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.
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:
Black and Orange Polka Dot Apron
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!
