Blue Collar: The Return of the Chambray Shirt

Shirt Tales Model Joan Smalls works the denim staple between shows at New York Fashion Week.Photo: Vanessa Jackman Alexa ChungPhoto: Danny Martindale/WireImage/Getty Images Liu WenPhoto: Craig Arend/altamiranyc.com Karlie KlossPhoto: Imax Tree Shena MoultonPhoto: Imax Tree From left: American Eagle Outfitters shirt, $40. American Apparel shirt, $64.Photo: Cathy Crawford Skinny jeans arent the only MVPs in the off-duty wardrobes of the style elite. The chambray shirt starred at fall fashion week. With the advent of street-style photography has come the end of the so-called model off-duty. These days, runway regulars must juggle the practical concerns of fourteen-plus-hour days zooming from castings to fittings to shows with the sartorial pressures of fourteen-plus-hour days being photographed running from castings to fittings to shows. Talk about working overtime! Needless to say, a smart uniform is essential. Until recently, the skinny jean has been the favored go-to among the fashion thoroughbred set. Pair it with a paper-thin tee, a black motorcycle jacket, and leather boots, and you might even be mistaken for an M.O.D. The look meets all the modern-day mannequin requirements: effortless, cool, photogenic. It has also become, dare I say, utterly, yawn-inducingly predictable.