Just another vote for getting the shirt hemmed if it's too long. I've done that on a number of occasions, and it always turns out great. It's a straightforward alteration.

Alyssa Beltempo swears by Power of My People.

I echo Jonesy's recommendation of Alex Mill shirts.

No suggestions but I think I've looked at all the suggestions and didn't see a single blouse with any type of dart. The lack of shaping on blouses like this is one reason they are hard for me to buy.

Brie, Frank & Eileen shirts are fitted. Shop bop has some. I am on my phone so I can't do finds.

Great suggestions, all!

SF, I like my F&E shirts but they are super wrinkly and floppy. Nice in summer but not what I’m after at the moment. I would like something with a little more crispness and structure but not a traditional fitted shirt.

This may be "out there"---depends on what sort of "layering" you are wanting to do, Janet---but I found my PERFECT WHITE SHIRT for layering by purchasing a lovely poplin dickey from COS. I ended up getting 4 of them, with different collar styles and fabrics, but the white one is a workhorse for me under cashmere sweaters---gives the look of a full shirt, without all the fit problems and the bulk. I don't see them in stock, but several show up on the re-sale sites if that's something that interests you. It's so nice to know that it fits and the collar always looks great.

Laurel, that’s a good idea! I may be asking for a lot of one shirt to be both a bit roomy AND layerable.

Janet, the Boden shirt is back in stock in lots of sizes. I am going away, or I would order one.

Boden will give you the petite length measurements if you drill down on the site.

I will warn this is not the thickest weight shirt -- that is fine for my purposes, but YMMV.

Thanks for the heads up! However, Suz, I don’t think I can do a petite shirt — sleeve length is unlikely to work for me (too-short sleeves drive me bonkers). My Boden sweaters/tops are a good sleeve length in regular. Unfortunately, when I looked up the shirt on the US site, my size (US8) is sold out in all colors. The UK site shows different stock, and of course the sizes are different, so gotta be careful with that!

Right -- makes sense, Janet. I think if you find the right shirt but it is too long, the length alteration is a snap.

A different fashion blog has just sent out an email recommending this shirt, which is modal so I assume knit. It should be much easier to fit. https://bleusalt.com/products/.....11k7_vbfqz