Backpacks & Knotted Shirts

I have a long history with knotted shirts. My first experience, when I was 7-years-old, was a sheer, polka-dotted, white blouse that tied up on the side from Limited Too. I remember being in the fitting room, positive I’d be in trouble for even trying it on, when my mom exclaimed, “I had these growing up too! How cute!” I wore it most days for an entire summer. And then, of course, there was “…Baby One More Time” that left my stomach bare for years, much to my mother’s chagrin by that point.

This summer, a more modest version of my childhood favorite is back in a big way. Every shirt I see seems to have loose ties ready to be knotted over a pair of cutoffs. There is a wholesomeness to it, a version of the All-American girl sailing with her family in the 1960s off the coast.