Bella Cotton Blouse - British Khaki

I purchased this to wear to our historical society Christmas Open House. I washed it, figured out how to iron the complex pattern and was so excited to wear it -- until I tried it on. I take a medium, so I had ordered a large size in recognizing that it was 100% cotton. Unfortunately, it had shrunk so significantly that the blouse strained over my chest leaving gaps. I had to wear it though, because I brought it on a hanger to put on at our museum so I wouldn't wrinkle it with my car seat belt. I hadn't tried it on after I ironed it. I tried to tug it together with no luck. I just ended up hunching my shoulders the whole night. It was miserable. I wish there had been a two size warning on the advertising -- there was nothing about shrinkage, and only my past experience with cotton gave me (false) confidence that a larger size would compensate. I won't be wearing it again -- $60 down the drain does not make me happy.

This blouse is of heavy fabric, well finished, and will last for years.

Very nice fitted blouse. Love the color. Looks great with the walking skirts.

I love the blouse - workmanship , sleeves, style , fabric , but the sizing runs many sizes smaller, I ordered a Medium and I could not button / I am 5’5” 130 lbs and usually wear Small or Medium . I would probably need an XL for a decent fit. I returned and am unsure what to do .

Perfect fit and historically accurate.

Pleasantly surprised! I ordered the same size as what I would normally clothes shop and it looks like it was tailored to fit my body. Very high quality. It really pulls my costume together with those puffed sleeves!

Nearly Perfect!

Goes perfectly with the walking skirt to make a great suffrage outfit.

This blouse is made of high quality fabric and it is beautifully constructed. I will shop here again.

This blouse is a perfect match with my skirt for the encampment dance. It is smooth, but a heavier fabric.
Since it fits over the skirt, I don't have to worry about a sash or belt. Lovely piece. I would love to have other colors.

I love this site, I believe I have every Ladies vest however, I sent 3 blouses back and since this blouse came in a separate shipment I kept it even though it does not fit right, it cost too much to send back, the blouses seem to run small especially, through the bust. I will give this away as a present. The quality is always wonderful but the sizing is a guess. I wear a size 18, and 2X is very tight therefore, I wish I had ordered a 3x, but I did not. I do not think I will ever order another blouse because of the guess work in sizing.

The fabric was too heavy, we need lightweight clothing here in CA.
The sleeves were much too long and would be difficult to alter.

I own this blouse in several colors because it is so nice to wear a Victorian style that does not need to be tucked in and/or added waist cover (gives me an effortless, feminine silhouette). It is made of a thick, durable cotton that is comfortable to wear and even the puffy sleeves hold up very well with repeated machine washings. I'm more of a small size fit but due to the snug forearm/wrist tailoring, I prefer wearing a size medium. Excellent purchase!

I wish I could rate this beautiful blouse with ten stars. It's comfortable, and fits perfectly. It added the fashionable dimensions to my steampunk outfit I've been striving after for awhile. I love it. Thank you!

I kept this blouse because I generally like the style, but it could definitely be better. According to the sizing chart I would take an XS. I purchased both an XS and S just to compare. Pay attention to the stated cuff measurement and realize that that has to fit over not only your wrist, but entire forearm as well! I have very scrawny arms, and I couldn't fully button the XS. The cut of the collar is also slightly uncomfortable. Although I can fit several fingers between the collar and my neck, it fits so that it kind of chokes in the front and gaps in the back. The body of the blouse fits well on my flat-chested frame. I'm also not looking forward to ironing this.

Quality garment. I am petite size so had to tuck bottom of sleeve under which worked well. I left the top button undone for comfort...but that is just me.

This blouse is beautiful but the size ran at least 2 sizes smaller than normal.

Great construction. Beautiful sleeves and cinched fit. I'm in love with this blouse. Thank you !

What a well-made item. Lovely!

Fell in love with the pictures and the actual blouse was even better. It fit perfectly and I got so many compliments. It was well made and expect to wear many times at our local heritage center!

This blouse is perfect! I am hard to fit and I am thrilled with this cotton blouse, which will be worn with a long black skirt. I am participating in the centennial celebration of women's right to vote in NY and have speeches to make.

Each representative of Historical Emporium was professional and polite. The Bella blouse was shipped promptly and I received it within three days. I highly recommend Historical Emporium.
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As a Christmas gift for my wife, she was very pleased with the quality, style of this very affordable and comfortable shirt.

This the perfect all around Victorian white blouse. I bought it because it is simple and elegant. I can add jewelry to embellish. I ordered a size large, even though I normally wear a medium. Having ordered a blouse from this site previously, I knew it tends to run a bit small. I am 5'5", 140 lbs. I love that it doesn't have to be tucked in but still defines the waist area. It is well made with good fabric weight and quality. Wish I didn't have to iron it but guess it's easier than what the Victorians had to go through!

Love that this blouse is heavy duty and feels nice. I ordered the large but wish I had ordered the medium as it is a bit too big. Would definitely buy from this company again.

I love my blouse. It's so period perfect. I use it for my Dicken's caroling costume. So well made and true to size.

Well made and adorable blouse. Couldn't ask for better. Thanks.

I am quite please with this blouse.

Definitely true to it's picture, the shirt is perfect for the look I'm going for. Unfortunately I'm not built to fit most women's clothing so it doesn't quite fit across my shoulders, or make room for the length of my arms. I'm going to wear it proudly but will have to be careful about raising my arms, lol.

Alas, life is more than Steampunk conventions, so I am trying to purchase shirts that can work in real life as well as at the con. I chose the khaki Bella Blouse, which turned out to be in a thick, glossy cotton fabric. I ordered large to try to avoid the tight bust problem, but it is still tight at the bust. Aside from that, the bodice fit very well. It does a particularly nice job going over my (large) hips, even though I have a short torso. The sleeves are a bit long, but still manageable. It performed respectably in the all important laundry test - it only shrank a small bit, and it came out relatively wrinkle-free (better than some conventional shirts sold as wash and wear). Unfortunately, the slight shrinkage accentuated the tight in the bust problem. However, the cute little tabs on the collar are actually sewn in, so they came out looking great. So all in all, a very good looking shirt which can go out to dinner or off to the con in style - I gave it a 1 point deduction for the bust problem and the shrinkage.

I absolutely LOVE this shirtwaist. I am tall and it fits like a dream. The quality of the cotton was much, much better than I expected. I like to make my own costumes but now I think that sometimes I will most certainly order from this company, instead. So pleased!

A little suggestion? Can you offer more prints in a style like this? Small flowers or perhaps stripes for Gibson Girl costumes?