The one high-summer wardrobe essential to invest in

The white T-shirt is to summer what the navy jumper is to winter — a sound seasonal staple without which dressing for six months of the year would be a far more challenging proposition. But is our fairweather devotion to jersey blinding us to what is a less obvious but perhaps even better companion?

I’m talking about the white shirt — the T-shirt’s grown-up, smarter cousin that’s often relegated to the back of the wardrobe when warm weather hits for being, quite literally, a bit too buttoned-up. But its high time we reclaimed the white shirt as a high-summer hero.

Take a pair of denim shorts — throw on a white T-shirt and you’ve got yourself a perfect lazy-day outfit, ideal for lying about in London Fields or at the Park Stage on the Sunday of Glastonbury. But add a white shirt instead and the effort level increases tenfold. And not just because it’s clear you’ve bothered to run an iron over it before stepping out your front door.

That’s not to say it has to be complicated, however. In fact, the effect can be achieved — and is perhaps at its best — with even the most basic white shirt. See Arket’s plain relaxed poplin option or Monki’s box-fit button-up blouse. & Other Stories’s oversized classic collared shirt, with its longline length and more formal fitted cuffs, is also ace for dressing up a pair of cycling shorts.

Alternatively, try knotting Sézane’s Tomboy shirt over a flowing, floor-sweeping skirt for effortless summer vibes. Or, if you want to avoid the iron altogether, invest in the lightweight, breathable, crinkle-cotton Ellis summer shirt from LA specialist Rails — a brand that deals exclusively in strokeably soft, never stiff, shirting.

And of course, let’s not breeze over the white shirt’s original appeal as an evergreen office staple which solves the tricky what-to-wear-to-work-in-July dilemma without even trying. It’s also a particularly good call for those planning on spending most of the summer months basking in a beer garden, as a white shirt has long been lauded as a better hangover cure than a packet of salt and vinegar Discos and a lunchtime nap. At least as far as your appearance is concerned, if not your energy levels.

Equipment — the long-reigning authority on men’s shirting designed for a woman’s wardrobe — is your go-to brand for this, particularly its lovely line of linen options, which are currently available alongside its signature washed silk styles.

Then again, if this is sounding a little too mundane for midsummer, there is flair to be found in the season’s shirting staples. Mango’s embroidered broderie anglaise shirt is fresh as a daisy without being too fussy, while Zara’s cropped puff-sleeve poplin blouse is the wearable equivalent of a fluffy white cloud.

Here’s hoping the weather follows suit.