WIW Pleats and more pleats - YouLookFab Forum

This outfit is somewhat unlike me in that it has two brightly colored pieces in it and not very much black. I got the pleated blue blazer from my mom at the same time as the vest from the other outfit that I posted, and I had a hard time figuring out what to pair it with - the blue really doesn't go with my jeans, and I didn't want to pair it with black jeans because the contrast seemed to harsh. Fortunately, I remembered that I have this bright yellow skirt that I don't wear that often!

The skirt is also sort of hard for me sometimes - it's really long on me, so usually I have to wear it high up on my waist, which causes it to lose some of its shape, and with high heels, which aren't particularly comfortable when I walk around all day.

I'm actually not totally positive this combination works well. I realized when looking at these pictures and the drape of the shirt makes me look a lot shorter, so next time, I might want to go with something that doesn't come down so far. I do love the asymmetric look though, and the way that it sharply points toward my right side. Opinions?

Blue blazer - random store in Taiwan
Shirt - Alexander McQueen via Wasteland
Skirt - Club Monaco
Shoes - Stuart Weitzman

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12 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

I think the photo angle makes a big difference - this looks down on you which makes the skirt look longer and you look shorter in it. I love asymmetry too, so I like the look but I'm having a hard time reconciling the blue and that shade of yellow with the black. I am already feeling that I'm going to love your style, though!

Gigi

I too am wondering what the photo angle is doing as far as distortion.

I love the color of the jacket, and the asymmetric cut of the top. I think that your top half looks great! However, I do think that adding the yellow in is a little bit of sensory overload, at least for me. :^) There have been some threads lately about what happens when you pair bright colors (such as yellow) with black--the already-bright color becomes further intensified when combined with black.

As for the skirt itself, have you thought of getting it altered? I am short and have problems with skirts being too long too. Maybe the reason you don't wear the skirt often is because it's too long? If you get it altered, you might find yourself reaching for it more.

I don't know what else you could wear the blazer-and-top combo with. I'm terrible at combining colors. The only thing I can think of is gray. Do you have any gray bottoms?

Angela K

What about pairing the jacket and top with white or off white jeans. I'm thinking skinnies or cigarette style? Love the blue and black together. IMO the white would really add a nice crispness to the combo.

Jacky

I think the yellow looks brighter in the photos than it does in real life thanks to the lighting. I was considering trying gray pants, but the only ones I currently own are too big and I haven't had a chance to adjust them yet. I generally avoid wearing white bottoms because I'm worried about getting them dirty.

Gigi: I've thought about getting the skirt altered, but I suspect the pleats would make that difficult.

lyn*

(website)

Whoa, I love your style!!!

I like the idea of the white jeans, but grey could work just as lovely. What about light blue denim jeans?

CocoLion

I absolutely love the top, jacket and your hair together! OMG, just perfect. The asymmetrical McQueen top mirrors your hair cut extremely well. What stops me is the feel of the skirt is romantic (soft, flow-y) while the other elements (top, jacket and dramatic hair) are edgy/modern/geometric. So, I might suggest a pair of bottoms or skirt that better reflect the sensibility of you from the hips up in this outfit. Maybe a pair of black skinny jeans, or a slim pencil skirt -- midi length would be cool, or even maxi, retaining the original intent of the outfit. These are probably much more conventional looks than you were going for, as your present look is an interesting mash-up of styles and probably way cooler than what I'm suggesting, so grain of salt.

Anyway I think this is the first time I'm commenting on your WIW and I wanted to say "welcome!" and you have great style!! Hope to see more of you.

Suz

What Denise (CocoLion) said! I love the asymmetry, too. (Well, you already knew that).

MuseumGal

Casual lux; I like it.
I would absolutely pair that cobalt blazer with jeans - all shades of blue, black, white, grey, possibly even burgundy.

No Fear of Fashion

The unusual shape of your hair, the black top and rhe skirt make a very interesting picture. I like it very much with the blue jacket. If you think the skirt is too long, just have it shortened, at the waist, so you keep the a-symmetric hem.
Greetje

Diana

Oh, I love all the asymmetrical diagonals combined with the verticals of the pleats on your skirt and jacket! Super fab and arty!

I wear my cobalt blazer with my grey, black, and some blue jeans. Try a more faded blue or faded black jeans. I also like it with cognac leather accents (boots or belt).

About altering the skirt...I did have a tailor suggest to me a workaround for this kind of situation (where the waist is too big but the rest of the skirt has features that make a regular reduction difficult). On my skirt, there was a horizontal strip of fabric at the top, and he said he could put a dart in on each side of the waist to pull in *just* the waist. There would be no chopping out of material further down the skirt. He said I would always have to cover up the waistline with something, because the extra gathers of material at the sides would not look good enough to show. I decided not to do the alteration, but I wanted to pass this info along in case you think you might want to try it.

I just realized I'd forgotten to say this, but @CocoLion - thank you so much for your comment about the romantic vs edgy/modern/geometric parts of the outfit! That's definitely something I've thought about sometimes but am not particularly good at looking out for, and looking again at these pictures, I think you're definitely right about that contrast and how it's not really well-managed in this outfit. I'll definitely keep thinking about it in the future!

@Gigi: thanks for your tips about tailoring! I need to find a good tailor and ask them about it. You're right that I don't wear it much because it's too long. I'd thought that I would risk losing the pleats if I got it taken in, which is why I'd never tried it before, but maybe something creative can be done if that is an issue.

unfrumped

I like the tops and bottom a lot but maybe not together-- each has a different vibe that may need setting off differently. But what fab items on you.
For example, the filmy skirt could take a structured, crisper top but I think it should be shorter, less overwhelming.
Or if you did wear a filmy or flouncy skirt with the jacket, then IT ( skirt) should be short, which gives it more structure somehow. So then the jacket and top need a slim pant that has a bit more structure.
For colors, I agree it's not just the"color" but the trasparency of the yellow, combined with its lack of structure.

These are rather conventional views on proportions and colors so you could take that with a large dash if salt and maybe play it more artfully than that.

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