The Puffy Shirt’s Comeback

Ruffle Shirt: 3.1 Phillip Lim (Consignment)
Ruffled Top: 3.1 Phillip Lim (Consignment, Altered)

If you buy consignment as much as I do, an excellent tailor is essential. My tailor and I are BFFs, and he’s saved many of my blouses, dresses and skirts from closet purgatory. When I bought this ruffled blouse, I knew it would be a challenging item. For one thing, it had sleeves that looked exactly like these:

Seinfeld's Infamous Puffy Shirt. "But I don't wanna be a pirate!"
“But I don’t wanna be a pirate!”

I understand why Tokio 7, my favorite consignment store in New York, priced the blouse to move at less than $40. These “pirate wench” sleeves are not only dated, but tough for an office environment — just TRY stuffing those sleeves underneath a blazer or eating pad thai at your desk without making a mess.

I got the sleeves chopped for about $10, making this piece infinitely more versatile for both summer and seasonal layering.

Ruffled Top: 3.1 Phillip Lim (Consignment, Altered) | Skirt: Bar III (Macy's) | Jacket: Peresteso (Consignment) | Brogues: Tokio Kumagai (Vintage) | Leather Tote: All Saints
Ruffled Top: 3.1 Phillip Lim (Consignment, Altered) | Skirt: Bar III (Macy’s) | Jacket: Peresteso (Consignment) | Brogues: Tokio Kumagai (Vintage) | Leather Tote: All Saints

But sleeves or not, this shirt is still a bit theatrical — I’m rocking a ringmaster vibe with this outfit, especially  with the slouchy jacket. (These are the repercussions for breaking my no-blazers-in-summer-rule!) Next time, I’ll go for something more spring-y and pair the shirt with a kelly green petal skirt and platforms.

Brogues: Tokio Kumagai (Vintage)
Brogues: Tokio Kumagai (Vintage)

Separately, I’d like to deliver a brief soliloquy to these shoes: This pointy pair is such a refreshing version of the ubiquitous brogues trend. I found these at a vintage shop in Paris last year, and because of the open weave, they’re perfect for adding some edge during the summer. I Googled the designer so I could peruse more of his designs — but sadly, he died in 1987. His shoes are quite rare — but sometimes, there are goodies on eBay.