One Circle Skirt: Two Styles

    I don't shop at Down East Basics very much, but I do like their clothes, and it is waaaaaay cheaper to buy from them directly than to get it somewhere else.  In the spring of last year I bought a polka dot dress from ModCloth for about $70.  When it arrived I saw that it was from Down East Basics and went to their website.  Turns out they were selling the same dress for $35!  Lesson learned.  I occasionally check their site to what's new before it turns up somewhere else for twice the price.  

    I purchased this skirt along with the jacket (plus another jacket and Down East skirt) from a single seller on a resale site called Poshmark.  If you've never tried Poshmark, here are a few pros and cons.
Cons:  They only ship to the U.S., sellers aren't always responsive and there isn't as much turnover as there is on places like Ebay or ThredUp.   
Pros: If you have an unresponsive seller, customer care has your back.  If your item doesn't ship within a certain number of days they'll contact the seller and if nothing happens, they'll instruct you on how to cancel the order.  Other pros include being able make offers on items,  and shopping one person's closet to make bundles for a reduce price and a low shipping rate.   
    So, my bundle of two jackets and two skirts finally arrived and I loved this jacket skirt combo even more than I'd imagined I would.  I've never really thought about pairing a jewel toned blue with an earthy green, but it totally works! And the blue in the jacket really brings out the blue in the plaid print.   For the second outfit I did a little print mixing with this blue striped bow tie blouse for the.  (These types of blouses are a staple of business attire here in Japan.)  Since the plaid is a bolder print, I kept the second print more sedate with thin stripes, but both items share a color palette.  Changing from the blue jacket to a green cardigan keeps the look from being too busy or overwhelming to the eye. 

    I also wanted to take a moment in this post to show you how a little something extra at the neckline can be really crucial to your look.  So, I'm going to post the same outfits without the green scarf and bow to demonstrate what a difference it can make.  Just adding a chunky necklace can make an outfit look more polished and classy.  In this case though I do think that though they're still great outfits, without the the bold green scarf or the wide bow tie, they're a little more casual and a little less "wow" for lack of a better phrase.

Shop the Look:
Skirt, Jacket, and Blouse are second hand
Necklace is from Forever 21
Shoes are from ModCloth
Earrings and rings are handmade by me
Scarf is from Ebay