How to Style Wearable Art — Tees & Tops Guide

Boring and unimaginative patterned print clothing is what the cheap clothing industry churns out all day every day, and because it's so easy to produce, it has, and is flooding the general clothing market for businesses and consumers worldwide. As we rarely have better choices of quality clothing at affordable prices, we just accept this is the way the market is.

On the other hand, to wear apparel categorised as 'wearable art', is an act of deliberateness — a deliberate choice to wear something meaningful on your body rather than amassing clothes to simply fill a wardrobe for every occasion. Like any specially considered piece of clothing, it rewards thoughtful styling. Here is how to wear iSAW pieces in a way that lets the art take the lead.

Start With the Art, Not the Outfit

The instinct with a printed garment is to treat it as an accomplice to something else — to pair it with something so it looks like they belong together, or something to tone down or neutralise everything around it. With wearable art, reverse that logic entirely. The artwork is the outfit. Everything else is context.

When you consider a piece from our Tops range, begin by looking at the composition on the garment. What are the dominate colours? Is the print characterful? Does it tell a story? What mood is it projecting? Let those answers guide the rest of your choices.

T-Shirts: A Statement Piece

iSAW t-shirts are designed to be worn as the focal point of how the art presents itself, not hidden beneath other clothes. A few principles that work consistently:

Pair with a solid, muted bottom. A well crafted bottom-half apparel, whether fitted or baggy, in a single tone drawn from the t-shirts palette lets the artwork standout without visual competition.
Keep footwear clean and simple. All white or black trainers/sneakers, simple sandals, or a minimal boot. Avoid heavily patterned or embellished shoes that pull focus.
Layer with intention. An open jacket in a complementary tone adds dimension without competing with the print. Think of it as a frame rather than a cover.
Accessories: less is more. One considered piece — a sculptural ring, a single chain — rather than a collection of items competing for attention.

Tops: Dressed Up or Down

Our wearable art printed tops are some of the most versatile pieces in the iSAW range. The clothing intention moves between contexts with ease when styled correctly.

Casual: Worn loose over any bottom-half apparel from our Bottoms collection, with minimal or plain Footwear. The art does the work, the rest steps back.
Evening: The rest of your clothing should be the opposite contrast to the printed top - the same neutral colour jacket, trousers/skirt and footwear creates a very intentional striking look against the printed top.
Layered: Worn under a plain sheer or open-weave layer that allows the artwork to show through. This works particularly well with pieces that are strong and multicoloured in design.

Dressing for the Season

iSAW pieces span the year. In warmer months, the lightweight tops from the Mens, Unisex, Womens and Swimwear Collections showcase the artwork in outdoor settings where natural light brings the colours to life. In cooler months, warmer tops and Jackets or layering them, allows the same pieces to keep their intentional dress code in autumn and winter without losing their identity.

The Underlying Principle

Every styling decision around a wearable art piece should serve one purpose: to give the artwork the space it needs to be seen. Showing calculated decisions with the pieces you buy, is the mark of someone who understands what wearable art is and how they want it to be seen.

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