Skirting the Issue
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| Trying to practice some of Imogen’s posing tips. Still a bit awkward! |
Here’s my second foray into Visible Monday. This J.Crew paisley skirt is a nice focal point for an outfit, and I find I’ve been wearing it at least once a week since I bought it. I debated about wearing a darker shoe to balance out the top of the outfit, but decided to go with a camel pump here. Will try with the orange Fluevogs next time.
Tee: Gap, here.
Sweater: J.Crew “Jackie” here. I love these cardi’s and have been getting so much wear out of this navy one.
Skirt: J.Crew, no longer available online, but have seen in the stores recently.
Pumps: Stuart Weitzman, here. Amusingly enough, this style is called “Blog.” Stuart Weitzman offers many styles in wide widths and seems to also have a good selection of mid-heel styles.
Necklaces: Ann Taylor, Talbots, Ralph Lauren.
I’m still a bit self-conscious about going bare-legged with skirts, not so much because I’m pale but because of the “uneven skin tone” (euphemism for blotches and blue veins). Supposedly Catherine, Duchesse of Cambridge is single-handedly making sheer hose chic again. We’ll see.
Be sure and check out the rest of the Visible Monday roundup at Not Dead Yet Style, here.
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This is a very easy, chic look. Very flattering on you! Really love the skirt print. You mentioned the shoes … my first thought when I saw your photo was the shoes should be dark. I know that beige shoes are the rage, but I often prefer alternatives. Way to get the week off to a lovely start!
Love that skirt, I can’t wait till J Crew start online shipping here, supposedly in August. I think it’s a great shop for good looking wearable everyday clothes.
Do you know what works really well on bare legs to even things out? Mac Face and Body foundation – I always use it on my legs if I’m going out – other than to the garden or bins.
Love that skirt, I can’t wait till J Crew start online shipping here, supposedly in August. I think it’s a great shop for good looking wearable everyday clothes.
Do you know what works really well on bare legs to even things out? Mac Face and Body foundation – I always use it on my legs if I’m going out – other than to the garden or bins.
This silhouette looks great on you. I will be checking you out on Visible Monday!
I adore that skirt – and I think it will look great with the darker shoes as well.
Thank you for participating in Visible Monday, you look lovely in the Gallery!
Great skirt. Pencils were always my favorites for work. I like the long necklaces too. I believe a darker shoe might look even better.
Forget Kate Middleton, all the youngsters are wearing black opaques (even though it’s scorching hot) a la Kate Moss. Personally, I only ever get my varicose veins out on holiday. At home I stick to trousers and the occasional maxi dress. Love the paisley skirt and I’d wear it with black opaques – but might have to wait till it cools down a bit first!
Self tanner on the legs does help with the “uneven skin tone”. (though why do I bother since I virtually never bare my legs…)
Eager to see those Fluevogs!
The skirt is an outstanding choice. It could work with many different shoes choices, including your pinkish Prada’s. I too struggle with the bare leg thing even though I don’t go to an office. I find that just a very light layer of self-tanner in a “light” shade, applied every second or third day gives my legs a more even skin tone.
If you would feel more comfortable in tights, why wait for Kate Middleton to “give you permission”. Personally I find self-tanners not worth the effort, work in an office and so either wear tights or not depending on what I am doing and how I feel about it. For those who don’t like them, don’t wear them, but the moralizing over it and the condemnations, largely by very young girls is really too much.
This looks great — I love that skirt! I suspect the darker shoes would make you even more self-conscious about bare legs, at least until you’re more used to that look. I’ve been surprised that such a fuss has been made about Kate wearing sheer tights — they seem the obvious answer to me for the occasions she wears them to, especially in her climate. Bare legs/feet with a closed-toe pump don’t seem properly matched with a relatively formal dress, at least not to me. Perhaps I’d feel differently if I lived somewhere perpetually as warm as LA. I wore sheer nude-toned hose for my daughter’s wedding and would have felt oddly informal in bare legs. But I’m probably just broadcasting my age . . .
I love this outfit! And personally I think the camel pump is spot on. You have a sort of inverted degradé going on and it’s very sophisticated to say the least.
Like the word ‘camel’ for the pump instead of ‘nude’ as is the fashion here in UK…the Queen’s g/daughter Zara ( the horsey one) got married on Saturday and all the Royals wore ‘nude’ pumps including the Queen!!!!!
Lk Bennett shoes are flying out of the shops.
Like your paisley skirt,I have the same problem with my white legs so wear pants most of the time.Ida
What a beautiful skirt. And I like your shoe choice, it makes the outfit more summery. In the fall, it will look nice with darker shoes.
Although my skin tone is on the olive side, I still suffer from marked up legs because I bruise like a ripe banana. I mostly ignore it, but I do sometimes put a little coverup makeup on them to tone them down, as Bourbon and Pearls mentioned.
Have a great Monday!
Best shoe name evah!
That skirt is dynamite, lady!
I think the camel pumps are a good choice they help the legs to look longer. I have braved the bare leg thing a few time recently and I find “Covermark” is a good way to camouflage any veins or marks. You should be able to order it on line and can choose a colour that closely matches your skin colour. It is also waterproof.
So chic, and you ought not to worry about the bare legs, your legs look fantastic. And I like the lighter shoe.
I like the combination of the skirt and the top. Great to see you in a skirt. I know it´s hot in LA, but personally I like to wear tights of some sort with dresses and skirts going downtown. When I tanned myself ( the natural way ), bare legs were ok, but that was years ago.
Later on in the fall, black tights and shoes will look extra good with your outfit.
Like Mater, I’m probably showing my age, but I wore Donna Karen hose to church yesterday and felt fine in them. Bare legs with sandals today at work, but I just don’t feel right putting bare feet into my closed-toe Ferragamos.
I LOVE your skirt. You should get a lot of wear out of that piece!
Kate Middleton may wear panty hose, but its 99 degrees here in Georgia so forget it! I think your legs look just fine!
My legs are paler than anybody’s but if I have to wear pantyhose again I’ll flip. Ha. You look very classic and stylish. And I agree with the camel shoe choice as well.
Very pretty outfit. I admire your classic style. You look so chic.
Anonymous@528a – thank you! I will try darker shoes next time.
Tabitha – thanks! I’ve recently re-discovered J.Crew. Hope you get to e-shop there soon! I’ll check out the MAC.
coffeeaddict – thank you! “inverted degradé,” love it!
ida – I think this color is a bit different than a true “nude” though, a bit more yellow/brown. I still wear pants most of the time myself.
Style Crone – thanks so much!
Patti – thanks again for hosting Visible Monday; it’s a great idea!
LPC – I really love this skirt, and am thinking up ways to wear it more casually as well. Darker shoes, check.
Adrienne – thank you! Oh yes, I bruise like crazy too. May have to check out the leg makeup.
That’s Not My Age – as much as I love black opaques in winter, think they’d just look too heavy with the rest of the ensemble. (And HOT, oy!) But come winter, with some boots, maybe.
Sal – thanks so much!
Chanterelle – I’ve tried the self-tanners a couple of times, but they always seem to go orange on me. I’ll do something soon with those Fluevogs!
Chicatanyage – thanks, and thanks for the suggestion. I’ll look for that.
Susan Tiner – thank you!
laurieann – thanks, and yes the Pradas were another option. Maybe with a different top…
metscan – I think I’ll definitely wear this with some tights come fall. Thank you!
If Kate Middleton manages to bring hose back into style, I’ll renounce my American citizenship in her honor. I hate having to deal with my 1) white 2) veiny 3) transparent legs. I can’t be trusted to apply self-tanner evenly. And anyway, self-tanner doesn’t cover veins. And applying makeup? As if I have time for that.
Please let this happen! I’d be so happy is a pair of nude Donna Karans were allowed (best non-stocking stockings made, IMO.) I love my 40-, 50- and 60-something friends and I just know we’d all look more pulled together if we were allowed to wear hose.
Anonymous – I missed the part where I was “looking for permission” to wear tights. My comment about Kate Middleton was meant more as a wry observation, nothing more.
materfamilias – thank you! I’d stopped wearing sheer tights a few years back when I stopped wearing skirts, but it was really more of a comfort thing. I may give them another try.
Laura – thanks, and I probably wouldn’t wear them in that heat either!!
SheWhoAccessorizesWell – thank you so much!
Anne – thank you! I love this print too.
WendyB – isn’t is though? 🙂
Tiffany – thanks! that’s your *winter* weather? How hot does it get there in the summer???
SewingLibrarian – I’ve frequently read recommendations for Donna Karan hosiery. Will have to check those out. I’m not loving bare feet in closed shoes either, just use lots of baby powder!
making50fabulous – thank you! I think that’s the thing about pantyhose: for so many years I *had* to wear them. Maybe I’m still just rebelling?
Poppy Buxom – I say wear them if you want to! Who says we can’t? Hey, at this point we’d be rebelling against the status quo!
I really miss wearing skirts & dresses. Yes, it’s 100+ here in Texas – outside, but it’s freezing in the office. Even if I liked wearing pumps without tights, stockings, hose – I would freeze with bare legs. I’ve just resorted to trousers, since bear legs are required with skirts & dresses these days.
Great skirt! Love the pattern. The “to bare or not to bare” leg issue is so personal. Personally, I can’t STAND to wear nude hose ….. but that may be because they don’t suit my more casual style. I think they look fine on others, especially those with a more refined, ladylike style. Suit yourself and your needs, and I’m sure you’ll be (stylishly) comfortable!
Great skirt! I find the whole bare legs quandary a bit mysterious – I can’t imagine worrying about offending people with my nasty white legs. I guess here it’s so hot most of the time (22C today, just past mid-winter) that tights don’t feel like an option.
It’s understandable why you would wear this skirt repeatedly. Like you, this is the first year I’ve gone bare legged and have used up nearly an entire tube of Natural Glow to get over the self-consciousness of it. I am unbothered by nude stocking though, so yeah for Kate.
Great skirt! I saw this in the J Crew store window and there is a lot of orange. I’d love to see how it looks with the orange fluevogs, which sound so fun (and fluevogs are comfortable). The balance with a darker shoe is a little easier than with nude. To balance the nude shoe against the black top, try a light scarf that coordinates with the shoes and the rest of the outfit (more difficult since the skirt is a print).
I rarely wear panty hose. Either bare legs in this hear or black tights for winter. I say just roll with what you feel like doing that day. Who cares what others think?
I try real hard to practice that one!
I love your skirt and your shopping trip sounded like a lot of fun.
Nice to meet you.
Terry – I know, that indoor-outdoor temperature differential is a style killer! In the office, I’m always in a sweater.
Terri – I’ve had terrible luck with self-tanners. Even the ones for “fair” skin make me look yellow/orange. I’m not bothered at all by the look of nude stockings, just find them generally uncomfortable (especially on hot days).
Anonymous@9:11a – thanks! I will wear the ‘Vogs next time. Because they have a higher vamp they’re not as flattering with a skirt, but I’m willing to make that trade off. The top in this outfit is actually navy, which picks up the blue in the skirt.
Tammy – I haven’t worn them in years either. It’s nice to meet you too!
I totally agree with your aversion to bare legs. Mine are marked with spider veins so I am very self conscious. Plus as another blogger stated there is the chub and rub issue.
I bought fishnet hose at the Nordstrom’s sale. I had ordered Spanx brand from Herroom but they’ve been back ordered for a month or more.
The fishnets are quite nice and solve the problem of bare legs, are very cool and breezy to wear and are very comfortable.
Kathy – Lucky you!!! I’ve been trying to find some nude fishnets for months now with no luck. They always seem to be sold out!
Love the skirt, would love it with a coral cardigan rather than the harsher black top (then the nude pumps would really rock and they do make your legs look SOOO long!)
Nice posing too!
Imogen – thanks! Actually the top and sweater are dark navy, as there’s a lot of blue in the skirt. I’ve been on the lookout for a coral top, too.