The White Blouse

It doesn't get any more vanilla, white sugar and flour than the  basic white blouse. Wear it with everything from jeans to work ensembles to dress-up . One of my favorite looks that I have ever worn was a simple sateen white blouse that I paired with a beautiful brown mid-calf dressy slim skirt that had a wide sash and bow at the waist....I made it myself. (wow, that's a lot of adjectives!)  I wore it to a wedding...and then to another wedding. It was so classic and eye-catching...that skirt didn't need anything more than a simple white blouse with the collar popped and some dramatic accessories.

One of my other favorite looks is that same blouse with some jeans and a simple blazer. Classic.

So the complication comes from deciding which, of the countless flavors of white blouses,  would be the best white blouse for your closet. Of course, the first step is deciding why you want it and what your lifestyle is.

Because there is nothing that says "wear me!" like a white blouse, I have a wardrobe of 'em.
I have a white tunics, structured button shirts, ruffled shirts and simple oxfords. In everything from cotton and linen to charmeuse and knits. There are SO many different fabric options:

crinkle silk chiffon
rayon linen and silk blend 
stretch silk charmeuse
broadcloth
stretch poplin
shirting with lace details
lawn
eyelet
stretch sateen
linen
voile
silk cotton blend 
cotton jaquard


Let's take a look at some styles!

The White Shirt by lbrundage 




And some patterns!

The Updated Bow Blouse

Hotpatterns Metropolitan Tie Me Down Top

McCalls 651

Colette Jasmine

Basic Structured Blouse.. a great opportunity to try some interesting details or construction:

Burda 7189

Vogue 8747

Simplicity 2447

Burda 7359

The Tunic

Kwik Sew 3849

Burda 7368

New Look 6086

So there you have it!  What's your favorite white blouse? What white blouse will you be adding to your wardrobe basics?