I Shop for a Living, and I Found the Perfect Silk Button-down That Will Become Your Next Wardrobe Staple

Reformation’s Sky Top is worth every dollar.

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silk reformation top
Photo: Courtesy of Reformation

It's not an overstatement to say that the pandemic changed our relationship with clothing — months of being shut in with nowhere to go and nothing to get dressed for will do that. Personally, this has made the transition to once again leaving the house a difficult one. Much of my pre-pandemic go-to clothing feels unbearably uncomfortable and restricting, while the items I have spent the last two years wearing makes me look and feel frumpy.

As I have been slowly rebuilding a wardrobe for this new normal, the most difficult part has proven to be finding everyday staples I can repeatedly wear throughout the week — but I found a bonafide and immediate favorite in Reformation's Sky Top.

I am new to the world of elevated basics, so the $148 price tag on a single plain black button-down was a hard pill to swallow. I got the shirt in an XL, nervous that the fit would be off, that the oversized style would look, well, regular-sized on me. I was also prepared for the fabric to cling to every wrinkle in my bra and mole on my stomach. I was maybe even hoping for it to not work out, so I could save myself the money.

silk reformation top
Courtesy of Reformation

To buy: thereformation.com, $148

When I first got the shirt, I kid you not, I wore it for five days in a single week, and one of these days included a five hour flight from New York to Miami. The Sky Top is soft the way I always think silk is going to be, but never actually is. I suppose this probably has something to do with the quality of the fabric, which is a 100 percent silk charmeuse.

Now onto the parts of the shirt that make it truly stand out in my wardrobe — the fit and tailoring. It's comfortable and oversized, but not in a way where it looks like I'm wearing ill-fitting hand-me downs. Even though the top is made of buttery soft silk, it maintains some structure throughout the day. I always look polished and put together when I wear it, like the type of Parisian woman who always looks effortlessly elegant.

The other reason I reach for this shirt so often is because of its versatility. I have worn it buttoned all the way up to the office, halfway buttoned to demurely expose a black lace bra and long necklace, and under a crew neck sweater, just to name a few stylings. The price is no longer an issue for me — I understand why you'd invest in something like this rather than go through handfuls of slightly more affordable, but not quite perfect shirts.

I currently have this in the plain black color, and have just talked myself into biting the bullet on the black embellished version, and I have a feeling the ivory will be next to join my wardrobe. Upgrade your wardrobe by picking up the Reformation Sky Top for $148 here.

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