Style refresh: how to dress up your white shirt with a chic body chain

By Freya Drohan
20th Jan 2020

Instagram/AlexaChung

Style refresh: how to dress up your white shirt with a chic body chain

Instagram/AlexaChung

Make like style stars Alexa Chung and Sienna Miller and jazz up your wardrobe heroes with an on-trend body chain

While Timothée Chalamet was making flashy headlines with his leather harness, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it micro-trend was emerging.

It all started when Sienna Miller, ever the tastemaker, stepped out in a near-€600 crystal body chain by Alessandra Rich when she attended Ellie Goulding’s wedding last August.

The actress teamed the accessory with a brown and cream prairie-style frock from the same designer (if the brand sounds familiar, it’s likely because she has ignited everyone’s obsession with 1980s-esque rhinestone earrings and padded headbands as of late).

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A post shared by Celeste Barber (@celestebarber)

As much as I went heart-eyes-emoji over this outfit when I saw it on Instagram — Sienna can quite literally wear only granny pant knickers and still do no wrong — due to the label’s price points being significantly out of my reach, I moved on to whatever else I was double-tapping on my feed.

Yet this month when I copped eyes on Alexa Chung in the same body chain layered over a classic white shirt, I was unduly influenced.

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A post shared by Celeste Barber (@celestebarber)

The juxtaposition of the glamourous bling worn so insouciantly over an oversized, masculine button-down was Alexa Chung 101 — and I wanted in.

The beauty of this simple styling trick is the infinite ways that one multi-purpose accessory can breathe a new lease of life into lots of other fashion pieces you already own but have perhaps gotten tired of.

From gold-plated to diamanté, there’s a plethora of options available to suit every budget. Who knows, maybe you even still have a body chain lying around from a past sun holiday or music festival?

Otherwise, shop these six now and get ready to add some magic to those *jeans and a nice top* moments: