Four Ways to Wear a Vintage Printed Blouse

I am one of those people who gravitates towards prints, as we all know. And most prints, I find pretty easy to style — patterned skirts? No problem! Floral dresses? I have and wear about 40 (#noshame). Patterned tees? Generally basics, to me. But when I happen upon an unusual patterned vintage button up blouse, suddenly… I’m stumped. It’s a piece I don’t often style, even though I am drawn to and own at least 7 of them. I used to think collars fought with my hair (when it was long), and somehow pattern in this type of garment got intimidating rather than fun.

So today I decided to grab one of my latest thrift finds, this 1980’s purple patterned button up, and style it four different ways. I thought it was going to be hard, but pulling these four outfits from what I have was actually surprisingly easy. And I could have gone on and on pairing this top with many other items of clothing. I hope this inspires you to grab those pieces you don’t normally go for just to see how well they will actually work with your closet! For the first look, I went towards a combination I only recently discovered I loved when I bought this black and white striped top, though currently my belly is slightly too big to button the blouse at the bottom. It’s a super easy retro way to style pretty much any longer blouse, especially if you’re trying to wear jeans in a more vintage way. Jeans tend to be the hardest thing for me to style to my personal aesthetic, but now I’m thinking I just need more oversized button up blouses like this!

Jeans, Motherhood | booties, Kohl’s | headscarf, thrifted | earrings, grandma’s/vintage

Second time around, I wanted to get girly and add a bit more of a modern flair, for those of you whose aesthetic is not super vintage. Tying up a blouse over a high waisted skirt is one of my favorite ways to wear button ups, and adding a statement necklace to a buttoned-up-to-the-neck look is my favorite way to highlight a collar and keep it all from getting too stodgy.

Confession: these are the heels I wore for my wedding, and this is the first time I’ve ever paired them with an outfit. I think I need to do this more often, no?

Skirt, thrifted | heels, Macy’s | necklace, c/o Oasap | ring, old

This is what I would look like if I was a hipster. (insert winky face)

For the third look, my main object was to style the blouse under a dress as I have seen so many bloggers do adorably. Originally, I was going to style a different blouse for this post, until I discovered it didn’t button over my stomach at all, and the dress styling would have been completely different! But, hipster called, and I went. Haha! I’m particularly fond of these earrings; they look like fireworks, and they’re made up of stars. You can bet I’ll be wearing them for fourth of July! Dress, Target | flats, earrings, sunglasses, and belt, thrifted | hat, husband’s (Target?).

And last but not least, in an outfit that is probably most “me” of the bunch, I decided to try pairing the top with one of my patterned skirts. Usually, when I mix prints, I go for black and white together, or black and white with color — rarely do I mix two colors and two opposing prints. But I adore how this one turned out, and will definitely be wearing this combination a lot! Possibly minus the petticoat, because… let’s just say from the side it isn’t that flattering on a 24-weeks-pregnant woman.

Skirt, c/o Cut and Chic vintage | petticoat, Garbo’s Vintage Wear | belt and heels, thrifted | earrings, grandma’s/vintage

So, which one is your favorite, and which combination would you be most likely to try? I had so much fun trying to style this shirt in four unique ways (and did you notice they all mix patterns? In #2, it’s hard to see, but my shoes are lightly patterned) and it also boosted my inspiration of outfits to try now that I’ve started adding more vintage print blouses to my wardrobe.

I’d also love to make “Four Ways to Wear It” a series, so if you enjoyed this and there are garments or patterns you’re feeling stumped to remix, please let me know!

Have a wonderful Thursday!