One Plaid Skirt, Three Outfits. Plus, How to Layer Your Look!

When looking for real estate the key aspect was "location, location, location."  In fashion one of the the most important aspects is versatility, versatility, versatility.  That gorgeous dress or stunning top is going to gather a lot of dust if you can't wear for lots of occasions or with lots of other things in your wardrobe.  

    Now, if you see something and you really love it, but don't have anything to go with it, get it anyway and then make an effort to find things to go with it. Such was the case with this plaid skirt from ThredUp. ( If you're new to ThredUp, use this link to save $20 off your first purchase. http://www.thredup.com/r/WKVOY5  )

    At the time I bought it, I had nothing in mind to go with it, I just loved it and knew it would be a great piece.  Sure enough, when it arrived I found lots of ways to wear it.  In this post I'll show you three looks with this skirt.

Outfit A:   

For this first look I paired the skirt with a burgundy sweater.  Burgundy is not one of the most notable colors in the skirt, but by pairing the skirt with this sweater, it really brings out the burgundy. The sweater, even though it's a solid,  has some interesting things happening in the ruffle neckline and the buttons down the side.  The shoes are a neutral black and the purse, though neutral as well, is a novelty purse, so very interesting all on its own.  A sweater and a wool skirt are cold weather items, so I wanted to demonstrate the way to winterize this look without losing any of its appeal. 

 Let's Start Layering!

Adding layer upon shapeless layer can mean ending up with a very bulky, buried look.  But, layering an outfit doesn't have to mean losing the shape or compromising style.  It simply means looking for items that have a shape or visual appeal to be that top layer.  While this skirt was in my cart I kept browsing on ThredUp and I stumbled onto this great gray ruffled jacket.  I knew they were a perfect match.
    A regular gray jacket like a pea-coat would have detracted from the overall look of this outfit.  But, with a fitted waist and peplum, the outfit still has great shape.  And, the ruffle and bow at the shoulders give this jacket a very classic feel.  This gray jacket is anything but boring and it brings so much to the completed look.  To this, of course, I added black tights for warmth, and though I kept my heels, ankle high booties would have made this even cozier for those long walks home from the train station.

Outfit B:

Since the colors for Outfit A were all fairly dark, I decided to use something brighter for this outfit.  I chose my orchid cardigan by Mak to bring out the bright purple cross hash on the skirt and then went with neutral white and black for the blouse and heels so that the eye isn't overwhelmed with color.  A little goes a long way with this shade.  The black bow at the neckline of the shirt also helps to break up all the solids on top.

Outfit C:

The temptation for me when it comes to casual wear is to go so low key that it's boring.  If it's possible to overboard on neutrals (and, yes it is possible) then this is the time when I do it.  So, my solution is to limit the number of neutrals that can be a part of my outfit.  My rule is that there cannot be more neutrals than colors in an outfit.  So, if my outfit consists of just three things like shirt, pants, shoes, only one of them can be neutral.  If it consists of four items, like this one, then only two things can be neutral and that second thing should be something small like flats, not two big things like neutral shirt and neutral skirt.  Even a great skirt like this can look plain with too many black or gray items surrounding it.

    I hope this post has inspired you and feel free to post your layering pics in the comments section or send them to me through the contact page and I may use them in a future post!

Shop the Look:

H&M Plaid Skirt, Forever 21 Gray Jacket, Merona Gray Sweater, all purchased from ThredUp.com 

Delia's Burgundy Sweater, Forever 21 White Chiffon Blouse, Black Soda Flats purchased from Ebay 

Purple Cardigan, Black Tights, Black Heels from ModCloth.com

Jewelry is handmade by me