Doing the half-tuck (how to wear your shirt)

My friend Julie and I have a joke: every time she texts me with a question, the answer appears on the blog a few days later. So either she asks questions that I’m totally thinking about at the same time OR her question spurs on a blog post topic (hint: it’s probably the latter).

A few days ago she texted me with a fashion question:

I have seen you with your shirt tucked a bit in the front, sometimes to the side. When I try it, I just look silly! It’s either too much tuck, too little, maybe to the left or right. Advice?

Of course I answered her over text, but I thought I’d answer here, too. It’s a great question and while there is no ‘right’ way to do it, the half-tuck is a good little trick for wearing oversized shirts in a more polished, flattering way.

The key to a good half-tuck is to make it look effortless and a bit haphazard by only tucking in a small portion of the front. I like to tuck in the side rather than the middle, but that’s up to you. You can wear a belt, or not – again, up to you. By tucking in just a bit of your shirt, it allows your waist line to be seen, keeps loose-fitting tops from hanging on your figure and gives a nonchalant, casual feel.

One of my favorite fashion bloggers, Merrick from Merrick’s Art did a great photo tutorial showing how to do the half-tuck.

1. Pull your sweater tight and flat at the hem with your hands.
2. Barely tuck it in to the top of your jeans, making sure the fabric is completely flat, and the top only gets tucked about an inch under the waistband.
3. Blouse your top gently to make the top billowy and loose.

Again, you can choose to tuck straight in the middle, or off to the side a bit.

Here’s how the half-tuck looks on her with a longer blouse:

And a tshirt:

(P.S. Merrick has really great legs)

So that, my friends, is the art of the half-tuck. Nothing super difficult or technical about it, just a quick grab-tuck-blouse technique to get that polished yet casual look.