So many good silk blouses
So many good silk blouses
They're the stealth stars of my fall/winter wardrobe
I like silk tops* when it’s cooler out, because they’re lightweight, easy to layer, and often elegantly slouchy, like this striped one from Everlane, which also comes in a number of other great colorways.
I have a friend who doesn’t especially like animal prints, but does very much appreciate prints of animals, and the instant I saw this tiger shirt, I texted it to her. It’s just impossibly cute, and the colors are fantastic.
Relatedly, I really dig this this chic lynx shirt.
Just a really good chocolate brown button-down.
A washable silk popover that’d be great peeking out from under a blazer.
A good tie neck blouse that comes in a number of other shades. I must say I like the neck to be tied more loosely than it is here, with the top buttons unbuttoned.
A really good, poppy red, in silk georgette.
I do occasionally like a polka dot piece, and the print on this shirt is so crisp and fun.
A washable tee that’s nicely oversized; here’s one that’s similar but cheaper.
I found this flap pocket shirt at Orvis, of all places, and it reminds me of pricier ones from the French brand Equipment.
Another flap-pocket shirt, this one in such a great cobalt blue.
*Whenever I do a post on silk tops, I get questions about care: do I dry clean after every wear, and doesn’t that get expensive? The truth is that I’ll wear a silk shirt multiple times before dry cleaning. After I wear one, I just make sure to hang it in the bathroom after a shower to air it out and steam out the wrinkles.
The key to wearing silk without losing your mind is not to buy silk satin, which you can't wash by hand. Stick with georgette and silks marked washable, which I recommend doing by hand. If you can prevent staining, including underarm, you will probably never have to wash. Buy a steamer and use it after a handful of wears. It gets rid of smells and kills the enzymes (not sure if that's the right word), that cause break down in fibers. You can do the same for wools, although I also have great luck washing certain wool and cotton sweaters in mesh bags on the delicate cycle. I think dry cleaning is a scam and incredibly expensive to boot. Many years ago, before I wised up, I spilled coffee on a baby blue silk blouse, took it to the dry cleaners, thinking they could get it out. Nope. So I used a teensy bit of Dawn detergent, carefully rubbed it in, soaked it for a few minutes in cold water, and it looked good as new. Today, I use a stain removal kit from Carbona on anything delicate and it's never failed me.
I am so happy chocolate brown is making a comeback! It's the color that I look best in (a better "black") but designers tend to overlook it. Thanks for this post! (Well, and for all your posts.)