Styling is similar to cooking, a recipe is always a great place to start and after learning the basics you can switch it up, swap out some of the ingredients making it healthier or richer or simply tastier. The same applies to your wardrobe. By starting with some basics or staples, you can create new looks by swapping out some of the ingredients or pieces like footwear, jewelry or what you pair with it.

We all own some basic, solid-colored blouses and by themselves can seem…meh or boring. And no one gets dressed thinking, today I’ll just go with with a boring look. So the formula for styling a basic blouse will give you three looks  including casual, office ready and dressy. The examples are for inspiration so you can get ideas using items out of your own closet.

In the examples, I’ve gone with black and white since I can’t imagine anything more basic than a white or black blouse. However, you can swap out for your favorite solid colored blouse.

Casual look with jeans – This blouse is one of my favorites. I love the off the shoulder option and the cute little ties on the sleeves, but you could easily go with a t-shirt style, button-down or lacey look.

I wore the same jeans in both looks and changed out the footwear from black, patent leather loafers for my croc skin white booties from Steve Madden. Tennis shoes, flats are options to make the look even more casual. You could also wear a more structured, dark jean to make the look a bit more polished.

Work ready look – The same blouse is perfect for the office.  Wine or burgundy is still a trending color and looks great with black, white and gray. The solid colored slacks  are a several seasons ago purchase from White House Black Market. I loved the style so much I bought them in three colors. The material is a stretch cotton and they’ve held up incredibly well. The leopard pumps pair perfectly with the look along with a vintage croc skin clutch that was my mom’s.

The pants in the 1st look are in the same color with the addition of a white pin stripe, but in a wide leg. The last time I wore this combo, I received several compliments and will be replicating it this fall.

Dressy or date night –  It’s easy to elevate a simple black blouse for date night. Here I’ve matched it with a pleated, faux leather skirt in a cognac color. The same booties are in both versions, but again you could trade them out for a pair of strappy heels or even tall boots.

The 2nd version features a leopard print skirt and gold jewelry.

Again, you can wear the black option with your favorite skirt, because black pretty much goes with everything.

White Blouse Options –  Starting with the casual version, there is nothing I like better than a white blouse paired with jeans. Wearing some flat sandals I recently found at T.J. Maxx, makes this an easy, casual look.

The pants from the work option seen above pair just as easily with a white blouse. Add a jacket or a cardigan in a gray or black and you have a professional look that will take you straight into a client meeting or the boardroom.

The dressy look here is a loose, swing skirt in a black and white stripe. If you prefer a more fitted look, try a black or jewel toned pencil skirt. You could go a bit more glamorous by switching out the booties for some heels in silver or gold.