Button Up | Outfit

I have never really considered myself a button-up shirt kind of person. Blouses, in general, have not really been my thing. I gravitate towards stretchy everything; tee shirts, tank tops, sweaters — anything with stretch and ease to it, I’m in! But lately I have been craving the more vintage look of a button up blouse. Finding blouses that don’t gap awkwardly, though, is quite the feat.

The biggest reason I’ve never liked button ups is one that I hear complained about most often: the gap. If you have a larger chest, you know what I’m talking about. The dreaded gap that means you have to size up to have a flat front, but sacrifice any sort of waistline that fits. I have a defined waist (or did, before kids), so blouses that fit in the chest area won’t fit around my waist. And, I have wide hips, which means that often even if they fit the bust and waist okay, they bunch up around my hips or just pull uncomfortably tight around my belly. To have a blouse that fits all the way down, I’d need three different sizes in one.  

So to combat that, I’ve started to tie my blouses up. While thrifting today, I came across three gorgeous blouses that buttoned up and didn’t give me any dreaded gapping. They may not button over the lingering postpartum belly and hip weight I’m carrying, but tucked into a skirt you’d never know, and I ensured that all three of them could tie up easily before purchasing.

This button up blouse in particular actually has neck ties that I don’t like, and I plan to fold the tie under at each side of the neck and sew it up/snip off the excess fabric. Until then, though, I discovered that tying each strand in with the rest of the blouse actually resembled a bow. So, here you witness my utmost laziness in putting off a job that would take maybe two minutes via machine and scissors. Yes, I am a procrastinator.

The pattern on this blouse reminds me of Noelle for some reason; perhaps it recalls her recent Candy Shop inspired series (which was beautiful!) or perhaps just the pretty colors and floral print makes me think of her style. Which, let’s be honest, I would steal about 90% of her closet in an instant if I could. Lucky for me that she’s part of Shaped by Style and I can!

Blouse and heels, thrifted | skirt, vintage c/o Cut and Chic Vintage | scarf, gift |Glasses (old) c/o Firmoo

Adding a few blouses to my wardrobe has really revitalized my inspiration; I am terrible at buying tops, and the ones that I have are getting pretty worn out! Plus, I feel my style changing and shifting a little bit here and there, and I am finding that I can better identify the holes in my wardrobe. Blouses is a big one.

What item do you find yourself never buying, but you desperately need?

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