The Key Piece You Can Pick Up in Zara and Pretend Is Really Expensive

There are multiple reasons one particular £20 blue-and-white striped shirt is amongst Zara's current best sellers. It's versatile and smart. It's affordable. It's tapping into fashion's ongoing love affair with all things related to button-downs and blouses. It's very spring-ready. It's flattering on everyone. It's something you'll find in designer circles just as easily as you will on the high street… Those are enough to justify its mass popularity, but more than all the above, the truth is almost every girl under the sun can look good in a blue-and-white button-down.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Like with all trends or key items, it's about locating the ultimate one for you and your closet, but never before have there been so many iterations to choose from. London-based duo Palmer//Harding has taken the idea to the max, with striped, asymmetrically hemmed shirts that can be neatly tied at the waist and layered over jeans. J.Crew has even introduced National Stripes Day, which falls on March 31. Type "blue striped shirt" into ASOS and over 40 options present themselves, and there's double that on offer at Net-a-Porter. Thanks to the overwhelming number of striped blue shirts now available, you'll probably want the fast download on which ones are worth buying.

Keep reading to shop our favourite picks.

Related: Mango and Zara Are Both Endorsing the Most Useful Spring Shoe Trend

Related: Gone in 60 Seconds? These New High-Street Pieces Are Just Too Good

Hannah Almassi
Editor in Chief

Hannah Almassi is the Editor in Chief of Who What Wear UK. Hannah has been part of the the Who What Wear brand since 2015, when she was headhunted to launch the UK sister site and social channels, implement a localised content strategy and build out the editorial team. She joined following a seven-year tenure at Grazia magazine, where she led front-of-book news, fashion features and shopping specials as fashion news and features editor. With experience in both print and digital across fashion and beauty, Hannah has over 16 years in the field as a journalist, editor, content strategist and brand consultant. Hannah has interviewed industry heavyweights such as designers including Marc Jacobs and Jonathan Anderson through to arbiters of taste including Katie Grand and Anna Dello Russo. A skilled moderator and lecturer specialising in the shift to digital media and e-commerce, Hannah’s opinion and work has been sought by the likes of CNBC, BBC, The Sunday Times Style, The Times, The Telegraph and MatchesFashion.com, among many others. Hannah is often called upon for her take on trends, becoming known as a person with their finger of the pulse of what’s happening in the fashion space for stylish Brits.

Hannah currently resides in Eastbourne with her photographer husband, incredibly busy son and highly Instagrammable cat.