Evening Blouse

An evening blouse is a traditional style of western wear, consisting of a one-piece top, which may be made out of various fabrics.

The most common kind of evening blouse is a plain black top which has small buttons down the front, and sleeves to the wrists which also are buttoned.

In the fast, the evening blouse would be fastened using these buttons, although now it is as common to find blouses which are sewn in one piece, and simply fit over the head.

The buttons are still attached to the front as decoration, and there will also be buttons on the cuff. An evening blouse could be either plain, or decorated with embroidery.

Embroidered blouses traditionally show floral or abstract patterns in pastel colours, but there may also be animals, or even dragons depicted.

As an evening blouse is a formal piece of attire, this embroidery is not usually very large, and often occupies a position at the front of the evening blouse, rather than appearing on the back (as might be more common with dressing gowns).

Plain evening blouses may be made decorative through the cut of the garment, with many blouses having frills or shaped hems which would not be part of the original cut.

The evening blouse is a common piece of formal wear for the western woman, and is often worn at festivities and celebrations.

Often worn at weddings by women who are neither the bride nor one of the bridesmaids, an evening blouse can also be used by the bride as part of her ‘going away’ attire.