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At 62, I'd spent ten summers wearing my husband's old work shirts. This is a letter about the blouse that finally let me give them back
Six things this watercolour blouse gets right that a stack of Ray's faded business shirts never did, from a Perth woman who had worked out exactly what she needed in summer and then settled for the ugliest version of it.
Maggie Whitfield · 62 · Perth, WA · 5 min read
I'm 62, and when Ray retired from the council in 2016, he left behind a wardrobe full of white and pale blue business shirts. I started borrowing them for the garden, and then for the shops, and then, if I'm honest, for nearly everything from November to March. A loose cotton shirt with long sleeves is the most sensible thing you can wear in a Perth summer. It covers your arms, it lets the air through, and you can roll the sleeves up when you get into the shade. The trouble is, mine all had Ray's monogram on the pocket and a faint biro mark from a 2014 budget meeting. So this is not a review. It's a woman who finally found the pretty version of the shirt she'd been living in, telling you why.
The blouse I'm writing about is the Blush Blossom, from the Artful Blouses collection at Perth Boutique, a small Australian boutique that dresses women our age. It's covered in pink and lilac watercolour daisies on white. My friend Lorraine, who never lets me get away with anything, looked at me across our Thursday coffee and said, "Mags, you've been wearing Ray's shirts for ten years. Buy yourself one with flowers on." She was right, as usual. When Perth Boutique later asked if they could share my letter, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
Here's what ten summers in a borrowed shirt taught me. When you're over sixty, you know exactly what works for you in the heat. You want your arms covered, you want something loose, and you want to be able to breathe. The problem is that almost everything made that way for women is either beige, shapeless or made for gardening. So you end up in the practical version and tell yourself it doesn't matter, because it's only the shops.
I had the right shape all along. I'd just been wearing it in a man's size, with a biro mark on the pocket.
The Blush Blossom is the first blouse I've bought in years that does everything Ray's shirts did, and makes me smile when I put it on. Having worn it for a month, to the shops, to a long lunch in Fremantle, to a christening and round the garden, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The shirt shape I already loved
It's a proper collared, button-up blouse with a relaxed, loose-fitting shape, which is exactly what made Ray's shirts so good in summer. The collar frames the face, the buttons go all the way down so you can wear it closed or open over a singlet, and there's room for the air to move. The difference is that this one is actually cut for a woman, so it skims instead of swamping.
Wore it open over a white singlet to the shops. Didn't look like I'd raided my husband's wardrobe. Progress.
Sleeves that roll up and stay up
The long sleeves are what I bought it for. In the sun, I keep them down and my arms are covered. In the shade, or once the sea breeze comes in, I roll them up, and there's a little button tab that holds them in place so they don't slide back down every five minutes. Ray's shirts never did that. I spent ten years re-rolling his sleeves.
Sleeves down for the walk to the café, up for the coffee in the shade, down again for the walk home. Never re-rolled once.
Light and breathable in the heat
It's soft, lightweight and breathable, which is the whole point of a summer shirt. On a 36-degree day it feels cooler than wearing a T-shirt, because it's loose and the air moves through it. I'll be honest about one thing, because I promised I would: it isn't a sun-rated garment, so I still slip, slop, slap like a good Australian. But for covering up and staying cool at the same time, it's the best thing in my wardrobe.
36 degrees. Watered the garden at seven, shops at ten, lunch on the verandah. Same blouse, still comfortable.
A watercolour print that looks painted
This is where it leaves Ray's shirts far behind. The print is soft watercolour daisies, pink, deep fuchsia and lilac, scattered on white with little buds and green stems. It looks like someone painted it by hand, and because the background is white, it still feels fresh and summery rather than busy. Pink and lilac near the face is very kind at my age, too. It brings colour back into your cheeks without any effort at all.
Long lunch in Fremantle. The waitress asked if it was from a gallery shop. Lorraine said, "No, it's from Perth Boutique, and she's been wearing her husband's shirts." Thank you, Lorraine.
It goes with everything I already own
I've worn it with jeans, with my white linen trousers, with navy shorts in the garden and with a plain cream skirt to a christening, and it looked right every time. Closed and tucked in at the front for lunch, open over a singlet for the beach, sleeves up or sleeves down. It's the most versatile thing I've bought in years, which is exactly what Ray's shirts were. Just much, much prettier.
Christening on Sunday. Blouse, cream skirt, pearl studs. My sister asked if it was new. It was. The first new thing in ages that wasn't "for the garden."
Sizes up to AU 24, and a whole collection of prints
The Blush Blossom comes in sizes from S, which is about an AU 8 to 10, all the way up to 5XL, an AU 22 to 24, so nobody is left out. Because the fit is relaxed, I ordered my usual size and it was right. And it's just one of 28 blouses in the Artful Blouses collection, all with painterly prints. Lorraine has already bought two, and I have my eye on a pastel check for autumn.
Gave Ray his shirts back. All six. He looked at them, looked at me and said, "You suit flowers better." Forty-one years married, and he still gets it right occasionally.
This blouse, against the borrowed work shirt
Most of us know exactly what works for us in the heat. We've just been settling for the plainest version of it. Here's the difference, laid out plainly.
Cut for a man, so it swamps you
Sleeves that keep sliding back down
White or pale blue, nothing else
A monogram and a biro mark
Practical, and a bit sad
A relaxed fit cut for a woman
Roll-up sleeves with a button tab
Pink and lilac watercolour daisies
Soft, light and breathable
Practical, and lovely
About the price
The Blush Blossom is $72.99 at the moment. The website says it's usually $182. I won't pretend I know what a blouse like this ought to cost, but I can tell you I've spent more than that on summer tops I wore twice before going back to Ray's shirts.
Perth Boutique also take a bit off if you buy more than one: 10% for two, 15% for three and 20% for four, and it comes off automatically at the checkout. With 28 prints to choose from, that's very easy to justify. You can split it with Afterpay too, which works out at about $18.25 a fortnight.
Shipping was free with Australia Post, tracked and insured, and there's a money-back guarantee if it isn't right. That's what got me to press the button.
easy fit
to choose
Australia-wide
If you're 55, or 62, or 70, and you've worked out exactly what keeps you comfortable in an Australian summer but you've been wearing the plainest version of it, this is the blouse I'd hand you myself, while your size is still there. Keep the shape. Add the flowers. Give him his shirts back.
Maggie
Blush Blossom · Watercolour Floral Blouse
Buy 2 save 10% · Buy 3 save 15% · Afterpay available
- Pink and lilac watercolour daisy print on white
- Classic collar with full button-up front
- Long sleeves with roll-up button tabs
- Soft, lightweight and breathable
- Relaxed, loose-fitting shape cut for women
- Sizes S to 5XL (AU 8 to 24) · 28 prints in the collection
- FREE shipping Australia-wide & money-back guarantee
Spring sale on now, while stocks last.
About the writer. Maggie Whitfield is 62 and lives in Perth with her husband Ray, a lemon tree that produces more than they can eat, and a standing Thursday coffee with Lorraine. She worked as a dental receptionist for twenty-six years and is now, in her own words, "saying yes to things."
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