Timely thread - I rarely buy white tops because if this very issue but just bought one online from Macy’s because I thought is was so cute and would be nice and fresh and cool for the summer. It has white on white embroidery on the front and the front is not see through. The back is a little though - may try the flesh colored bra suggestion before resorting to a Cami.
I have also noticed the current issue with fabrics being rather sheer - I have several tops that have lace on the front over non lace (so not sheer on front) but the backs do not have the lace and the single layer is more sheer than I like. I end up having to wear a very light short sleeved cardigan to cover that back (cardigan is probably the wrong word - not a warm item at all).
I don’t think I’d have been comfortable with the sheer back when I had the body for it - I certainly don’t care for it now. I frequently pass on things because of it.
I am on an eternal search to find white tops that are not see through. Basically the same with other colors of summer tops. Sheer fabrics do NOT make you feel cooler when you have to wear an extra layer underneath.
I have found white tops that aren’t see through at White House Black Market and Banana Republic. But it’s not a given.
Like someone upthread said, so many fabrics are just terrible these days, even if you pay a decent amount.
You shouldn’t get me started. What is a recent grad working in an office supposed to do? All of the inexpensive clothing stores (H&M, etc.) don’t have clothes that are appropriate (see through, too short, low cut, backless, sweaters with gigantic weaves, off the shoulder sleeves, etc.) A new grad can’t afford to pay $90 for a shirt that is office appropriate (in white house, nordstroms, etc.) She wants to look stylish but all of the styles the past few years are just not office wearable. The reality is that 5 days a week she needs to dress conservatively.
Kind of people to try to help but the OP said she wasn’t looking for a button up. I’ve had the same dilemma and hope people have suggestions and will post links.
@kiddie - Try consignment stores and cheap thrift stores for a nice starter professional wardrobe. It is much cheaper to buy $5 pants at a thrift store and pay $20 to have them hemmed or altered at the waist than to buy new. I can sew and have even turned out-of-style straight leg pants into slimmer ankle-fit pants with very little effort.
Back to the OP - I sure hope someone comes up with something, because the sheerness of tops these days - even at places like Ann Taylor - is maddening to me.
I bought a sleeveless black and a short sleeved blue merino wool/silk tops ar BR. They don’t have white in either sleeve length. I bought the crew neck, not the V neck. They wash well and aren’t clingy. I tried a n several white tops at BR and Anthropologie, but none passed the test.
I have a white shirt on today (gauzy material) that you can see through. I couldnt care less and don’t know what the big deal is about seeing ones bra, but I don’t work, so I’m never in that environment.
I have a flesh tone bra on today and you would see it if you looked closely.
Jockey makes a bralette that comes in nude or white (it’s actually called a “half-cami” or a" crop top bra"). I wear that under my white shirts - you can see it, but it is seamless and smooth and it doesn’t ride up like a full cami. I live in the South where the summers are just too hot and humid (for me, anyway) to wear a cami below a t-shirt. It’s also great to wear under deep v-neck summer shells (looks like you’re wearing a cami or tee below your shell, but you’re not). Granted, I’m a 34B so I don’t know if this would work if you were larger-chested.
Glad (or sorry) I am not the only one with this issue! If you wear a white top with black pants and the pants (or my belly skin) shows through it really bugs me! This is true with button downs and with tees as well. I will usually wear a cami, but for a longish top you can still see the pants or skirt through it below the cami.
I don’t know if any “young folks” are on this thread, but just in case, I have a public service announcement. In many workplaces, it DOES matter if your bra shows. In the current office environment, many people are loathe to utter or write the word “bra”, must less acknowledge that they see yours. But if your supervisor or others disapprove, the issue may well show up on your evaluation as a lack of “professionalism” or “judgment.”
yes - and in some work environments they will let you know. When my D was finishing her masters in education and did a semester as a student teacher in a science class in a High School they were given VERY strict guidelines about what was and was not appropriate to wear. It would definitely have negatively affected her evaluation if she had not been dressed appropriately.
It really is better if they let you know. But folks are often too afraid of being sued to be honest…If a male supervisor tells a female subordinate that he can see her bra and he would prefer not to, that means that he has NOTICED her bra.
When my son was student teaching, his supervising teacher said to never call out a female student for dress code violations; he was instructed to tell a female teacher and let her do it. (Telling a female student that she is showing too much skin would mean that he noticed that she was showing too much skin.)
My old firm had a competent attorney who was probably in her early 40s. She had a hard time attracting clients. She was given coaching to help her, but she eventually left the firm. We all suspected that the real issue was that her hair, makeup and wardrobe made her appear as though she was a 22 year old ready to hit the bars. But no one who worked with her was comfortable delivering that message. Instead, they tip-toed around the issue and talked of her “poor judgment.” But is wasn’t legal judgment that was the problem.
I’m not saying that employers shouldn’t be honest or that they should care about transparent blouses. I’m saying they often are not honest when they do care.
I like this tank from Spanx a lot. It’s very lightweight and has the extra advantage of smoothing everything out just a little bit. I have found it very comfortable under sheer tops and not hot. It’s thin enough to tuck in or can be left out to cover dark pants that are showing through the top.
On a related note, I bought icebreaker brand tank tops that I wear under my T-shirts. They have the advantage of adding an extra layer so things aren’t see-through but they wick away moisture and aren’t too hot nor too cold. They come with wide straps or spaghetti straps.