I looked far and wide for months on end. I searched high end and low end. Under $40 and over $200. I still couldn’t seem to find a white, button-down, long-sleeve, collared shirt that wasn’t see-through.
But, finally, my search ended at Brooks Brothers.
Some of you may be wondering if my grandmother brought me there. No, surprisingly, I went of my own accord and I saw only one over-65 shopper while I was there. Also, to be fair, both of my grandmothers are incredibly stylish, so, it wouldn’t have been a bad thing if they sent me there anyways. ?
Others may be wondering why it took me so long to make it to Brooks Brothers in the first place. $100 blouses–that’s what.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m price sensitive. I’m a young woman at the beginning of my professional career. My primary focus is finding affordable professional clothing while I pad my savings account.
This means I don’t regularly seek out blouses that are $100 and over. Under $40 is more my thing.
How did I end up at Brooks Brothers, you ask? I’ve gone months without one of the most important staples in any woman’s closet. A white button-down shirt is a classic item and if you don’t have one, you need to find one ASAP. No matter what job you have (uniformed jobs excluded, of course), you need a white blouse.
You can wear a white blouse with a suit, mix it up with separates, dress it up with jewelry, dress it down and wear it casually with jeans, wear it to work or roll the sleeves up and wear it to brunch on the weekends. Seriously, the possibilities are endless! Unfortunately, I was missing out on the white blouse fun since I threw my favorite one away (it was time. It was more threadbare and translucent than one-ply toilet paper you’d find in a gas station restroom. We had a funeral. I’m mostly over it).
Anyways, the reason I’ve gone so long without buying another is…. HAVE YOU TRIED FINDING A WHITE BLOUSE THAT ISN’T SEE-THROUGH NOWADAYS? Forgive me. I’m frustrated. I went to all of my favorite stores: Ann Taylor, White House Black Market, Banana Republic, Belk, Macy’s….. NONE had a plain, white, collared, long-sleeve, button-down shirt.
Still in mourning from the loss of Old Reliable, I stopped by the office of one of my colleagues at work and mentioned my frustration. She told me to go to Brooks Brothers. I’d never shopped at Brooks Brothers before and, honestly, the only thing that came to mind when I thought of the brand was expensive clothes for old people.
I took my chances, though, and I’m glad I did. Aside from having excellent customer service, Brooks Brothers had just the shirt I was looking for: it wasn’t see-through, it was nondescript, and it fit right off the rack! I loved it as soon as I bought it. The blouse was $98, which, again, isn’t ideal for me, but the store is known for producing clothing that lasts and I’m certainly in favor of investing in staple pieces. After seeing some of the clothing at the store I went to (Phillips Place in SouthPark), I am sure I’ll be back soon. In fact, I picked up two other shirts in addition to my white blouse while I was there.
I haven’t had the chance to wear it yet (aside from when I wore it to take the photos below), but I’ll update you guys if I love it any less in a few weeks than I do now.
‘Til next time,
Pictured above: blazer (H&M, old), blouse (Brooks Brothers), skirt (The Limited, old), bag (Steve Madden, old).
How do you deal with yellowing under the arms? I love a great white blouse, but tend to always stay on the very inexpensive (and therefore more sheer) side because I can only wear it a few times before yellowing starts to show.
Thank you 🙂
Hey! I dry clean all of my white shirts and I ask my dry cleaner to pay special attention to the underarm area. It’s never perfect, but they do a pretty good job of keeping it from yellowing. Let me know if you’re in Charlotte and need a dry cleaning recommendation!