Spring Style: One White Skirt Three Ways
A key styling tip I always share with my clients is that when you're shopping for everyday clothing, you should always come up with at least three ways to wear a piece before you commit to buying it. Not only does this help you in the cost-per-wear department, but it lets you know how quickly you'll get bored with something. Versatility is a girl's best friend in her wardrobe, especially when you find a piece that can go from work to play, or weekday to weekend.
I've really become so much more into skirts this spring for this very reason! I mean I love a dress and a good pair of jean shorts, but a skirt is kind of the best of both worlds. You get the flowy (i.e. breezy comfort) ease of a dress with the added styling possibilities that come with building a look out of two or more pieces.
I love a midi skirt because it's a great length for me: not too long that it drags the ground when I wear flats or sandals (my shoe choice nine times out of ten), but not too short to flash the world when I'm running around with Harlow or just doing everyday things. I recently picked up this skirt from Gap because I love to wear white bottoms and dresses during the spring and summer, and because of the beautiful eyelet detail towards the hem. I've gotten so much use out of it between morning meetings and afternoon play dates that I wanted to share with you all the ways you can have fun with a white skirt this season!
1| MORNING MEETINGS
SKIRT // TOP // BRACELET // BAG // SUNGLASSES
A skirt is such a key staple of a working woman's wardrobe no matter what industry you work in. My job's "dress code" doesn't require a pencil skirt or skirt suit, but I still like to dress the part in a pretty skirt that can go from working mom to playing mom. This skirt is machine washable so whether I spill coffee on it or it gets a grass stain while we're at the playground, I can wash it (or bleach it) right out.
I played up the softness of the skirt with a feminine ruffled blouse in sunny marigold and accessorized with metallic jewelry and sandals. A low-heeled sandal is SUCH an amazing shoe for a working mom on-the-go because it looks pulled together and is totally comfortable if you're on your feet all day. I bought these Loeffler Randall sandals almost three years ago and I still wear them all the time. They've got the Emi sandal this year that I love and is a great style to wear casually or to dress up.
Oh! And I know we're not talking about hair but a milkmaid braid is my go-to hairstyle for when I need my hair to look good and stay that way for a long period of time. The secret is to start each braid at the nape of your neck and to keep it on the tighter side so that it will wrap over your head without creating weird gaps. Once you've finished your braid you can pull out sections to make it chunkier and create a wider crown. Secure it with bobby pins and some good hair spray and you'll have pretty hair all day!
2 | AFTERNOONS + WEEKENDS
My other current clothing crush is on peasant/folklore tops. I cannot get enough of the florals, paisleys, eyelets, and embroidery making all the tops and blouses so pretty this spring! They are true blouses...as in they're blousey and full...so when tucking it in doesn't look quite right OR if I want to mix it up a little I like to tie a knot in the front or back to make sure it hits at the right spot. It's one of those tricks that's so simple and takes five seconds to do but looks really cute and effortless.
My fave jewelry collection by Twine & Twig was born to be worn (ha, unintentional rhyme!) with all the boho pieces that are so on trend right now. As I mentioned in this spotlight piece I did on them last fall, I'm not at all afraid to wear them around Harlow because they're so well-made and the leather straps can really take some good yanks without blinking an eye (so to speak.) These pieces are meant to be piled on and they come in all different lengths so I highly recommend going to Porter & Prince if you're in Asheville to play with them in person so you can get the right lengths and styles to mix and match.
Obviously I'm in braids and sandals again! This day I had my milk maid braid in and felt like changing it up so I just took them down and rocked the braid pigtails. If you spray a good hairspray or salt spray on them and leave them in all day and night, you have the prettiest waves when you wake up in the morning!
3 | DINNER + DRINKS
Let me address the elephant in the room and tell you that we didn't get the best pictures of this look because Harlow started legit melting downing after a long morning and we just couldn't get the settings quite right or get all the shots we wanted. But I think you can get the gist of it anyways!
All of the off-the-shoulder and/or bell sleeves tops are sooooo dreamy but for me they're just not practical to throw on on a Tuesday afternoon and go about my business. But they do look great with a pretty skirt when you're going out with your girl gang or your main squeeze to grab dinner and drinks! I'm in such a color phase right now so I wanted to bring in some extra pops of pink with my shoes and earrings, and then tie it all together with a straw clutch embellished with rainbow pom poms.
Even though a lot of these pieces are very trendy now, I've had that clutch and those sandals for over a year now...so I guess what I'm saying is if you buy pieces that make you smile or are squarely in your lane of personal style, then you'll enjoy carrying them year after year. I will always love pink shoes, so I spent a little more on these J. Crew sandals when they came out because I know I'll wear them for a looong time. On the flip side, I think this clutch is the cutest but I know pom poms won't always be the thing to wear so I only spent $25 on this bag instead of the $100+ some designers were charging. You can find dupes of just about any trendy item so be sure to scout around before shelling out triple digits for something -- you might be able to save some pennies!
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Hopefully you found these tips helpful and maybe inspired you to try wearing skirts more or in more ways! Enjoy this beautiful day, be back soon with a shop edit on my favorite market bags like the straw clutch you see in my last look! 💜 Brooke