I thought I had already tried the Blythe blouse during the J.Crew holiday sale, but apparently that was the “Lucinda”, and I got my J.Crew mixed up. I picked up the Lucinda in “rust” (one of my all time favorite colors) after seeing it look fabulous on Chloe, but on me it looked more like a rust colored, pleated potato sack, so I didn’t even bother taking photos for the blog. A few weeks ago, I got a hot tip from Wendy that the Blythe blouse worked for her in a regular size 00, so I figured the petite 00 was worth a shot.
**if you watch Wendy’s latest video, you can see her wearing the white version in size regular 00**
I adore silk button-down blouses, but I’m finding them very elusive for my figure. Silk blouses are usually cut generously for a looser fit, which is tough for me to pull off. Being so short and with minimal curves, my figure gets easily lost in too much blousy fabric, so I prefer closer, more tailored cuts. An example is the Ann Taylor Silk Tab Blouse that’s available now (and I tried back in January). The fabric just didn’t drape right and the cut was too blousy, so that even creative tucking couldn’t keep me from looking swallowed in fabric. I’m sad too, because I love that color!
To this day, the only silk button-down blouse I own is the Banana Republic Silk Camp Shirt from last year. The fabric drapes along my curves, so that even though it’s long and blousy, I can tuck and roll it to look polished without too much bunching.
Banana Republic Silk Camp Shirt – even though it’s blousy and long, it drapes nicely for easy styling
Now, on to the J.Crew Blythe blouse in size petite 00:
This color isn’t very good against my skin tone, so please ignore that obvious flaw. I really wanted the “royal blue” but it was sold out by the time I tried to order, so instead I ordered “sand dune” and “alabaster”, the latter of which happens to be back ordered until the end of April. Sand dune is a very pretty peachy pink that I always love on others and am dying to pair with olive and browns. Unfortunately, the color does nothing for my skin tone, so I’ll leave it for those of you with cooler complexions or better tans than myself.
Typical of silk shirts, it’s nothing special to look at on me without some styling. I obviously couldn’t wear it like this, so let’s take a look at some tucking:
Half-tucked and with sleeves rolled, it’s much better from the front. The view from the side and back is very relaxed and slouchy, some may argue too much so.
And now, a look at it fully tucked. I much prefer wearing a top layer when tucking shirts because I’m short-waisted, but I wanted to show how blousy it is when tucked.
This blouse tucks better on me than the Ann Taylor silk blouse, which was much too poofy and stiff of a fabric. Now I’m wishing I had taken photos of my Ann Taylor tucking attempt, because I also had an issue at the bust. Even though the bust was roomy on me, the arm holes were so big that when I stood straight with my arms slightly back, the fabric at the bust pulled, showing a big gap between the buttons. This blouse has no such problem, and I’m much more comfortable in this one than the Ann Taylor.
If you don’t mind very blousy fits, this J.Crew number comes in some beautiful colors (my favorite is the royal blue!), and has some nice feminine pleated details along the back and shoulder. The shoulder, at 14″ across, is the widest my frame can handle on silky shirts, which usually have more allowance for slightly draping past a shoulder than tops made of stiffer fabrics or structured fits. I am not wearing a camisole or anything else underneath besides a nude bra, so this color at least isn’t too see-through, although Wendy mentioned she wears a nude camisole under the white.
Size 00P Product Details (laying flat):
Shoulder: 14″
Bust: 17″
Waist: 16.5″
Length: 24″
Sleeve: 22.5″
100% Silk
Dry Clean Only
Outfit details - J.Crew Blythe blouse, size 00P :: 7 for all Mankind Gwenevere skinnies, size 24 :: Christian Louboutin shoes, size 35 :: Vintage belt
