When I was a kid, September meant buying stationery, and making sure you had school shoes before you went to your establishment of learning. Now I’m a bit older, September means Fashion Month. The Fashion Weeks are all back to back (starting with New York and ending with Paris) – which means a lot of travelling, a lack of sleep, a dearth of jet lag and a lack of time to do any laundry.

Everyone is always babbling about key pieces for your wardrobe, which are classic and timeless and “go with everything”. My key piece for any season is a shirt. I have a fondness for shirts that can’t be beat. However I have a problem with shirts which can sometimes ruin an outfit or my day. Since I am not cut model slim, and being blessed (or cursed – hard to choose sometimes) with a tiny waist and shoulders, and curvy hips and chest (hourglass I believe they call it) – shirts can be a bigger trial than they’re worth. Once my buttons popped open in an interview. I kid you not. Suffice to say, I didn’t get the job.

Despair I did, if I would ever find the perfect white shirt. Step forward Dominika, Polish born designer of Manifuttura Donna who offered to send me a shirt from her collection. I was a tad sceptical and didn’t want to waste her time receiving a sample that wasn’t going to fit, let alone the shirts are manufactured in Italy, which I can tell you for a fact that Italian sizes never fit true unless you rail thin. But I picked a shirt from the site, warning that I wouldn’t be able to review if it didn’t fit me.

I chose the Milano shirt which is a crisp high collared shirt with concealed buttons. Really, Sabrina – a high collared shirt for busty ol’ you?

However was I surprised. As soon as I received it, I tried it on apprehensively. And let me tell you, it fit great. For a classic white shirt it is amazing, and a great fit. Beautifully packaged with a ribbon, it’s one of those pieces that I’ve always been looking for and always failed to find. I did foolishly wear it on a super hot day (which started out FREEZING) with a cashmere jumper, but I looked damn good. Unfortch I didn’t get any pictures, but I shall when I head to NY and see the incomparable Tina Gao.

The shirt is coming with me on my fashion month. Dress it up I shall with a jumper and blazer for the chillier cities, and dress it casual I will, with some khakis and Docs.

So thank you Dominika for enlightening me to Manifutura Donna way. Ladies if you’re looking for classic, elegant shirts which is both work appropiate yet feminine, I highly recommend giving Manifuttura Donna a go.