9 ways to wear your button-down shirt

I've had a lifetime love affair with the button-down shirt. I probably have the movies to thank for this! When I first saw Audrey Hepburn wearing her sleep shirt and her eyelash eye mask in Breakfast at Tiffany's, I wanted a button-down to wear to bed. When Dianne Keaton and Kimberly Williams (now Williams-Paisley) wore their coordinating button-downs with leggings as they rested through the final days of their pregnancies in Father of the Bride Part 2, my love in button-downs was reaffirmed. I'll stop the list there, but there are many other great examples (Uma Thurman, Grace Kelly)... and there are so many different ways to play with this essential piece.

1) Button-down with trousers, sweater and necklace

Here, I combined this striped navy blue button-down with my red pants and a navy and red crew neck sweater. The sweater layered over the button-down creates a more interesting look and a slimmer line.

Since this button-down has a nice long shirttail, I like to keep it untucked to keep the outfit from looking too preppy. Also, I chose these tan shoes to neutralize the bright red in the pants.

2) Button-down under a dress

This wouldn't work with every button-down or every dress, but it works here!

The dress is double-lined, jersey material and a fit and flare style. This style of dress keeps the button-down shirt in place and hides any possible bunchiness or lines and still creates a seamless silhouette.

I rolled the sleeves of the shirt for a more curated look. My tan shoes make my legs look longer, and who doesn't love that?

3) Button-down with a long vest and skinny jeans

Any jeans, any boots and any vest will do here. This long and loose vest balances the button-down well, making this outfit #weekendready! The skinny jeans also work to balance the shapelessness of the vest.

Here, I matched the vest and the booties to one another. My necklace, although small in this picture, is silver, gold and navy which brings all of these colors together.

5) Button-down with a coat and colored pants (and leopard print!)

Here, the button-down shirt gets a half tuck into some teal ankle pants for a perfect work outfit for the fall!

I like to match my jewelry to the other metals in my outfit, so the gold buckles on my coat match my gold necklace.

The leopard shoes add a surprising touch! Leopard print is done best in small doses and never with another animal print.

6) Button-down with a tied t-shirt and jeans

The t-shirt tied over the button down creates a hourglass silhouette because I tied it at the smallest part of my waist. This is a great strategy to try with your button-down shirt!

Since button-downs are a thicker fabric, they don't cling to the body, and they often hide our insecurities.

7) Button-down with a skirt (and some more leopard print)

The button-down can be worn in almost all weather: here, it's perfect for spring with a watermelon colored skirt. The gold Stella &Dot necklace works well with the tan details in the bag and the leopard print.

This particular button-down shirt was found on a discount rack at Marshall's: originally, I loved its length and, later, I took it to the tailor to have the sides taken in. I wanted to be able to tuck it in to pants and shirts without too much bunched up material.

8) Button-down with blazer, corduroys and boots

Tucked out, this shirt looks great with navy skinny corduroys. Throw on a houndstooth blazer and tan boots, and you're ready for anything! Jeans would be great alternative here.

Mixing the stripes and the houndstooth patterns work well here because the colors coordinate; both prints feature navy blue.

9) Button-down with dress

This dress is a swing shape, which doesn't provide much shape, so the button-down adds to the look by creating the hourglass shape. This is the exact same technique as the one used above with the t-shirt. Both are tied at the smallest part of the waist.

Go back to your closet and dig out your button-down: see what color combinations you can make and what patterns you can mix to create a seamless look. Let me know what you come up with!