I love it! It's a wonderful color and it looks best belted, IMO. (and I don't usually like waist belts).

Your hair looks especially pretty today.

Am I the only one who reads Ana's posts with a southern drawl. I know you probably don't have one, since you're not originally from TX, but I can't help it. I also read Antje's posts with a German accent. (at least what my brain conceives as a German accent). And I suspect that Angie has an accent too!

Ok sorry that was WAY OT. Love the blouse on you Ana. Very feminine and pretty and very YOU!

I love the blouse too. Really unique and looks great on you.

Ana, that's a great color on you! You do the belting thing very well. What kind of belts do you get (and where)? I'm trying to figure out what kind of belt Angie was talking about when she mentioned I should look for one that had a more modern edge.

Nicole, I read all Angie's posts with a British accent in my head (and I'm not sure why, but she sounds so regal that way). I don't read anyone else with an accent except when you mentioned Ahtsy Fahtsy. Do you actually have a Boston accent?

I love it. Looks great with a belt, will look adorable with clamdiggers. In the Fall, you can wear a cardi over it, buttoned at the waist. Will also look great under a structured jacket. If you like browns, try it under a brown tweed jacket next Fall.

I have a sorta kinda similar blouse (from AT though) - color is almost the same, same kinda blousy style, has little cream polka dots, but different neckline. It was the first blousey style I've bought in years. Like you, I worried about it hiding my waist.

But, I found got a LOT of use out of it under cardis and jackets this past winter/early spring. I wore it so often, I got bored of it so I haven't worn it lately. ;-)

Dani, I've been told by people who are not from Massachusetts (ie. foreigners) that I do have a Boston accent. But I don't think it's as pronounced as you hear on TV. (I don't live in Boston, or even a suburb--more of a bedroom community, about an hours drive from downtown Boston). But the area I live is knowns for people who drop their R's at the end of a word but then stick the R somewhere it doesn't belong. One of the larger cities near me is Worcester. It's pronounced Worster, but people in my town call it Wistah.
Then again, my best friend is from upstate NY. She says bagel with a short a...so the first half of the word sounds lke "bag". People in coffee shops have no idea what she's asking for. I usually have to interpret for her.

Nicole, that's funny :P I know someone from upstate NY who says the same thing!

Sorry, Ana...very off topic!

No apology needed, Dani (that is your name, right? Dixiegirl=Dani?). Anyway, I do not have a southern accent (I actually think I have a pretty neutral accent as far as America goes), but I do like to say, "y'all." I actually type it sometimes in these posts, "Yall's opinions," but then I erase it and write "you all" in proper English. I am thinking "y'all" though. :D

Thanks for the comments guys! This is instantly one of my favorite blouses. I was wondering, do you think it would be okay to wear without a belt, or should I only wear it strictly belted?

Dani/dixiegirl, I get my belts all over. I got this one at Express last year, but they usually have some decent thicker patent belts in stock all the time. You will probably be able to find some like this in the fall, for sure. I think when Angie said to get some belts with a more modern edge, she meant patent, or a brighter color, etc. Rather than a belt that looked like it was meant to hold up your pants, like the darker more conservative black or brown belts. Does this make sense? Embellished, colorful, patent, interesting buckles. Look for these things, and I think it might help you. Here are some examples of what I mean:

Here's a yellow belt I have my eye on (I hope it's not gone by the time I can buy it). This is good because it's got a more conservative styling, but it's a bright, interesting color:

http://www.bananarepublic.com/.....=573991052

Thicker belts I like to keep in neutral tones (but you don't have to) or red, and patent is a nice touch, adds some interest:

http://www.anntaylor.com/catal.....ory=Misses

http://www.anntaylor.com/catal.....ory=Misses

Metallic belts go with lots of stuff, and function as a neutral. I'd just stay away from the metallic belts that are made of glitter--that gets all over your clothes:

http://www.anntaylor.com/catal.....ory=Misses

http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/p.....=cat302276

Ana, I love your hair down. It looks great. I can see why you keep going back to Bobby! As for the top, I think it's excellent. Saying you would cry if we told you it had to go back was very pressuring, so I was relieved that I liked it :D. I can understand what you mean because that's how I felt about my colorblock dress! I like it both belted and unbelted.

Re: accents: Now when I read Nicole's posts I hear those guys from Car Talk in my head. Also, Nicole, my best friend is also from upstate NY, and she also says bag-el. I didn't realize it was an upstate thing, I just thought she was weird. Where is your friend from? Mine is from Oswego.

I sometimes hear Angie's posts with a British accent, even though she isn't British, because I always hear a British accent when I see things spelled with extraneous u's and the like. Oh, I definitely read Anne's posts with an Australian accent, especially when she uses the word jumper!

Ana- It looks fantastic and I almost bought it when I got the cardigan we talked about- it looks even better on you than it did online-
Great Choice-!

Lisa, thanks for the compliment! I got the cardigan today as well and I love it! It is closer to the color I saw in store (reddish-pink). Will you post a picture of you in it when you get it? I will as well.

Ana, I just wanted to say that the blouse is absolutely beautiful on you and looks great belted! A keeper in my opinion!

Ana, the blouse is super, keep it. Love it belted. I think it looks very casual when not belted (but will be great under a cardi with a couple buttons closed.)

Everyone - Angie does indeed have a strong British accent, I adore it. She also talks very passionately, as you might already imagine from her posts. I hope you all get to experience her live somehow sometime.

I do have a German accent, though I flatter myself that it's not quite as strong as it used to be after living in the States for 13 years. I'm always very flattered when I meet someone new and they think I'm from New Zealand or Australia - they realize something is different but can't quite place it... This doesn't happen too often, though; most of the time they wonder which of those Western European countries it is - Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, what have you...

Love it! Beautiful colour and super belted. Another win.

Antje does have a German accent and I have a British one. Anna I read with an Auzzie accent (even though jumper is British too), Nicole with a Bostonian twang, Tanya and Inge with Euro accents. Maya and Ana sound neutral in my head. The proof shall one day be in the pudding!

About the accents, mine is Eastern European somewhat similar to Russian, so Angie you were right (again) :)
I also do imagine everyone speaking with their accent.

Angie, that's awesome, for some reason I thought you and Antje both had German accents. What type of British accent do you have? My husband is from Manchester, but his mum is from Liverpool and his dad is from Yorkshire, and he spent some time in South Africa, so he has a "neutral" British accent, although now and again I can hear a twinge of Liverpudlian like his mum.

Tanya, I totally forgot you had an accent! This board is very multi-cultural. Wow, now we DEFINITELY have to get together, if just to listen to each other talk. :D

I think I'm pretty neutral (don't we all?), but when I went on my study abroad to France, the southern girls all thought I sounded very "northeastern." What that means is unclear to me, and probably only audible to southerners.

I don't think I have a stereotypical New Jersey/New York accent. Actually, no one I know has that horrible accent. It makes me cringe when people come from out of state and try to imitate that accent by saying things like "cawfee" and "new yawk." I feel embarrassed for them! And I don't think I have ever met a single person from NJ who says "joisey." Born and bred New Yorkers definitely have an accent, but it's not the one you hear in Newsies, I assure you. Perhaps being sandwiched between Philadelphia and New York for most of my life has given me a blended accent, which is what they refer to as "northeastern."

I always try to imagine Tanya's accent but I can't. I end up with something very wrong in my head, like Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle :X

Lovely Ana! That’s quite a British accent hubby has going on. You were almost right and it’s confusing. I’m Dutch and Dutch is my mother tongue, but I grew up in a British colony and schooled in English, which makes English an additional first language. I too have spent a long time living in South Africa and Greg is South African. My British accent is therefore also neutral.

Ah ha Tanya! I was right about your accent.

Maya, in my experience New Yorkers have a strong accent. I think it’s a great accent.

For Maya, since you can not imagine my accent, I have found a radio-interview of famous tennis player from my country:
http://www.anaivanovic.com/?pa.....bledon.mp3

Not only are our accents exactly the same, our voices are pretty similar too.
Hope this helps :)

Excellent blouse Ana! I like the details on the collar and the sleeves. It's very you.

As far as the accent, I have an Asian one. English is my second language so the accent is pretty obvious. Just to throw another in. :)

This is hilarious. Except for Angie, I do not read any of you with an accent. Despite living in the south most of my life, my accent is not as strong as you would expect. This probably comes from growing up with my father's accent; his native language is Spanish. I would say my accent is neutral around here, but I'm sure any non-southerner would hear something in there.

PS love the blouse; makes me want to try one.

Nobody can ever guess my accent. It's almost, but not quite "standard National newscaster" - except I have a slight accent people are always trying to guess.

I was born in the midwest and raised by midwestern parents while living in the Philly area. If I want to, I can slip into a philly accent ("wudder" instead of "water" "churry" insted of "cherry") OR a midwestern one ("crick" instead of "creek" "ruf" instead of "roof"). Except my midwestern cousins all complain I talk waaaayyyy too fast!!

I have been in MA for 13 years now, but still haven't picked up a Boston accent. It helps that my DH was private-schooled so talks very proper with no Boston twang left at all. It's weird because the rest of his family have very very heavy, classic Boston accents.

I do have an australian accent - but not a strong one. It has been mistaken by north americans for a British (or once) a South African accent.
Sometimes I have edited my posts to change my terminology (ie I wrote "flat" and then changed it to "apartment". But I feel fake changing everything - and that I wouldn't get it right anyway

Like the blouse with the belt Ana!

Eh, don't worry, we'll know what you mean, or figure it eventually if we don't. Angie uses all sorts of native terminology and we can understand what she's saying.

You have a beautiful accent Tanya. And I love that you are Asian Julia! You both write English extremely well. I’m impressed. This is a truly international forum. Delicious!

Anne, my sweetie gets mistaken for Auzzie from time to time. I don’t adjust my terminology on this site so don’t feel that you need to either. We speak the way we speak! We’ll know soon enough if something gets lost in translation!

Julia, somehow even though you chop off your head in all your picture, I knew you were Asian. I don't know how but I could just tell. What is your mother tongue?

Tanya, your accent is lovely! Actually now I am reminded of one of my friends from France who was from Montenegro who sounded just like that, and, by sheer coincidence, had your body type :p

You don't have to translate Anne. I love it when people speak Australian to me, especially over a platter of Tim Tams :)

NYers definitely have an accent but not the one people think they have. Does that make sense?

I must say I do love a South African accent. My art history prof. sophomore year was from SA, and so were two of the women on my program in France. Was like a mishmash of all my favorite accents! Does hubby speak Afrikaans, Angie? It's on my mile long list of "languages I will never use but want to learn anyway."

Ana, this blouse looks so pretty on you, especially belted! I was eyeing it myself on J Crew site, but decided against it - I just can't get myself to buy anything "dry clean only" with 2 small kids at home. Maybe in a few years :) If there are any similar cotton ones out there, let me know!
I really like how international this board is. I have an accent too, and I'm usually very conscious of it.

Oh! Marianne we ALL have accents. Where is yours from? Julia, are you from HK? Aren’t you going there in July? I might have gotten you mixed up with some else though. I have so many clients to keep straight in my head!

Greg speaks beautifully, Maya. He has a gorgeous English South African accent because he’s from Cape Town. It’s very melodic. And we are both fluent in Afrikaans. Where and what did you study in France? We use to live there before we moved to Seattle.

Angie, do you and Greg speak English at home then, or Afrikaans?

Hey, my J. Crew blouse went on sale even more! It's only $39.99 right now, and they have another lighter pink color, "Shell." If any of you are on the fence about it, now would be a good time:

http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/p.....d=cat90219

Plus, I just got a coupon from J. Crew for 20% off a purchase of $175.00 now through Monday. The online code is SALESHHH. If you want to use it in store, I can forward you the e-mail if you want to post it. I guess there's no Private Message function on here, huh? The coupon doesn't exclude sale merchandise, that I can read in the fine print.