My quest for the perfect orange blouse
knows no end! These thrift find tops vary in style, material, and
even shade of orange but do they meet the autumn grade?
Each of these shirts came from either
the Salvation Army store or local Goodwills and cost between $5 and
$8. They were all bought separately, so the rainbow between bright
orange, yellow orange, tomato orange, and salmon peach was amusing to
see together.
First this Old Navy scoop top is a
little too lightweight in material. The high cut sides are also tough
to style with my problem gut. Fortunately, it's a great shade of true
Halloween orange, and the thin cotton is great to layer underneath an
open black sweater with an Autumnity Brooch or two.
Next is a poofy sleeve blouse
unfortunately more in the salmon peach spectrum and not a rich
orange. This material is a little heavier but the hem is the right
length sitting at the natural waist. The puffy sleeves, however, mean
it's tough to layer this blouse but the flouncy style can either
dress up my black jeans or match a frilly black skirt. Wearing this
with my Polka Dot Scrap Skirt though would be far too twee.
This high collared New York and
Company blouse on the other hand may really only work with a similar
sheer black skirt. The color is vivid and lightweight with the
ruffled cap sleeve suggesting warmer weather wear even though this is
for Fall. The high neckline, however, makes it seem a little too
formal, and it would be tough to wear my Black Bobble Jewelry with
this top.
Of course this electric orange epic
long sleeve blouse certainly stands out in a crowd! The hemline feels
a little too short and this light, very easy to wrinkle material
needs lots of ironing. Maybe the big sleeves could also use a starch
to hold their shape? Depending on the occasion, this could be too
over the top with black jeans but a dramatic skirt could also look
too costumey. Perhaps plain black pants and one of my long black
vests can tone down and compliment the sleeves.
And finally in our orange experiment
is this bemusing poncho. There is a cotton blend tank top underneath
the sheer drape, and initially, I was tempted to separate them.
Unfortunately, removing the direct stitching around the entire
neckline would be too difficult to repair. The super long tank,
however, confuses me, for tucking it in creates bulk exactly where I
don't want it. Thankfully, turning up the hem so its in line with the
poncho looks adorable! I'm looking forward to styling this casually
with pants or going dramatic with a big skirt after a pinking shears
trim and some hem tape in another Easy Thrift Fix Alteration.
None of these is totally ideal. Is
there no perfect orange shirt out there? Maybe not. However the pros
and cons here in material, color, and style will help me Frankenstein
my own custom orange blouse. I kind of want a piece of each of these
in one glorious top! How orange is too orange? Is there any such
thing?
Visit Kbatz Krafts on Blue Sky for more gothic fashion wears or follow us on Facebook or Instagram for project photos. Browse the Kbatz Krafts Archive for more orange sewing including:
Orange Tablecloth Skirt
Black and Orange Polka Dot Apron
The Lemon Dress
Jaunty Autumn Hat
And of course, AFTER I had this post scheduled, I found another Old Navy orange top for $4 at Goodwill. This is more fitted with a natural waist but again lightweight so the quest continues!
