No woman’s wardrobe is complete without at least a few blouses. Women’s blouses are eternally in trend, and can be worn to a range of occasions. Whether it’s to work, a BBQ, or a fancy night at the opera, the right blouse offers a comfortable and visually appealing style choice.
When choosing your blouse, it’s worth noting some of the latest fashion trends that will keep you up to date in the coming seasons. Let’s have a look at some of the trends people are talking about.
TRENDS TO TRY OUT
‘Girlcore’—ultra-feminine styles
A growing trend known as ‘girlcore’ is the perfect arena for the blouse to take centre stage. Girlcore proudly embraces ultra-feminine garments, with all the ‘girly’ adornments that come with them. Think frills, bows, ruffles, lace, and rosettes.
As blouses generally come in soft, loose fabrics, and often include features like pussy bow collars, puff or flute sleeves, shirred wrist or elbow cuffs, frilled hems, and pleated or ruched bodices, they well and truly fit in with the girlcore trend.
Look out for romantic-looking blouses with bow tie necks. Don’t forget floral blouses, as these give off light and girly vibes. Wearing your blouse with a floaty or frilly skirt will take your girlcore efforts to the next level! Add ballet flats or delicate closed-toe heels, a lovely clutch purse, and hairband with a bow, and you have the ultimate look.
Animal prints
Animal prints are set to be on trend for coming seasons. No matter the weather, an animal print blouse is one to have in your fashion arsenal. Animal print blouses can be worn as daywear, or for a sassy night time look.
For the day, wear your animal print blouse with blue or white denim jeans and sneakers or wedges. For an evening look, wear with a dark skirt, or dark slim-fit pants. Add heels or ankle boots and a vegan leather jacket, and you have an edgy evening look.
Maroon and bright blue
Trending colours this season are bright blue, and dark maroon (or rich burgundy). So, for day wear, opt for a bright sky blue blouse, or floral blouse with blue in the print. Bright blue is a really eye-catching colour, especially in spring and summer, and will add immediate freshness to your look.
For a more subdued effect, look out for maroon or burgundy blouses, or those with maroon/burgundy in their print. These colours add richness to your outfit and go well with most skin tones. These are some appealing colour options across seasons, but look particularly good in Autumn and Winter. (There are plenty of floral, geometric print, and animal print blouses at Femme Connection that include a touch of these shades and tones.
Stripes
According to Glamour’s fashion trends predictions, graphic stripes are trending, so look out for blouses with stripes in their print!
You’ll commonly come across shirts and blouses with vertical stripes, which are a popular style for the workplace. However, you don’t need to stick to straight vertical stripes. There are blouses out there featuring horizontal, diagonal, zigzag and patchwork stripes. See what you can find and what works best for your style.
A wide stripe creates quite a visual impact, so you don’t need to do too much with the rest of your outfit. Wear your striped blouse with slim jeans or pants, sneakers or heels (depending on the occasion), a delicate pair of earrings, and a comfortable handbag or tote.
Disco inspired fabrics
Embrace the latest disco-inspired fashion with a blouse. Look for blouses that include sequins, or metallic threads in their fabric. Basically, you want anything that will catch the nightlight and make you dazzle!
Pair it with a vegan leather skirt or shiny pants, dancing heels and some dazzling hoop earrings for a full disco look!
Peplums
The peplum is back, so expect to see blouses with peplum in their design. In case you don’t know, a peplum is a strip of fabric around the waist of your blouse that hangs in a loose frill. It basically creates volume around your hips, while accentuating the waist, adding to an overall enhanced silhouette.
Instead of a full, puffed out peplum, some blouses have a subtle peplum shape around the middle, offering all the benefits of the peplum, without the bold statement, thereby allowing you to pick the one that matches your style. This means these blouses fit in well in a range of settings, including at work, for day events, or for evening outings. They are also more likely to work easily beneath outer layers like coats and jackets.
Blouses with statement belts
Statement belts are in, which offers you a lot of range to explore a belt in combination with your blouses.
Try wearing a thick belt with a puffy blouse with balloon sleeves. This will give off that chic city girl vibe.
Another great use for the statement belt is when you’re wearing a blouse with wide legged trousers. The statement belt breaks up the looseness of the blouse and the wide trousers, and adds structure to the outfit as a whole. It also creates shape around the waist, which enhances your overall silhouette.
Keep an eye out for great statement belts. There are plenty of options available online as well as in stores.
Blouses with neck details and big sleeves
High neck blouses, blouses with pussy bow collars, and blouses with balloon sleeves are set to be popular this autumn and winter. All these blouse styles provide coverage for cooler temperatures, and offer an opulent look. Basically, you can put on one of these trending blouses and know that your outfit already looks quite fancy. Then it’s a simple matter of putting on a skirt or pants, a blazer if you need it, ankle boots or heels, and your look is complete. (On cold days, stay warm by wearing a camisole beneath your blouse, particularly if your blouse is sheer.)
The wrap up…
There’s plenty of opportunities in the coming seasons to rock a blouse. Whether you go full ‘girlcore’ with all the frills and bows, opt for animal prints, or explore statement belts, there’s fun to be had with the latest fashion blouse trends.
Don’t forget to check out Femme Connection’s range of gorgeous women’s blouses in a range of prints, styles and sizes!