As a child, oversize shirts were the best thing ever. They were comfortable, easy to wear, and not precious at all. In hindsight though, drowning in excess fabric—perhaps not the chicest look, especially when styled with bike shorts, a scrunchie, and a pair of high-tops. Oh, the '90s.
Blame it on adulting, but we've all grown out of that phase, learning to size down from our baggy XXXL tees and instead curate a closet of fitted pieces (the number one fashion tip any celebrity will tell you is to tailor your clothes to achieve the perfect fit). But then came Vetements designer Demna Vsalia's breakthrough moment at Balenciaga, along with his crazy outsized proportions, and now we're here: eager to throw away everything we've learned about fit in favor of giant disproportionate pieces.
Except it's different this time around. Sizing up doesn't have to equal slob. The grown-up, street-style-y way to do it starts with the oversized top in question. Look for beautifully crafted, deliberately voluminous structured silhouettes; styles that are big in width, but abbreviated in length (balance!); on-trend details (think: tie-strap sleeves and cut-outs); and crisp shirts. And when paired with a fluid skirt, an equally voluminous pant (to create a long, lean line), or a slim pant, the result is chic all the way. Get started with our 12 oversized picks, below.
