SCRAPBOOK: The surprising history of the pussy bow blouse

While many of the silhouettes from our Way of Flowers collection have been influenced by 1970s shapes and colours, our UME BLOUSE has one of the most interesting backstories.

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Made from Tencel, our UME BLOUSE is a long-sleeve, button-up shirt with a pussy bow collar. This classic style is a staple item in many wardrobes. But have you ever wondered: why ‘pussy bow’?

One of the earliest appearances of the term is from the 1930s, connecting the feature to the kind of bow tied to the necks of actual cats and kittens as an identifier (!). But thanks to trailblazers such as YSL and Coco Chanel, in the 1960s this floppy neck tie started to take on a new life as strong, independent women began to own the look (hello, Sofia Loren, Grace Kelly, and Peggy & Joan from Mad Men!).

Throughout the 1980s, when women started to assert themselves at work - and in particular the board room - the ‘power-dressing’ pussy bow (combined with those ever-present shoulder pads!) was the equivalent to the male shirt and tie.

More recently, the pussy bow has had a resurgence and become a symbol of alliance with women at the forefront of media politics around the world. Sara Danius, literary scholar and head of the Swedish Academy, often wore the pussy bow as part of her ‘work uniform’. When she was unceremoniously ousted from the Academy after it was engulfed in a #metoo scandal, women across the country began sporting the look as a solidarity move. And who could forget those pussy remarks in 2016, the ones that sparked so many protests around the world? Is Melania sending a message? I guess we’ll have to wait for a tell-all memoir...

So when you take your Obus UME BLOUSE out on the town, don’t forget that you’re standing with generations of women before you. Wear it with pride, and know it will never go out of style.