RUTH | Black open shirt layer

I stopped wearing sleeveless about four years ago and I have been looking for this ever since.

There is a summer when you quietly retire the sleeveless half of the closet. Nothing happened, you just stopped reaching for it, and what replaced it was a cardigan that is too warm and a jacket that is too much. What is actually wanted is a light open layer that covers the upper arm and does not turn a July evening into an ordeal.

Ruth is that layer in black, which means it goes over anything already hanging there and reads as considered without asking for attention. The weave is supple with a quiet low sheen, so it falls away from the body rather than following it, and the full button placket and gently curved hem keep the front long and open. Easy and relaxed through the shoulder and waist, with a point collar and a full row of tonal buttons.

Why women our age keep coming back to it

• Coverage without a cardigan. A light open layer over a sleeveless top puts the arms back in reach on a warm evening.
• It sits away from the body. The supple weave falls rather than clings, so it covers without outlining anything underneath.
• One shirt for both halves of the day. Over black it reads as evening, over denim it reads as daytime, and nothing about it changes in between.
• A low sheen, not a shine. Enough light in the fabric to lift plain black, not enough to make it look synthetic.

Buy more, save more

• Buy 2 and save 10 percent
• Buy 3 and save 15 percent
• Buy 4 and save 20 percent

The discount is applied automatically at checkout.

How it fits

Ruth runs on the small side, and since it is meant to go over something, size up rather than ordering straight. It comes in 8 through 22, and these are UK sizes, not US ones, so go by the measurements rather than the number you usually buy. The chart gives bust, waist and hips as body measurements in inches, so measure over a light top with the tape level. Between two sizes, take the larger one.

30 days to change your mind

Send it back within 30 days for a full refund. There is no restocking fee and no questions about why.

A few recent reviews

Light enough for August here, which is saying something. Covers my arms and I stay cool.
Cassie W., Sarasota

Wore it open over a black shell to a concert and then over jeans the next morning.
Docia F., 63

It is a true black and it has stayed black through the wash. Worth noting for black things.
Elnora J., Albuquerque