thumbs tucked into belt loops. Needless to say, knotted shirts can quickly veer into the cheese ball factory sphere of wrongness.
Enter My Tomayto. Since when has the fine line between potentially tacky and potentially awesome(?) stopped us?!?! Since NEVER is the answer to that parenthesized question, sirs. I am determined to identify and subsequently demonstrate the knotted shirt's often dormant capacity for true stylishness, as evidenced on occasion by the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Parisian women on vacation, Taylor Tomasi Hill, and Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing. Thanks to these broads, I KNOW IT TO BE POSSIBLE.
So, I took out my favorite button down shirt, I put 'er on, and I knotted 'er up real good. Having accomplished that primary task, and taking a quick break to evaluate the concerning hillbilly accent that had newly taken up residence in my knotted-shirt-wearing self's subconscious, I began poking around in my closet to complete the rest of the ensemble.
In my attempt to transform knotted shirts from a don't to a do and, as such, from cheesy to chic, I promptly ignored my more casual bottom-half-of-the-body options (read: denim), lest I appear to be en route to a terrible square dance and/or MTV awards night with a frosted-tipped Justin Timberlake in tow.
I decided on black leather shorts because, in my humble opinion, their casual edginess nicely neutralizes the knotted shirt's sordid past-life potential for bad spray tans and booty popping. I also added some accessories that I hoped would pull the look in a South-of-France-frequenter-expert-vintage-hunter-cooler-than-thou-and-thou direction. If I succeeded please let me know and I will be sure to send you a virtual fruit cake.
So whaddya think? Is the knotted shirt a DO? I am compelled to say yes. I like this outfit, and in this particular case I believe my foray into the world of knotted shirts has left me feeling and looking less like Daisy Duke and more like Isabel Marant off duty (fingers crossed, heart pumped full of hopeful blood, hands raised in yearning prayer, etc.). Hit me up with your grand thoughts in the comments, people.
Vilbrequin shirt, Zara shorts, Hermes bracelet-turned-choker, vintage medallion.
For further LOLZ, awkward silences, and tomayto throwing, follow me on twitter and instagram.