How to spruce up your work shirts

A reason to be cheerful during the first week back at work: breathing new life into your office wardrobe doesn’t require spending big bucks or going on a crash diet to reverse the effect of the Quality Street marathon. Your failsafe cotton shirts can become new, exciting and on-trend garments with a few simple tricks. Perfect for experimenting with on those cosy evenings in.

Pin it

Think of a metallic pin as a tiny trinket to punctuate sleeves with. Where traditional cufflinks slip through the buttonhole, a pin can sit closely or in a small constellation with other gems. Scatter, rather than align in a row, to avoid looking too calculated.

Grow your own blooms

Alessandro Michele’s eccentric styling at Gucci has seen models sport shirts with floral brooches fastened onto the top button. Think bursting bouquets, rather than rigid metallic clips. Ease your way into this botanical trend by letting the petals peep out of shirts and crew-neck knits.

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Make your neck the focus

Leave the top two buttons undone and knot a silk or cotton scarf around your neck. All this effortless Parisian look needs is straight-leg trousers and a pair of loafers for company.

Go bespoke

Give a subtle nod to the personalisation trend by wearing your initials on shirt pockets. There are an abundance of iron-on, embroidered stickers and metal pins on the market, however why not sew your own block lettering on? This school girl flourish fits in with fashion’s current penchant for granny chic - think pleated skirts, loafers and large glasses frames.

Tie it up

If you missed our nifty tip on the brilliant £3 accessory, let us recap. A roll of simple black ribbon forms a wonderfully beatnik addition to shirt collars when tied into a bow. You can even punctuate the knot with one of the aforementioned brooches or shirt pins.

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