May 10, 2023
It’s easy to look at a garment and think that you know how to wear it – we are, after all, adults. Mostly.
But it’s easy to lose sight of possibilities; one of you is quite smitten with this skirt, but wasn’t sure that there were enough options to make it worth including in her wardrobe.
Let’s think…
This is the skirt – it’s easy to see the appeal, if you’re among the “black & white” crowd!
Let’s start with the obvious – a white sweater, black & white jewelry, and a very modern pair of two-tone flats:
Pearl & onyx earrings – CC & C by Catherine Canino; pearl pendant – CC & C by Catherine Canino; white cotton/cashmere sweater – L.L.Bean; skirt – J.Crew; rope tote – J.Crew; two-tone flats – Journee Collection
Similarly, a black sweater, bag and flats are easy choices. Adding pearls and shiny earrings help balance out the lightness and print of the skirt:
Interlocking gold hoop earrings – Anisa Sojka; pearl necklace – Anisa Sojka; black merino sweater – J.Crew; skirt – J.Crew; bag – Allsaints; ballet flats – Cole Haan
Any white blouse could be worn with this skirt, but I like the idea of something that echoes the fluidity of the skirt, and that feels sort of summery…
Earrings- Sterling Forever; bracelet – Sterling Forever; cotton voile blouse – Alex Mill; skirt – J.Crew; bag – Longchamp; espadrilles – Lucky Brand
Those of us who are committed (ahem…) to the world of black & white prints might choose a striped top to wear with this skirt; I think that this works well if you keep the scale of the stripes larger than the checks in the skirt…
Earrings – Adina Eden; necklace – Talbots; striped top – L’Agence; skirt – J.Crew; snakeskin bag – Thacker; sandals – Franco Sarto
These were all relatively obvious – what about pulling out your green polo, and your perfectly matched green bag? Simple black accessories finish this off in a low-key way that doesn’t overwhelm…
Earrings – Lagos; bracelet – Lagos; polo shirt – Lands’ End; skirt – J.Crew; bag – Furla; espadrilles – LifeStride
Maybe pink has been your accent color for a long time, to the point that you even have beautiful tourmaline jewelry! The skirt, along with simple flats, is a great background for bright pink:
Pink tourmaline earrings – Latelita; pink tourmaline pendant – Latelita; vivid begonia cashmere tee – J.Crew; skirt – J.Crew; hard bottom net bag – Cooperative Studio; ballet flats – Steve Madden
Just because it’s a skirt doesn’t meant it has to be dressy! Sneakers, a small backpack, and gummy bear earrings are all fun without being over the top:
Gummy bear earrings – Ninemoo; headband – Simitri; red tee shirt – Lands’ End; skirt – J.Crew; kids’ backpack – Light+Nine; sneakers – Reebok
Any bright color will go well with black and white – I couldn’t resist blue!
Pendant – Sorrelli; earrings – Kendra Scott; Capri blue tee – L.L.Bean; skirt – J.Crew; bag – J.Crew; espadrilles – LifeStride
It is important to be certain that you’re really getting mileage from your clothes – we need to avoid being wasteful, right?
love,
Janice
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I love all of the colour options with that skirt except, funnily enough, the white tops. The jewel tones are great with it – I can’t pick a favourite – and now I’m wondering if mid-tone (eg, last week’s wisteria or turquoise) would work. Also, how about pastels? That might be a bridge too far.
Also, the strong striped top looks super; it basically causes the eye to interpret the checks as a pseudo-solid. Neat!
I would definitely wear the stripes with the skirt. There’s something about a Breton top that works in a surprising variety of ways.
My least favorites are also the white tops – but that may be my personal preference against wearing white tops. As you have shown, I think the skirt could be immensely versatile, and the print almost a neutral as Wendy mentioned above a pseudo-solid.
Agree with Wendy on all with the exception of the white. For myself green should fall into more emerald ( but I loathe green so my opinion there is irrelevant;) I own ankle pants in B/w gingham, not bias cut and my favourite colours to wear are the rich blue, bright pink, black, true egg yolk yellow and a teal/turquoise. Some pastels work, like a pale lavender cashmere sweater I have but I am careful to anchor that with black flats. Your B/w top looks amazing!
Oh yes I do wear a bright true orange with the pants, it looks great! Honestly don’t believe there is a colour that wouldn’t work. Whatever you’d pair with plain white or black should work.
The bottoms were at great purchase..at Costco of all places. Really well constructed too.
I don’t like most patterned bottoms on me, but I too have black and white gingham pants I love. They’re crops from JJiill got at a super sale and I think this will be my fourth year of wearing them for work. They do go with almost everything!
You had me at the gummy bear earrings! All the accents are so appealing and the way this can be chic and dressy or delightfully casual is brilliant.
LOVE LOVE LOVE that red outfit. The gummy bear earrings, the red sneakers with a vintage feel….that is definitely my favourite.
LOVE the stripes w/skirt the best :-)
Great ideas! My favorites are the red and pink vignettes.
All of this but with my black and white gingham crop pants. I litierally have this outfit in hot pink hanging on my closet door waiting for me to get dressed. I just never thought to try them with stripes. And now I want that skirt too!
I will say that when I am wearing a solid color top I prefer to go with a matching colored bracelet rather than pendant. I find the pendant would get lost in the color of the top, so I’ll wear just gold or silver for my neklace.
I like the red outfit. I’ve never worn sneakers with a skirt but I like this idea. Do you wear socks with them?
No-show socks are a great option with sneakers in my experience (or go sockless).
Perfect timing! I have thrifted a black/white gingham cotton pencil skirt and was also thinking about all the colours to wear with it. Susan – I wear invisible socks with sneakers when wearing them with skirts and dresses. Wendy – why not pastels?
Haha! I guess I extrapolated from my dislike of the white tops that pastels would also not work. But I’m so visual – I’d have to see it to know for sure.
I think a pastel lilac/lavender could work. Maybe a seaform green. White is also my least favourite.
This reminds me of a black skirt with white polka dots that I used to wear so much for summer! I would wear with any of my bright solid tops, bonus if I could find any accessories in the same color. So easy, but fun and pulled together. A pair of white canvas keds went with any of the outfits and most casual activities.
I find that linen tends to lower the saturation of colors, so this is probably a less optic black-and-white print than it may appear on screen. I love the bright colors and stripes with it (less so the black or white because that’s just kind of bland to me), but I think many mid-saturated accent colors would also work. Pastels are tricky with black and white to my eye…the “icy” pastels with a lot of white in them often stand up much better against the high contrast than the “soft” pastels with both grey and white in them. I would definitely be looking for clear colors, not muted/soft, regardless of the saturation or light/dark value.
I would also wear this skirt with a graphic T or a print (beyond just stripes)…a bold floral would be wonderful with it, for example. Also consider your layering options and how your colors/prints/silhouettes would work with the skirt. A classic blue denim jacket would be a cute layer over any of Janice’s outfits. I would also love a print scarf for some easy print mixing with any of the outfits. A gorgeous print scarf would take the ho-hum black or white top options into my territory.
These are some great suggestions. Your mention of the jean jacket instantly made me think of a black moto jacket too.
This really is a very flexible skirt!
And a white jean jacket …
I have had skirts like that and have struggled to find ways to wear them. I only like them with other black and white items, which is very limiting. I read somewhere never to buy an “orphan” skirt for this reason. I don’t like it with the bright colors, personally.
I particularly like the black and white striped tee, and the snakeskin bag. And I would also wear this skirt with a small print black & white top, kind of as though it is a dress.
A bit late but did wanted to chip in regarding the white items. I also own a pair of gingham cropped pants that I love and use with white, black and red tops. With the white though, to me the print asks for a more defined silhouette, so no ruffles or relaxed fits work best.
Love the ensambles, the red one is pure magic ❤️
Cheers and blessings!
Also a bit late but agree it’s a very versatile skirt! I sure don’t need anything else in my wardrobe, but gummy bear earrings!!!!
In a whole range of colors! I have 3 holes in my left ear – I could wear 3 different gummy bears!
hugs,
Janice
I have Cabi black and white gingham check pants from last season that I’ve struggled with incorporating into my wardrobe. These ideas are terrific!
Well, I am late to the party with my reply, but have to say that the skirt is pretty even though I would not buy it. I don’t wear print bottoms because some of them can visually widen an area that I would much prefer to look smaller. As for what to wear with it, I am in a minority by suggesting that lighter tones would be nice. Really though if the reader really loves it and can say that she wants to wear it to pieces, then I think it would be a piece she will work to find ways to wear. I just bought a marigold skirt that will be a challenge, but the colour grabbed me & after thinking 3 weeks, I decided that there were just enough tops that it was not going to be an orphan. I wish the reader much joy with her skirt. And, now to a small request for a 14 day capsule based on the Dorrit Black painting Mountain View for warm weather. Janice, could you fit that in with a pair of white jeans, dark wash jeans and a white denim skirt? No shorts, but capris are ok. I’m wondering if I can do a work & weekend capsule using that painting and 3 favorite pieces. Thanks for considering that.
Oh boy, I would love that also! I forgot how much I liked the print, the colour wheel and the winter wardrobe.
Just getting caught up after a trip to Florida. I wore gingham and stripes for the first time there because of a bad sunburn on my very pale upper half. Yes, I wore sunscreen but you need to reapply a lot more on a Florida beach than in Portland, Oregon. I got my sunburned while wearing a top with a deep V neck. My nephew’s graduation was the next day! Luckily I’ve been reading Vivienne Files for years and the clothes on my carry on all looked pretty good together. My skirt is cobolt blue and white, more A line with some pleats and not bias cut. I planned to wear a blue sleeveless top cut straight across, which really emphasized the red V. I switched to a loose fitting navy and white striped top tucked in and wore a cobolt blue open cardigan. Thanks for saving the day for me, Janice!