Tibi Eco Poplin Bubble Hem Shirt Jacket

Poplin is a plain weave with a fine warp and a heavier weft, which gives it a faint crosswise rib and, more usefully, a crispness that holds a shape without any stiffening in it. That crispness is what a bubble hem requires. A bubble is made by gathering a wider panel into a narrower edge so the cloth balloons out and turns back under, and it only reads as a shape rather than as a mistake if the fabric has enough body to stand away from the body on its own. Soft cotton collapses; poplin does not. The collarless neckline is the second decision, and it is what allows the third: with no collar to establish a front, the jacket can be buttoned either way round, so the same garment gives a plain closed line one day and a placket down the back the next. That is not a gimmick, because nothing about it is added. The versatility is a consequence of leaving something off.

Why we selected it

A garment that becomes a different garment when you turn it around is the kind of thing we would rather have in the store than a fourth navy shirt. It also survives being worn constantly, which is the harder test and the one most shirt jackets fail.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton poplin. Made in China. Dark navy. Collarless, with a bubble hem and a button front that can be worn front or back.

Fit notes

Cut as a shirt jacket, so it is looser than a shirt and lighter than a jacket, and the bubble hem means it reads full at the bottom regardless of how it fits above. It goes over a tank or a fine knit and works open as a layer as readily as closed as a top.

Styling

Open over the Pebble Sable Square Neck Cross Back Tank with the Alec Jean, which is the everyday version. Closed and worn backwards over the Slip Skirt. Over the Italian Sporty Nylon Bubble Short in high summer, bubble against bubble, which sounds wrong and is not.

Care

Cotton poplin washes well and creases willingly, so the choice is between ironing it and letting it look lived in. The bubble hem should be left alone by the iron either way, since pressing a gather flat removes the shape it was gathered to make. Our care guidance covers cotton.

Related pieces

For a firmer cotton on the same half of a wardrobe, the Sculpted Cotton Long Sleeve Top, and for a lighter open layer, the Sheer Wool Gauze Oversized Shirt. The house’s other bubble hem is the Italian Sporty Nylon Bubble Short, and for a plain layer underneath, the Pebble Sable Square Neck Cross Back Tank. More on the house is on the Tibi designer page, Layering With Tibi is the Library post that puts these together, and everything we currently hold from Tibi is listed together.