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

That the shirts are named after “good-looking actors” is an interesting detail. Who doesn’t fancy a “Harrison” (a slim collar shirt with a partial placket and a single pleat for added room) in their closet?

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 inhale-exhale, as the lockdown stretches on and along with it, our nerves.

"Last 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. It's okay to let go," says Mumbai designer Payal Khandwala.

"Vincent"; "Daniel"; "Timothée" - part of All White range by The Summer House

Imperfect and - in the fullest sense of the word - liberated. A tailored, button-down poplin shirt comes nicely undone with asymmetrical cuffs, a high-pitched collar and a sash, in Khandwala's Release 4 collection. "I love the idea of a sash; something that flaps with the rhythm of your movement. My sash design is more karate belt than pussy-bow necktie, though. And it's these minor tweaks that renew the interest in a classic item like the shirt," she says.

Khandwala has often styled her white shirts with brocade lehengas and now, palazzos. It is as if she is telling her clients: "You don't have to buy another white shirt to get this look". The trick, she says, is to invest in a shirt with just the right fit, structure and oomph, and keep repeating it with different bottoms.

Rishta by Arjun Saluja

The opposite style is an interplay of crisp contradictions in Arjun Saluja's collection. Its twin narrative, perhaps mirroring changing feminine attitudes. Saluja's 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. "It's still a shirt but not really a shirt, or is it a shirt dress?" he laughs. "A shirt should allow women to be as complicated and contradictory as they wish."

Seen 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 "you got this", chin-up confidence. "I won't say that a white shirt is essential; no clothing is. But it's definitely a classic and lends itself to many moods and interpretations," thinks Shivangini Parihar, founder and creative director at The Summer House.

Payal Khandwala's Release 4 collection

White is wonderful. "We 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 updating," 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. "Every woman likes a white shirt, but not necessarily in the same style. We don't make shirts beyond the XL scale. Not yet. But we are happy to customise."

That the shirts are named after "good-looking actors" is an interesting detail. Who doesn't fancy a "Harrison" (a slim collar shirt with a partial placket and a single pleat for added room) in their closet? There is "Vincent", a kimono-like shawl-collar shirt. You could if you like enjoy a glass of Bourbon with "Daniel", a bellowing long shirt with batwing sleeves. If Laurie is your sort of beat, "Timothée" is up for grabs too; a pleated trapeze shirt with three quarter length-sleeves.

Cat Cross-Stitch Shirt By Harago

The return of the white shirt has been begging for a partner; it's after all the fundamental backbone of every man's 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 didn't study fashion but had a peculiar affinity towards boxy shirts with camp collars, a shirting style reminiscent of 1950s leisurewear. "Men's shirts available in the market are boring, and that's when I started getting my shirts tailored way back in college," he says.

The 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 cross-stitch embroidery - inspired by domestic wares like tablecloths, curtains, bed sheets, cushion covers and old sarees - appears as a recurring feature across a shirt's seams, pockets, collars and sleeves.

So, there you have it. White: remarkably practical, quietly graceful, predictably versatile and occasionally tricky, but mostly a sartorial antidote.

The curious case of buttons (this one's for the ladies)

. We spend time ensuring a shirt's 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 you're generously endowed, without creating a gap or causing you to size up from your regular size.

. Most button-up shirts have buttons all the way up to the collar - like a men's shirt - so you end up with one button below the bust and one button above the bust line.
This is what creates the dreaded "boob gap".

. "The right shirt for you is the one that will have a button that lines up with your bust-line," 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 place.

How to remove stains from white clothes By The Summer House

Don't use bleach White is also a colour and using chlorine bleach will fade it. Opt for a colour-safe bleach that has hydrogen peroxide.

Red 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 soda.
Grass and ink stain Drench the stain in cheap vodka (yes, vodka) and wash as usual.

Armpit 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 can't see staining just yet.

Curry stain: Treat the stain immediately by applying talcum powder (the powder soaks in the oil) and let it sit. Next, wash with hand soap.

Rust 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.