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May 8, 2020
I hope you all got to be a part of the Tilton Sisters interview last Saturday - but no worries if you didn't cause I put it up on YouTube, so click this link and have a view. They talk about everything from how they pick out their fabrics, how they started, what fabrics make the "Tilton Cut", how to care for fabrics and most of all filled with inspiration and creativity that I felt about 3 new projects coming
on!!!!
Nothing beats a little eye candy than a classic white blouse. And the queen of the white blouse has always been Carolina Herrera.
So here's some deliciouis, non-fattening, gorgeous looks and ideas for a great summer blouse from the mind and look of Carolina Herrera.
Even though this is highly detailed, it still qualifies and it shows that even in a formal circumstance, a white blouse and black skirt works beautifully.
Also through out these shots, notice that Mrs. Herrera does not have a perfect figure. She actually has a Rectangle/Apple shape. Her waist is thick, her bust is not that large, her chest is large and she's pretty much a straight, up-and-down shape. She uses all sorts of techniques to give herself that more shapely feminine look. In the picture above, she uses a higher waist....I know you've never heard that from me before!!!! (where have you been?!)
Nothing like a crisp white blouse. This really deserves the best cotton you can purchase and what that means is something like Sea Island cotton or a classic linen. And a great blouse pattern. I use two patterns these days - one is a great well-fitted pattern from Jalie 3130.
Then there's a classic BurdaStyle pattern (yes you do have to add the seam allowances). But this pattern, BurdaStyle #102, 02/19, has the most fabulous style and a great boxy beach type shirt. I know that you've heard me talk about fit, and this could use a side bust dart in it, but it's a great look. It has a lose fit around the body (that's why you need the FBA - just
a little one is enough), and a nicely tailored collar (detail close to the face), and full sleeves (roll the up to 3/4 length), and poof you have a great look.
Well, as if classic isn't enough, a beautiful (albeit fake) string of pearls around one's neck really makes a terrific statement. It simply doesn't get better than this.
Mrs. Herrera is a very strong personality, and she wears very strong accessories, and that's why this accessory works on her. If you're not that type of person, it's perfectly fine to wear a little bling (a drop or small necklace) with a white blouse to knock the whole look out of the ball park.
Here's a blouse with a great tailored dart/seam. That princess seam from the armhole to the waist is a great look and makes for a wonderful way to fit a difficult bust or chest measurement. Simply widen or shallow in that seam as needed in front and poof, it's a well-fitted garment.
A knock-off of the tie shirt, adding a tie that comes around the waist (give yourself a little ease through the length of the blouse) can make a really fabulous look. This isn't that great for Rectangles and Apples, but can be gorgeous on Pears and Hourglasses - remember to tie it a little above the natural waist.
Cotton is of course what we all think of as the best blouse, but silk is fabulous, and a silk taffeta or organza or organdy (those last two need a cami underneath), are as elegant as ever. One of my fav blouses for dress up was a taffeta blouse which I wore for decades. Use the same cotton pattern for your silk blouse, and I use silk organza as a sew-in interfacing, usually 2 thicknesses, and it's a gorgeous blouse for a long time.
Most of the time we see Mrs. Herrera in a dark/black skirt and white blouse, but of course white goes with everything, prints other solids, so there's no reason not to jazz up your look a little. Taking a great white shirt with a classic shirt tail hem, or vented hem on the sides, with floral or brightly colored pants is a perfect summer look.
Although it's hard to see, but this is a bib type front, and you can do all sorts of things with this - using a white on white texture, pintucking the bib or even some pique with a solid woven for the rest of the blouse can make a gorgeous look that's classic for a long time.
Here's probably a little better placed princess seam - right across the bust line. This enables this seam to be fitted exactly the way you want. But also look at how dress this whole look is, with all the attention to the face because a classic white blouse is so.... well...user friendly!
Another beautiful silk blouse, with nice tailoring darts at the bust. It's easy to see here that Mrs. Herrera doesn't have the thinnest of waists, but that's OK, because she keeps this area contained, it still works for her.
OK - as another take on collar detail, the top flap (left side) of the button placket is left free so that when it buttons, the center part of the collar comes together at a nice point. But just as stylish is to allow this detail to show in full with the collar not fully buttoned. This is one of the designer details, that you would have to work with a bit to figure it out, but seeing this, lets you know that someone along the way did figure it out and did it, and
that's the takeaway here....this look is possible and not only possible, but is a great look!
Now granted we all can't wear this amount of bulk on our sleeves, but if we can, it's a great look. If you have thicker lower arms, or large waist, or large hips (one exception as noted below), then this isn't the look for you. But if you have larger shoulders, keeping that part contained and fitted, and then doing this ruffle in modified scale, with the bows (which can be an option), modified, this works. Now for larger hips, what you have to do raise those
ruffles so that they don't conflict with your hips and so we can see your waist. Basically here, there's some scale and proportion figured out for you when you use what designers can do.
Would you love to go through Mrs. Herrera's closet and get ideas about a white blouse for you? Course she has her own design team, I'm sure, working on her ideas 24/7 so not sure the closet would include everything!
But these are all some classically beautiful ideas for a white summer blouse. For some more ideas check out my Blouse-Shirt Pinterest board. Most of those patterns have good links (there are a couple that don't and I usually say that they don't), but most of these are downloadable - not all, so you can get started attacking that white cotton inventory in your stash!
So we've been working really hard and things are shaping up nicely on the site. Fortunately we've accomplished all this without major disruption. IOW, I didn't crash the site! - It still works - only better. The easiest way to get around is with the menu logo in the upper right. Plus there's a search on the blog post page and a search box on the Resource Library.
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