I wasn't so sure about the concept of taking the bombshell factor out of a pencil skirt when Angie first brought up the idea.

(Am I *ever* totally into a trend at first, though? Noooo. The internal skeptic in me always assumes that a new silhouette will be murder on my curvy frame, transforming my generously-sized shape into a blocky, bulbous mess. Plus, with my love of body-conscious 1960's pencil skirted looks, I have a bit of a *tasteful* bombshell style persona anyway. I figured, why mess around trying to wear pencil skirts differently when they work on my body the way they are?)

But the idea has stayed on on the back burner for a while. I remebered how last year, I was absolutely adamant that unstructured blouses would NEVER work on me, and that I could NOT rock a 1970's-inspired look - until I started playing and eventually found the right blouse to make this look work.

I initially tucked my voluminous blouses into jeans or cinched them close to my body with waistcoats, but flirted with the idea of leaving a blouse, although still body-skimming, untucked over a pencil skirt. However, even with these excellent, soft blouses, the look never felt quite right without adding a belt, tucking the top into the skirt, or adding a waistcoat over the top.

So why do I feel that this outfit works with the Vince Camuto knit pencil skirt and silk blouse? Sure, it's low contrast and that helps (as with the black skirt and the same blouse here), which gives me a longer vertical column, but I also think it's a matter of proportion - the skirt is longer, and my knees are covered. That aspect alone makes me feel like I'm not this huge expanse of torso from shoulders to hips when I'm looking at the photos. The slightly higher hem of the banded blouse helps in this way as well.

So again, to learn more about what looks I prefer, I decided to take the Vince Camuto emerald skirt out for some play.

#1-3: With a blue floral bell-sleeved V-neck top, slightly longer than the first top as it covers the hips. In this case, the color of the blouse is very low-contrast to the shade of the skirt, and again I've got that nice long vertical line. The thin material and close fit of the pencil skirt also mean that under the floaty, semi-sheer blouse, you can see the hint of my shape even though there's no actual waist definition. I wore nude wedge sandals to enhance the illusion of a lower leg line, and I also feel like the heavy silver pendant on the black cord helps to draw the eye into that vertical pattern too.

#4-7: With a white, black polka-dotted Vince Camuto silk banded blouse, black beaded necklace, and nude wedge sandals and yellow Fidji slingbacks. (I wore the outfit in #6-7 to work today.)
I feel like the length of the skirt and the higher length of the blouse work to balance out my proportions. This outfit was largely inspired by an outfit from the style blog Perfection Possibilities, via Pinterest.

Two different concepts with the same skirt, but both feel flattering when I'm wearing them or looking at these photographs. And another step forward in my style journey this year. Are you as shocked as I am that I've come to embrace this look?

(P.S. I'm trying out my new long Second Base camis under both outfits - one nude, and one in black - and they are utterly comfortable. I don't know why, but somehow they are staying put rather than rolling up the way my regular long camis do, and I forget that I have them on. Love that!)