Today we tackle the 6th of my 10 casual outfit formulas for moms and gals on the go (refresh your memories with formulas #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5). This one is all about the skirt, so I turned to uber-stylish and sassy Virginia forum member Danja, who is a full-time software engineer, wife, and mom to a gorgeous daughter. Danja wears skirts 60% of the time in casual settings and 70% of the time in professional settings. As YLF’s skirt queen and mom on the go who errs on the smarter side of casual, this is how Danja rocks formula #6.

I work in an environment where I am expected to look polished, so getting dressed for work is a lot of fun. However, dressing down for the weekends has been a big challenge for me. As the mom of a 4 year-old girl, I spent the last four years in a uniform of jeans, knit shirts, ballet flats and jackets. And although the outfits avoided being outright frumpy, I was not enjoying my weekend style.

That all changed when I started reading You Look Fab. Angie’s expert advice opened up my eyes and helped me see so many opportunities for fun weekend outfits in my closet. The biggest obstacle to my weekend style was allowing my work clothes to play with weekend pieces. Once I cleared that up in my mind, it was much easier to have fun with my wardrobe on the weekends. The formula that works best with my personal style is formula #6:

Denim skirt + knit top + leather or pleather jacket + slouch boots

Danja 1Danja 2Danja 3Danja 4

I love wearing skirts. They make me feel very feminine and elegant. So when I bought a denim skirt earlier this year, my weekend style quotient immediately improved. I like to wear my denim skirt with turtlenecks, button down shirts and cardigans, or fitted t-shirts. Adding a scarf around my neck adds “a little dressed up feeling”. I almost always tuck tops into skirts, so that also makes the look dressy – which is what I like. Now that the weather is cooler, I can also get away with wearing shorter skirts by pairing them with opaque tights and low-heel boots. If I wear a shorter skirt, I keep the top layer longer by wearing a trench coat.

My job is fairly sedentary, so I wear high heels during the work week. But I am anything but sedentary on the weekends, so my footwear changes to low heels. Ballet flats are my favorite, but during winter months I like to wear booties and riding boots. Both play very nicely with skirts. I don’t own a leather jacket, so I usually wear a trench coat, a military jacket or a boyfriend blazer with my weekend skirts. I have an old leather trench that my mom wore before I was born, and every once in a while I will wear it purely for sentimental reasons.

I love scarves and shawls, so they are my preferred accessories. They also add color and extra warmth, so that’s all the more reason to wear them. I’ll wear necklaces occasionally, but I like to keep them simple (a single strand wrapped around twice so it’s not too long). As far as bags go, cross-body bags are my favorite because they keep my hands free. I don’t own neutral color bags because I like my bags to add extra color to the outfit. Sometimes, I borrow my husband’s giant messenger bag since it has plenty of room for snacks, wipes, drinks, Scooby-Doo, flower headbands and any other “essentials” my daughter likes me to carry.

I’ve taped a printout of Angie’s 10 formulas onto my closet door and they have been invaluable.