For office wear, that knit needs some body to it; a tight enough gauge that it doesn’t stretch, puddle or skim transparently under fluorescent lights. It’s the small print on the label that will tell you whether this white top is versatile or whether it will only look good on a clothes rack. You want a stitch tight enough to skim rather than expose, woven in a yarn heavy enough that the bottom won’t bubble up every time you reach for something on a shelf or flip through a report during a meeting. Cotton and cotton blends have the best memory for this sort of thing, retaining their shape all day long like silk rarely can.
Fit is more important with a knit like this than almost any other top. White will highlight any misshapen area or bunching of fabric that a coloured or patterned knit might concealing. Look for something tailored with a little ease through the body; close enough to layer under a blazer without adding bulk, but loose enough that doesn’t stretch down every seam of what’s worn underneath.
A round, or even better, slightly scooped neckline will work harder than high crew as well, sitting comfortably under a collarless coat and giving your blazer a buttonband to pop open over rather than fighting with it around your neck.
Beyond that, it’s hard to really do this top wrong. Tuck it into a pair of tailored trousers with a leather belt and it looks instantly sharp and put together without effort. Left untucked under a stiff shell it softens a suit in a way that sometimes a shirt simply can’t, particularly if your trousers are on the wider side. It layers seamlessly over a blouse for the desk and truly shines once you kick off your jacket at the end of the day; a lightweight top that doesn’t need tugging down or whipping out of a wrinkled heap once it’s removed, something far more valuable in everyday office life than many care to admit.
It’s in these scenarios where the whited knitted shirt truly shines. Your presentation is over but the client suggested a drink down the pub. It was supposed to be a lunch meeting but no one’s really hungry so you’ll probably just saddle up at your desk until it’s time to head home. You wore a coat on the train so you won’t need a jacket, but your blouse won’t stay put once you start typing. Stay in that white knit and you can slip through all these transitions without changing a thing, and isn’t that really why you bought it in the first place?
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