Skirts n Shirts

It has been quite a hectic week, one way or another, which is my way of excusing myself for not posting since last Sunday. I had a very long, very dry edit to finish which I had intended to do while I was on Islay, but somehow forgot that it was meant to be a holiday and that consequently I really wouldn't want to go near it. So last week was spent indoors (I'm not sure I've been outside since we got back) editing like crazy and fighting the author's semi-colon addiction.

Happily, no matter what I'm working on, I'm always thinking about something else, and in this case that something else was the important issue of skirts with shirts. I'm not talking about any prissy, straight-edged, corporate pencil skirt and cheapo shirt combination here, but lovely floaty 70s a-lines paired with lovely crispy open-collared tailoring – a perfect balance.

Marc Jacobs AW10 – Margaret Howell AW10


Threadbearer (my new favourite style blog) – LiebeMarlene (my general favourite style blog)

I love what shirts do to necks and what high waist a-lines do to waists and calves. I love contrasting floaty with sharp. I love wearing a good balanced outfit. This pairing cuts such an unusual vintage figure and is perfect for the last of the summer days when it's too cold for short sleeves and too hot for tights. As someone who is always cold, I try this a lot in the summer as I think it suits my figure – see here and here. I think though, especially looking at Margaret Howell's AW lookbook, that it's a shape that can adapt amazingly well to any weather and any season.