I was hopeful at first – such a pretty, bright, abstract feather print. Even the maker’s label looked promising. “Mardi Modes New York”; embroidered cloth label, attached firmly at the neckline in the old folded style. There’s even an RN number, which makes the brand “legitimate”. But, in reality this blouse is stuck in that early 1970’s period which saw polyester becoming the fabric of choice for most garments. They worked their way from 1960’s Mod and casual clothing into the professional office and dressy venues. Some were made very well, up to earlier mid-century standards, but many were somewhere in-between or frankly cheap. In any case, I doubt you would have seen one in the boardroom, unless the boss’s secretary was present; but that’s another blog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The in-between level of quality is what we see in this example. Best features include: 1. The well-done brand label. 2. Artistic print on the fabric. 3. Pearlized buttons with stems. 4. A button under the bow-tie which improves the fit at the neckline. 5. A hand-finished hem. On the other hand, 1. The textile quality is just OK. 2. The blouse isn’t fitted well and doesn’t hold its shape. 3. The vents at the cuffs are very poorly finished (hardly finished at all).

So, the verdict is: Interesting, but disappointing. Let’s see if we can do better with a blouse of a similar genre that is the only outlier of the group, time-wise. Stay tuned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM