Womens vintage white tops

Historically, white has associations with purity (as in white wedding dresses), cleanliness, smartness (as in a crisp white shirt) and sportiness.It’s a luxury colour because even now, it’s difficult to keep clean.Womens vintage white tops add a note of contrast to a dark suit of a flowery skirt alike, and white goes with every other colour – from black, through navy, bright hues and subdued pastels and even white on white for a totally summery look.

Vintage Womens white tops and blouses

Womens vintage white tops come from every era and for every purpose; sporty white vests for casual wear, richly beaded silk tops for evening, white shirts for work wear.

White is the colour of innocence and new beginnings. White lambs were sacrificed in Biblical times to appease God, and in Christianity the baptism gown is white. The Queen wears white to open Parliament every year.

Womens vintage white tops throughout the 20^th Century

White was a huge trend in the Sixties, in two different ways. One was to look as innocent as a babe, going with the trend of short baby doll dresses, huge child like eyes and thin, child like limbs. White broidery anglaise tops were popular for this.

Another way white was worn was more to signify looking forward and new beginnings – white, together with silver, were very space age colours and much used by Andre Courrege and Pierre Cardin in suitably space age fabrics of vinyl and shiny plastics.

White became the colour of women’s business shirts in the Nineties.Unlike in the Eighties, women were not softening their business attire with frothy bows on their blouses or bright, feminine colours. The new look was more streamlined and a monochrome colourway of black and white fit the bill perfectly.

Women have been wearing pure white shirts to striking effect throughout the 20^th Century, but often for an androgynous effect – think Marlene Dietrich in her white shirt, trousers and beret, or Katherine Hepburn.

To look smart but not so sharp edged, women throughout the 20^th Century have often worn off-white or cream instead of brilliant white. You can find lovely, high quality cream blouses from the Forties as well as cream silk men’s shirts that will do the same job.

Finding the perfect t shirt

A white t shirt has always been a great summer staple. It looks good with trousers, a suit jacket and trainers to soften a business suit, but also perfect with jeans or a summer skirt.

A white vest is a sportier variation on this. Many women spend their lives searching for the perfect white t shirt – one that’s not too see through, not too boxy, has the perfect neckline (whether that’s a v neck, crew neck, boat neck or even envelope neck) and has just the right balance between softness and structure.

For some of the most obsessed, it even needs to be the right shade of white. Yes, white comes in shades. This perfect t shirt will be utterly plain, with no print, beading, or decoration. Once they’ve found the perfect cut in white, the hunters of the perfect t may buy the same one in all the different colours – or they may just get fifty white ones.

The Queen opens parliament in white

Balenciaga 1968 Wedding dress

Twiggy in an innocent white top, 1960s

Andre Courrèges, 1960s

A businesswoman of the 90s in monochrome

Marlene in her white shirt

Gwyneth Paltrow in a white t shirt-Womens vintage white tops

Sophia Loren in a white vest

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