Sure, we all know what wardrobe essentials for work professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

It used to be really hard to find anything but your basic silk button-front blouse — but it feels like great silk blouses for work are EVERYWHERE right now, so I thought we’d do a little roundup! If you’re a fan of silk blouses, do you prefer button-fronts, pullover styles like t-shirts, or something else? Do you have any great silk knits (or silk-blend knits)? What are your top tips for care for them, whether it’s washable silk or the instructions say “dry clean“?

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9 Great Silk Blouses for Work

The Best Silk Button-front Blouse: Everlane

Silk button-front blouses are a classic for a reason — they’re effortlessly stylish and timeless. They also make great layering pieces beneath sweaters, cardigans, and blazers.

Our top pick here is Everlane — they’ve had great options for washable, eco-conscious silk for a long while now. The Clean Silk Relaxed Shirt currently comes in 7 colors in sizes 00-16 for $150.

Other great options here for button-fronts include include Boden, M.M.LaFleur, Club Monaco, L’Agence, Equipment, and Vince.

On the more affordable side, there are a few direct-to-consumer brands that specialize in silk that will come up a few times throughout this piece; they all have options for your basic silk button-front blouse as well: Quince, Grana, and Lilysilk.

{related: DIY options to fix a gaping blouse}

The Best Silk Popover Blouse: Kobi Halperin

Readers love a good popover blouse — no buttons, but all the polish. But: there aren’t a ton of silk popovers around right now! This one from Kobi Halperin at Nordstrom looks great — and it comes in a sleeveless version, too. I like that the blouse is stretch silk, also.

One reviewer noted that it’s a nice quality, drapes well, and is elegant and casual — but it may run on the smaller size.

The long-sleeve blouse currently comes in 5 colors, for $298.

The Best Plus-Size Silk Blouses: Vince

Hooboy, there are NOT a lot of options here! Vince consistently has both classic and trendy silk blouses for work available in regular AND plus sizes, so great job, Vince!

Other options: Eileen Fisher has a ton of silk basics for work, although the stock is somewhat patchy in plus sizes right now, and Spanx just came out with a “low maintenance” silk button-front that goes up to size 3X. Kind of off the beaten path, but super affordable: Etsy seller OlivaOceana makes customized silk blouses that look gorgeous, and she works up to size 5X. Speaking of customizable options, eShakti has a ton of silk options — you can buy up to size 6X off the rack, or give them custom measurements.

The Best Silk Blouse for Work to Splurge On: Bruno Cuccinelli

Bruno Cucinelli’s blouses don’t just have interesting patterns — they often have additional details like the shoulder detailing on this $2495 stunner. Expensive? For sure — but it’s hard to find anything quite like it that’s more affordable.

Other brands who regularly carry drool-worthy silk blouses include Akris, Lafayette 148 New York, and Etro (Etro also has absolutely gorgeous silk knits right now!).

The Best Short-Sleeve Silk Blouse: Amour Vert

Amour Vert’s washable silk blouses have been reader favorites for a while — they’re also one of the most reliable places to look if you like a colorful print. They’re $148 at Amour Vert, currently available in 10+ colors, sizes XXS-XL.

Another place to look for a lot of slightly interesting, generally short-sleeved silk blouses: Premium Outlets seems to have a ton of options online.

The Best Basic Silk Tee: Quince

For $49 this silk tee is hard to beat. I like that it’s a little bit loose, and I like the detail of the keyhole at the back of the neck. It comes in 12 colors, sizes XS-XL, for $49.90.

This is one of the easiest styles to find elsewhere — you can check out Cuyana, Brooks Brothers, Grana, LilySilk, Ravella, M.M.LaFleur, and more. (But $49 is one of the most affordable prices we’ve seen.)

The Best Silk Knit Tee: J.Crew

J.Crew has a silk-cashmere blend cropped T-shirt that is among its bestsellers right now. IMHO, a silk/cashmere or silk/cotton blend is the Holy Grail for tees — they wear like sweaters, are easy to care for (no ironing usually needed), but they’re breathable and look a bit more polished than your regular sweater tee.

The J.Crew one is $98 full price, but is currently marked to $54.50; it’s available in 10 colors in sizes XXS-3X. Lilysilk also has a ribbed silk knit tee at the moment.

Not a tee, but worth mentioning: Brooks Brothers‘ silk/cashmere shawl collar sweater has been a reader favorite for YEARS — it’s a great on its own or as a layering piece under sweaters.

The Best Sleeveless Silk Top: Elie Tahari

The Judith blouse has been around for years, and it’s always been among our favorite sleeveless tops for work. The contour necklnine and soft shoulder pleat are great details, and in all it makes for a polished outfit whether by itself, or layered under a cardigan, sweater jacket, or blazer.

The top is $198, but currently marked to $148, at Elie Tahari.

You can find much simpler tanks at all of the same places that have basic silk tees, as well

The Best Fancy Silk Blouses: M.M.LaFleur

M.M.LaFleur has a NUMBER of really cute silk blouses right now, from the cowl-neck pictured above to a bunch of other fun prints and styles, from basic ones to more interesting ones. (They even have a big selection of silk jersey, huzzah!)

Club Monaco also has a surprising number of silk items right now that are more interesting than the usual fare, but a lot of them are low stock at the moment. Elie Tahari is another great spot with interesting silk blouses.

Best Silk Camisole: Quince

Know your office before wearing a silk camisole without another layer on top to work — those skinny spaghetti straps are great for date night, but in years past have been widely thought to be unprofessional.

But: if you’re on the hunt, my pick would be Quince’s $39 camisole — it comes in a ton of colors, is washable and stretchy, and would make a great underlayer (like a proper camisole) or a cute going out top. Grana also has a nice selection.

Looking for something more splurgey? This Cinq à Sept one comes in a bunch of colors and has great reviews.

What are your favorite silk blouses for work in 2023?

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Stock photo via Deposit Photos / belchonock.