To be in the know in style is to be aware of the fickle approach developments fall topic to the passing of time. This is no less than true in the case of the greatest flannel shirts—a mode of high that was as soon as unique to lumberjack sorts and subject ranchers earlier than breaking via to the mainstream courtesy of endorsements from Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and Claire Danes in My So Called Life.
Ask anybody who grew up in the ‘90s, and they’ll inform you that plaid button-downs weren’t the quiet luxurious canine whistle they’re revered as now. Now, with flannel shirts dominating runways, gaining co-signs from the celeb fashion set and being rendered in expensive-looking high-street variations, how did they go from grunge staple to the pinnacle of sophistication?
(Image credit score: Getty Images)
The History of Flannel Shirts
But first, somewhat historical past. The origins of contemporary flannel shirts, as we all know them, hint again to Seventeenth-century Celtic communities in Scotland and Wales. With tartan materials being a traditionally wealthy and culturally related print in these spheres, flannel supplied a barely trendy interpretation thanks to the lighter wool weave. (Although it was nonetheless extremely heavy-duty to sustain with the excessive local weather calls for.)
Crossing over to the US amid the Civil War, as the garment served as undershirts for army regalia, it will solely take one other hundred years for the fashion to attain the lots throughout the heroin stylish period of the late twentieth century. During this decade, flannel balanced two sides of the fashion spectrum—a bourgeoisie, buttoned-up and preppy fashion epitomised by Cher Horowitz’s iconic yellow skirt go well with, or the anti-establishment and various aesthetic pioneered by bands like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
What is the Flannel Shirt Trend?
Thanks to some tactical endorsements by the luxurious set, the greatest flannel shirts have shed these connotations. Instead, they’re now held up as a beacon of minimalist style and refined sensibility. The first signal that the flannel shirt development would skyrocket got here when Kate Moss wore a trompe-l’œil leather-based iteration on Bottega Veneta’s spring/summer time 2023 runway.
Then, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen additional cemented the fashion’s relevance in The Row’s spring 2025 assortment, with the first look from the vary a daring declaration that, whether or not you prefer it or not, flannel shirts are actually cool. That’s the energy of the model’s adherents—whether or not it’s a pair of jelly sandals, grosgrain ribbon flip-flops or a decorative orange towel, its prospects will lap it up.
(Image credit score: The Row)
Why are Flannel Shirts Trending Again?
Of course, to the common shopper, it could come as a shock to instantly see that one thing you can simply buy at any Primark be given the designer remedy and rendered with an exorbitant price ticket. Still, it is in the approach that these business titans subvert notions of what can and can’t be deemed elegant that has additional propelled the piece’s attraction inside style circles.
That being mentioned, carrying one in every of the greatest flannel shirts doesn’t have to be this disruptive fashion selection that these manufacturers have positioned it as. (Though the fashion’s early adopters, like Marc Jacobs throughout his Perry Ellis tenure, definitely would take nice pleasure in realizing that this nonconforming silhouette has turn into conventionally accepted as elegant.)
Knowing the backstory about how this development got here to be is solely half the story. The different is being written now, via all the up to date avenue fashion choices, cementing the greatest flannel shirts as a trending merchandise that may elevate all the things from pencil skirts to woollen trousers.
Versatile, unfussy and simple to layer, preserve scrolling via for the 21 greatest flannel shirts to store in 2025, plus all the things you want to find out about styling in a approach that’s much less nostalgic and extra trendy.
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Shop the Best Flannel Shirts of 2025
Bottega Veneta
Checked Leather Shirt
Style Notes: Bottega Veneta is an Italian maison revered for craftsmanship. This flannel fashion is the epitome of this truth. While it seems to be a tender woollen material, it is really surreptitiously product of buttery leather-based. How’s that for luxurious?
Material: 100% leather-based.
Colour/s: Multi-light blue.
Size: UK 4 – 12.
Miu Miu
Wool Tartan Shirt
Style Notes: Miu Miu is all the time sticking its head above the parapet when it comes to toying with the idea of luxurious and subversion. This is a component that dates again to Miuccia Prada’s personal fashion philosophy, however no matter the place you stand, it is in settlement that this piece is duly covetable.
Material: 100% virgin wool.
Colour/s: Camel brown.
Size: UK 4 – 18.
Style Notes: Though flannel shirts aren’t sometimes a mode you’d affiliate with Parisian stylish, French style model ba&sh is proving that this utilitarian fashion might be expressed in a approach that retains up with the City of Light’s aesthetic.
Material: 89% cotton, 11% linen.
Colour/s: Chestnut brown.
Size: UK 6 – 16.
With Nothing Underneath
The Classic
Style Notes: Ask Alexa Chung and Catherine, The Princess of Wales—With Nothing Underneath’s shirting are a few of the greatest in London.
Material: 80% Cotton, 20% Merino Wool.
Colour/s: Navy blue examine, blue and crimson plaid, white and crimson plaid, chocolate gingham, caramel, dusty blue, dusty pink and navy blue.
Size: UK 6 – 18.
What to Look Out for in the Best Flannel Shirts?
When wanting for the greatest flannel shirts, it is vital to contemplate the material composition of the piece. As the fashion is historically product of wool, the form has traditionally all the time been suited for cooler climates, which makes warming choices made with pure fibres the superlative selection.
There are so many unimaginable choices accessible that characteristic 100% cotton, together with the viral examine COS fashion, an elegant collarless crimson iteration from Dôen and a beautiful tailor-made fashion from Burberry.
What to Wear With a Flannel Shirt?
Given the deep-rooted languid form that flannel shirts possess, maintaining your total ensemble roughly informal is the simplest way to fashion them. Think: Straight-leg denims, asymmetrical linen skirts, like the ones Faithfull The Brand does so properly, boxy leather-based jackets and even corduroy trousers. (On the latter, the viral M&S choice and items from small manufacturers like Friends with Frank are fab decisions!)
(Image credit score: Getty Images)
The Best Flannel Shirts, as Seen on the Runway
(Image credit score: ImaxTree Launchmetrics Spotlight)
Style Notes: Bottega Veneta’s spring/summer time 2023 runway.
(Image credit score: ImaxTree Launchmetrics Spotlight)
Style Notes: Burberry’s autumn/winter 2025 runway.
(Image credit score: ImaxTree Launchmetrics Spotlight)
Style Notes: Isabel Marant’s autumn/winter 2025 runway.
(Image credit score: ImaxTree Launchmetrics Spotlight)
Style Notes: Dior’s Resort 2025 runway.
(Image credit score: ImaxTree Launchmetrics Spotlight)
Style Notes: Kallmeyer’s spring/summer time 2025 runway.
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