Fake the Look: Secretary Blouses

Secretary blouses: I don't know whether to like them or hate them. I almost spent $10 on a cute t-shirt glorified by a tie-neck and puffy sleeves, but I thought better of it after reminding myself of how much I dislike the old-fashioned secretary blouse. Today I finally figured out the good, bad, and ugly parts of that thing. The good: I love the chiffon material and the big bow. The bad: the long sleeves and the all-the-way-up-to-the-neck-look. I'm OK with a fitted turtleneck, but a long-sleeved secretary blouse just looks very...how should I say this...balloon-ish. And suffocating. Most of today's styles are fitted, but I've seen a few that are quite repulsive. The ugly: in addition to a big-ass bow, some designers add too many ruffles, ugly patterns, and some other accoutrements to the blouse, which turns the whole thing into one billowy eyesore. Contrast two styles from the L.A.M.B. collection. The white one is great--nice and simple, great details like the swiss dots without being overpowering or overpoofy. The green one...my goodness, what was Gwen thinking?!? The ruching on the side looks great on the white one, but horrible on the green (and boy, the ruching is only the start of what's wrong with the green).

So I figured out a way to get the good and avoid the rest--just fake it. It's another way to make use chiffon scarfs, especially the ones with a funky pattern. I got one from Bebe a while back for $8, and besides using it as a scarf, headband, and sash/belt, I can use it for a bow around the neck. All you need is a fitted blazer and a v-neck top that will be well-hidden by the lapels of the blazer. Just make a bow big enough to come out of your blazer but small enough so that you have plenty of "tail" left to tuck inside for the "hem" of your "blouse." Voila! You get the look without having to spend money on what will surely be a soon-to-be-disposed-of piece of clothing, especially for crazy, spur of the moment patterns. I like pairing the top ensemble with jeans and a pair of sneakers for a more casual look.