Short Floral Blouse with Drawstring Front and Puff Sleeves, Cotton

A short floral blouse that gathers at the front

This floral blouse from Rue Paris is short, fitted and full of small details. A drawstring runs down the middle of the front and pulls the fabric into gathers. The sleeves are short and puffed. The print is a small flower pattern on blue, with orange and red in it.

The fabric is 95% cotton with 5% spandex. Sizes are S, M and L.

At a glance

The piece: model 168886 by Rue Paris

The maker's description is one line long: a short blouse in a fitted cut with short sleeves, a V-neck, creases and a tie on the front. The photos fill in the rest.

The body is gathered with rows of elastic stitching, front and back, so it hugs the ribs without a zip or buttons. The neckline has a narrow frill. At the back it is cut square. We sell it in one colour, which the maker calls blue.

Who it's for

For you if you wear high-waisted jeans, skirts or shorts in summer and want a top that ends where they begin. On the model the hem sits well above the waistband, so a strip of midriff shows.

If you would rather not show skin there, a high-rise bottom closes most of the gap.

Closer look: maker's data and photos

• Short, fitted blouse with short sleeves (maker's data)
• V-neck with gathers and a tie on the front (maker's data)
• Drawstring down the centre front, ending in a bow (photos)
• Smocked body, front and back (photos)
• Puffed sleeves with a frilled edge (photos)
• Square neckline at the back (photos)

Fabric and feel: cotton with a little stretch

The composition is 95% cotton and 5% spandex. Cotton is what you want next to the skin on a warm day, and the spandex works together with the elastic stitching to keep the blouse close.

The print is small and dense, so the fabric reads as one soft colour from a distance and as flowers up close. The maker gives no fabric weight. It looks light in the photos.

Fit and silhouette: fitted and cropped

The maker gives the chest per size: 82 cm for S, 86 cm for M and 91 cm for L. Smocking stretches, so those numbers are the starting point and not the limit.

There is no length in the data. With the drawstring pulled, as in the photos, the front rises into a soft curve and the blouse is at its shortest. Loosen the cord and you gain a little length.

Size chart (cm)

Source: the maker's size table. It gives the chest only; the gathered body stretches beyond these numbers.

Styling: white, jeans and sun

The photos pair it with white high-waisted jeans, and white is the right call. It makes the blue and orange in the print look brighter.

It also works with a plain midi skirt, with faded jeans shorts, or under dungarees. Keep jewellery light. The frills and the bow are already doing a lot.

Occasions

This is a summer top for days out: a terrace, a picnic, a festival, a holiday market. It is too short for most offices, and it does not try to be anything else.

Care: follow the label

The maker's data has no care instructions, so follow the label sewn into the blouse. Smocked cotton in general keeps its elasticity longer when it is washed cool and kept out of a hot dryer.

The wow detail: the cord

One drawstring shapes the whole front. Pull it and the V of the neckline deepens a little, the fabric gathers under the bust and the hem lifts in the middle. The ends tie in a bow that hangs over your waistband. It is the detail that makes a simple cotton top feel styled.

Fashion that gives back

5% of each sale goes to a cause you choose. The causes are matched to 11 of the 17 SDGs, the global goals set by the United Nations, and you decide where your share goes.

Our promise

Ships from the maker's wholesale partner in Poland, inside the EU, with tracking. The wholesaler lists up to 3 days to prepare an order; within the EU delivery usually takes 2–7 business days after dispatch. Delivery is free within the EU on orders from €69; below that it costs €4.95 in the Netherlands and €6.95 elsewhere in the EU.

You have 14 days after delivery to ask for a return, as long as the blouse is unworn and still has its tags. Our promise is plain: if what arrives does not match what this page says, send it back within 14 days and we refund you.

More blouses, with short and long sleeves, are in our blouses collection.