The blouse is back with renewed relevance and versatility

Actor Hudson Williams at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles in March.Evan Agostini/The Associated Press

When perfumer Quentin Bisch created Blouse by Yves Saint Laurent in 2018, he was channelling a garment made famous by one of fashion’s original provocateurs.

The scent, built around Damascus rose with a wood-musk base, was intended to capture the spirit of Yves Saint Laurent’s shocking sheer blouses of 1968 – a fashion statement that embodied the decade’s discussions around social change, female independence and gender norms in one deft, nipple-exposing gesture.

That tension between sophistication and sensuality defines both the fragrance and the garment itself. It also explains the blouse’s renewed relevance. From ruffled Victorian styles to bow-neck statement pieces, the blouse has re-emerged as a standout in the recent spring and fall collections.

Surprisingly versatile

Delicate yet strong, expressive yet controlled, revealing yet concealing: The blouse is surprisingly versatile. It pairs with denim cutoffs as easily as with a blazer, feels luxurious and delivers instant polish. And unlike many of the form-fitting designs of the past, today’s blouses are comfortable. They flow and move with the body, aligning with a style-loving cohort that’s spent the past few years in pull-on pants and Lycra athleisure wear.

Designers such as Zimmermann, Chloé and Yves Saint Laurent have embraced the blouse on recent runways, and celebrities are amplifying its appeal.

Love Story actor Sarah Pidgeon was spotted at New York Fashion Week in a billowy-sleeved, high-neck version from Khaite, while Hudson Williams turned heads at the Oscars in a sheer black blouse with a floor-sweeping neck-scarf, signalling the garment’s growing potential as men’s wear. And just this week at the Met Gala, Bad Bunny made a star turn as an aged version of himself in a custom Zara tux and bow-neck, black-tie blouse.

Bad Bunny at the Met Gala on May 4 in New York, wearing a custom Zara tuxedo and a bow-necked black blouse.Evan Agostini/The Canadian Press

An all-ages statement piece

For Marlo Sutton, veteran personal shopper at Holt Renfrew in Toronto, the blouse’s appeal lies in that versatility. It can be worn under a jacket, with jeans, structured pants, a full long skirt or miniskirt or shorts and heels.

“If you’re going to a meeting and then dinner, a blouse is a great piece,” she said. “Take off your jacket, and you have a completely different look.”

It works across generations, too. Sutton might style the same blouse with barrel-leg or ripped jeans for a younger client and a tailored trouser for a more corporate dresser. The bow-neck blouse offers even more flexibility: It can be tied under a suit, left open for evening or styled with the bow trailing like a scarf.

“If you want it a little sexier, you can open it up and tie it almost at the bra line,” she added.

Australia-based label Zimmermann is a champion of the bow-neck style. “Women are drawn to it as a statement,” said creative director Nicky Zimmermann, via her publicist. “A feminine take on the bow tie, it feels powerful – and it’s a lot more fun to style.”

That sense of play is key to the blouse’s popularity, as is balance. While recent collections feature flowing hemlines, ruffles, eyelet and lace, structure is key. Softness grounded by tailoring keeps the look contemporary versus nostalgic, Zimmermann stated.

“It’s about finding the perfect balance. A denim blouse with a dramatic neck-tie, or a leather jumpsuit with a scarf detail – it’s a nod to nostalgia, never a literal interpretation.”

Evolved for the modern day

The blouse’s evolution helps explain its return. It historically evolved from the “shirtwaist” – a tailored blouse modelled after men’s wear – and was typically worn with long skirts or tailored suits, or bloomers if the 1890s woman was into bicycling or hiking, said Ingrid Mida, dress historian and author of the upcoming book The New Dress Detective. “It represented the rise of the independent and modern woman who was able to move more freely in public.”

Throughout the 1940s, 50s and 60s, the blouse existed in a prim and proper state. Take the wardrobes of hit TV shows of the time: Mary Tyler Moore in The Dick Van Dyke Show and Elizabeth Montgomery in Bewitched in their pussy bow and Peter Pan-collared blouses and high-waisted capri pants.

Saint Laurent’s reimagining of the blouse, along with the designer’s groundbreaking Le Smoking of 1966 – a women’s tuxedo worn with a sheer blouse – was “truly revolutionary,” Mida said. “That look paved the way for women to wear pants in public.”

By the 1990s and early 2000s, however, minimalism and stretch fabrics pushed the structured blouse into fashion oblivion. The item just didn’t fit in with the world of casual Fridays, athleisure and grunge dressing.

Fast-forward to today, and workplace realities have changed. “Return-to-office mandates are fuelling a desire to look more polished and professional at work, especially at a time when many people are worried about the economy and the possibility of job cuts due to AI,” Mida said.

The piece also dovetails neatly with current fashion trends such as romanticism, vintage and soft power dressing. From a fashion history point of view, today’s blouses speak volumes. You can personalize the look in many different ways – feminine yet assertive, nostalgic yet modern. It’s not unlike the promise of that $450-a-bottle namesake YSL perfume: beautiful and indulgent, but also slightly rebellious.