‘Every single woman I know could not live without it’: Fran Whiting on her must-have item

I’m not sure what women used to do before this particular fashion combination came into being, writes Frances Whiting.

Frances Whiting. Picture: David Kelly

I am unsure what women used to do before this particular fashion combination came into being, but I do know that every single woman I know could not live without it.

Fashion is fickle and trends may come and go (hello and goodbye – hopefully forever – belly chains, trucker caps, jelly shoes, and those weird little popcorn tops that were one size fits all, but ironically didn’t look good on anybody) but there is one look that is forever enshrined in our wardrobes.

It is our collective, universal go-to when we have abandoned all hope, exhausted all options, and are lying sobbing on the floor with every item of clothing we own scattered around us.

In a world that feels increasingly unstable and insecure, it is the one true thing in our lives, the one dependable, constant we can count on again and again.

It is “jeans and a nice top”.

Women love “jeans and a nice top”, it is what we wear when we have nothing to wear, and we all wear it. All of us.

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Doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, where you live or how old you are, I am willing to wager that you have had the following conversation, or a variation thereof, at least once in your life with a friend.

Personally, I have it most weekends. “What are you wearing to lunch/dinner/reunion/barbecue/on date/the shops?”

“Well, I tried on everything in my wardrobe and I actually bought a new dress to wear, but you know what, I think I’ll just wear jeans and a nice top.”

Now, the beauty of the “jeans and a nice top’ combo is that no one actually knows what the “nice top’’ part actually is. There are no rules, the nice top in your wardrobe is whatever the hell you think it is – in my case, it’s a white T-shirt, because my fashion style is what my daughter and all her teenage friends would call “basic”.

It’s not a compliment.

But I’ll tell you what is – the other day I was talking to a mate, and she said I was her “jeans and a nice top” friend.

“Because that’s all I wear?” I queried.

No, she answered, because for her, I was the human equivalent of the jeans and a nice top combination.

Reliable, low maintenance, easy care.

Now I say this not to brag – well, perhaps a little – but to say how chuffed I was with this particular metaphor.

I asked my husband who his “jeans and a nice shirt” human equivalent is, and apart from being miffed that he didn’t immediately choose me, I really liked his answer.

Because, as he pointed out, men don’t really do the “jeans and a nice top” pairing.

Instead they have, or at least my husband does – his favourite, old T-shirt.

It’s not my favourite, by the way, it’s disgusting, but he loves it, he’s worn it for years, and he knows it’s always there for him, somewhere in the back of the wardrobe (because I’ve hidden it again).

When he puts it on, he feels all is well with the world.

Anyway his “old T-shirt” friend is Steve, and I’m happy he’s got one.

I hope you do, too.

If you think about all the people in your life, who’s your old T-shirt/jeans and a nice top?

Originally published as ‘Every single woman I know could not live without it’: Fran Whiting on her must-have item