It's the palest of pale yellow and covered in tiny hearts of all different Summer shades - sunset red, night-sky purple, Crystal Lake aqua, Bazooka Joe pink, among others.
It has a structured hourglass cut at the base of which is a scalloped-edge hem that dips slightly lower in the front and back - a feature that lends it a distinct corset-like silhouette - a pair of scalloped-edge cap-sleeves, an abbreviated Mandarin-style collar, and a not-even-the-width-of-two-sparklers plunge that sits flush above my favorite detail of all: a vertical row of seven carved daisy-shaped buttons in translucent grass-green.
I recognize it's not immediately me. I recognize it's probably not even after-10-minutes-of-looking-at-me-in-it me. In fact, each time I wear it, I duly expect to have a family member, a friend or a colleague make a point of telling me just how not me it is.
But I love it.
It's the first blouse I ever purchased on my own from Anthropologie - a milestone I still celebrate - and it's the one article of clothing to which I always turn when I need sunshine not just above my head, not just when I'm outside, but all around me, enveloping me from 8:15 in the morning to 8:15 at night. Put differently, it's that one blouse in my wardrobe that when I slip my arms through its prim sleeves and fasten those flowers makes me feel as weightless as I did at eight years old.
Every woman should have such a blouse in her closet, and not just for the cloudy days but for any day she feels the pangs of nostalgia for a time when life consisted of socially acceptable bralessness, guilt-free cans of regular soda and a Pink Lemonade Lip Smackers beauty routine.
A selection of little-bit-of-sunshine blouses to come later in the day. Until then, enjoy a selection of another kind of sunshine: Jack Johnson.
31 May 2007
The little-bit-of-sunshine blouse (pt. I)
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5 comments:
you could still have a Lip Smackers beauty routine if you wanted to, you know. No one is forcing you to slap on all that ugly paint.
and that shirt you described sounds absolutely tragic. yikes.
One Anonymous to another - what's with the attitude?! The only tragic thing related to this post is your comment!
you're right, I don't have to, but I like to look as trashy as possible when I leave the house every morning, and I definitely couldn't achieve that without my black eyeliner and NARS lipstick.
the shirt isn't at all tragic, but perhaps I didn't provide the best description I could have. or maybe it *is* tragic, and I just happen to like it. Who the f**k knows.
yellow? hearts? corset silhouette? are you serious?
your fashion cred just plummeted in my book.
I think it sounds lovely. Very warm weather appropriate. What did you wear it with?
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