Blouse

For other uses, see Blouse (disambiguation).

A modern striped bow tie neck blouse and a navy blue mini skirt.
A camisole being used as a blouse.

A blouse (/blaʊz, blaʊs, bluːz/)[1][2] is a loose-fitting upper garment that may be worn by workmen, peasants, artists, women, and children.[3][4] It is typically gathered at the waist or hips (by tight hem, pleats, parter, or belt) so that it hangs loosely ("blouses"[5]) over the wearer's body.[4] Today, the word most commonly refers to a girl's or woman's dress shirt, although there is considerable confusion between a true blouse and a women's shirt.[6] It can also refer to a man's shirt if it is a loose-fitting style (e.g. poet shirts and Cossack shirts),[3][7] though it rarely is. Traditionally, the term has been used to refer to a shirt which blouses out or has an unmistakably feminine appearance, although even many "standard" shirts today have a somewhat blousy fit, and the numbers of men wearing such shirts may match (or even exceed) that of women wearing actual blouses.

The term is also used for some men's military uniform jackets.[8]

  1. ^ "blouse" – via The Free Dictionary.
  2. ^ "Definition of BLOUSE". Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b "The History of Blouse". Patra Selections Blog: Silk Clothing and Underwear. 30 March 2015.
  4. ^ a b The Concise Oxford English Dictionary
  5. ^ "blouse – definition of blouse by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia". Thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  6. ^ "Glossary B # 3". Apparelsearch.com. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  7. ^ Gavenas, Mary Lisa (2008). The Fairchild Encyclopedia of Menswear. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-56367-465-5.
  8. ^ "Marine Dictionary". Toysforkidsvt.com. Retrieved 14 August 2012.