Casual Outfit Ideas: How to Style a Chambray Shirt

When it comes to casual comfort, who can’t get on board with a good chambray shirt?! If you love the look but aren’t sure where to start with how to style a chambray shirt, here are some helpful styling tips. It’s this mamas opinion that no closet is complete without at least one piece of CHAMBRAY, and here are some casual outfit ideas to prove it!

How to Style a Chambray Shirt: Alone

Here’s what I love about chambray shirts, you don’t have to do anything fancy to look great! So I wanted to start out with some casual outfit ideas for wearing your cute chambray shirt “alone,” or without any extra pieces or layers.

The first “rule” when it comes to how to style a chambray shirt is to stick with contrast. Wearing the same color from head to toe is a great look for rompers or maxi’s. But when it comes to chambray, try pairing a light element with a dark one. Here are some of my favorite casual outfit ideas for how to wear a chambray shirt “alone.”

I have a soft spot in my heart for black pants! And I honestly believe they look amazing with ANYTHING. But especially with this beautiful blue chambray shirt. I’m also currently obsessed with white tote’s and the geometric cut outs on this one help add some character to these casual outfit ideas!

Contrast is about color not textile. So feel free to pair a chambray shirt with jeans! This chambray’s cool light material is perfect for summer evenings with your favorite pair of jeans!

Olive green pants are another great color that goes well with blue chambray. Rolled sleeves may not be necessary for how to style a chambray shirt, but I love the extra detail it adds.

If you’re wondering how to style a chambray shirt in a less casual way, one of my favorite options is to pair it with a cute pencil skirt. And since chambray definitely falls under the “neutrals” category, it goes great with patterns!

How to Style a Chambray Shirt: Over

Another great option for how to style a chambray shirt, is to create layers! We all love a good jacket or cardigan, but sometimes those options are a little too warm. Using your chambray shirt as a light jacket, is the perfect alternative.

These casual outfit ideas show a couple different ways for how to style a chambray shirt “over” other tops. Which leads to “rule” number two, use your chambray shirt to compliment other pieces. An easy way of doing that is using the color or shade of the chambray to “pull out” that shade from somewhere else in the outfit.

I’m a big fan of matching colors in my outfits, but you don’t have to get too “matchy, matchy” for a cohesive look. Feel free to try on a few options and see which ones work best.

That’s right, this is a chambray shirt OVER a chambray tunic! The dark blue long sleeve top accents the blue stripes of the tunic. Again, it’s all about contrast and layering pieces that compliment each other. For this outfit, I wanted to balance the blue and add a little color with olive pants.

Just like I mentioned earlier, don’t be afraid of a blue on blue jean look. You could even throw in a great pattern tee to break up the blues a little. Most of these casual outfit ideas can be personalized to your own style with simple changes like this.

I had to get in another black pants option! Since black pants with a white tee is a classic, I wanted to show how easy it is to mix and match staple wardrobe pieces for a great look.

I couldn’t resist including a maxi in my list of casual outfit ideas! This black and white maxi dress is one of my go to wardrobe pieces. And layering it with a chambray shirt let’s me continue wearing it through all the seasons!

For windy spring or fall days, tying a front knot keeps your chambray shirt from blowing around. It also helps narrow your waist!

I love taking something a little more classy like a “little black dress” and making it more casual by adding a chambray shirt. You can feel polished and confident but still cozy and relaxed. It really is the best of both worlds!

How to Style a Chambray Shirt: Under

The third option for how to style a chambray shirt, is layering it “under” other pieces. This look is great for the business side of casual outfit ideas. But there are a couple tricks to be aware for this style.

Which brings us to rule #3, be aware of the collar. When it comes to putting your chambray shirt under another top, you want to make sure that the collar of your top shirt is wide enough for your chambray collar to come through.

You’ll also want to be aware of how your chambray shirt will lay under the other top. If you’re chambray shirt is on the bulky side, it may not work to put it under a thin or tighter top.

Layering your chambray shirt with a cardigan is a great place to start, if you’re nervous about trying this style. This particular combination may be a little dark for some of you, but dark color palettes are my happy place and I couldn’t resist including this in my casual outfit ideas! I would probably lighten this outfit up with jewelry or a light colored bag.

I just picked up this adorable sweater on my last thrifting trip! And it was perfect for this post on how to style a chambray shirt, because of the wide neck. I prefer not to have my button down shirts buttoned all the way up. So the wide neck of the sweater lets me keep the top two buttons undone, without out getting bunched up around the neck.

Check out some of the other outfits I’ve found from my thrifting adventures: 12 Fall Outfits from the Thrift Store

Here’s one of my easy casual outfit ideas for the office. The great part of this sweater is that the sleeves were loose enough to pull the chambray shirt through. When it comes to how to style a chambray shirt, I prefer rolling the sleeves to a three quarter length.

If you like the rolled sleeve look, here are some helpful tips. I usually pull the top sleeve up first (not rolled) then roll the chambray shirt sleeve once or twice depending on how long your sleeve is on you. Then, for the final roll, I pull the top sleeve back down to the rolled cuff. And roll the chambray sleeve once more over the top sleeve. If you try rolling both shirts together, it will get super bulky and look awkward or be too tight to roll at all.

Pencil skirts are one of my favorite ways to dress up a chambray shirt. If you’re worried the chambray may be too casual, try adding a nice cardigan with it.

This cable knit sweater was also a thrift store purchase! If you want to learn how I find amazing pieces at thrift store prices, check out my post on How to Thrift Like a Pro

When I’m putting together casual outfit ideas with a chambray shirt, I’m naturally drawn toward a darker color palette. But I wanted to include a more colorful option to show that colors work well with how to style a chambray shirt. I started with my favorite olive pants, then a light wash chambray shirt under a textured tan sweater.

Casual Outfit Ideas for Every Day of the Week!

If you’ve ever wondered how to style a chambray shirt, hopefully I’ve been able to give you some inspiration! I tried to put together casual outfit ideas for whatever day you have ahead of you. There were some lounge days, errand days, and work days! If you’re loving the chambray look, just remember the three “rules” Contrast, Compliment, Collar. And you’ll be a pro at how to style a chambray shirt!

If I didn’t cover everything, and you still have questions about how to style a chambray shirt or other style post suggestions you’d like to read about, let me know in the comments below!

For more outfit inspiration, check out this Cold Weather Outfit Ideas post.

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