I always find it fascinating to discover what extracurricular activities people did in high school.  Sometimes I can totally guess that someone was a cheerleader or a basketball player or student council president,  but other times I’m completely surprised that someone was a reporter for the school newspaper or had the lead role in the school play or made extra money being a “Mystery Guest” at Jack in the Box.

My big activity in high school was cross-examination debate, but in high school, kids are encouraged to be like Jason Schwartzman’s character in the movie Rushmore and have tons of extracurriculars, so of course I had other things going on that made me cooler than cool (said ironically), like marching band and math team and science team and … wait for it … typing team.

Yes, in high school there was competitive typing.  And what’s more, I learned to type on an electric typewriter, not a computer.  Correction fluid like Wite-Out or Liquid Paper is super-important when you’re using a typewriter.  Not a lot of people may remember this stuff … in my office today, all I can find is correction tape … but correction fluid was so ubiquitous for awhile that it was the basis for a quick sight gag in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off where Principal Rooney’s assistant is discreetly sniffing it at her desk:

I’ve often wished there was Wite-Out for white cotton blouses (but more effective because, let’s face it, Wite-Out never really lived up to its promise).  Although nothing does a better job of highlighting a beautiful skirt than a crisp, tailored, white cotton blouse, a white blouse can pick up stains and other spills (especially on the cuffs) so easily.  I guess products like the Clorox Bleach Pen come close; however, much like Wite-Out, they don’t seem to cover up everything.  And it’s unfortunate!  For example, this white Theory button-down blouse is so lady-like and does an amazing job of drawing attention to the jacquard and fil coupé skirt from Balenciaga that I got off of Matchesfashion (http://www.matchesfashion.com).

Accordingly, I’ve developed a few white cotton blouse “hacks” over the years:

1. No matter what the cleaning instructions say, don’t dry clean a white cotton blouse.  I chose dry cleaning for such a long time, and my blouses would come back slightly yellowish or dingy from the chemicals.  I now ask for them to be laundered and then pressed, and they stay looking crisp for longer.
2. Give a white cotton blouse a short shelf-life as a standalone piece.  While I will wear the Balenciaga skirt for years, I’ll probably replace the blouse within a year since the stains will start to pile up.  I usually try to get a little more life out of the blouse by wearing it under sweaters (not only does it offer a nice barrier against an itchy sweater, but the collar can really dress a sweater up).
3. Use Friends & Family sales to stock up on white cotton blouses.  Saks Fifth Avenue (http://www.saks.com) and Shopbop (http://www.shopbop.com) usually offer around 25% off on most non-high-end designer merchandise twice a year.  I can always scoop up two or three Theory or Rag and Bone blouses to replace the ones I’m retiring.

Not as great as an incredibly effective sartorial Wite-Out, but it gets the job done …