Simply Vera Paintbrush Skirt and Anthropologie Sound Mooring Skirt

One of my New Year's Fashion Resolutions was to wear skirts more often, and I have to give myself credit for really following through on this one. I think part of it is that I haven't bought a dress (and kept--I've been doing an awful lot of returning lately, including this Target dress and this Modcloth dress) in ages, so that giant section of my closet seems old and tired. My skirt section, however, is full of barely worn yet adorable pieces that are begging to be mixed and matched with equally underworn tops. I've been having fun trying out this new skirt thing, and I bought two new skirts this week that I think will make excellent additions to both my work and play wardrobes.

First, from Kohl's, the Simpy Vera Vera Wang Pleated Paintbrush Skirt, $33.99. I saw it in March Vogue (with HBIC Michelle Obama on the cover) and immediately knew I needed to have it. I don't know if I've ever bought anything featured in Vogue before, but These Economic Times have forced Anna Wintour to feature some poor people clothes, at least for a few pages. Don't worry, she called a $335 turquoise clutch a "steal!" and a "wear-anywhere" piece. Oh, A-Dubs. Vogue just wouldn't be the same if you ever got in touch with reality. Although, I'd very much appreciate it if you stopped letting Plum Skyes write about herself and her fabulous hair/clothes/house/life every month. OMG, Plum Skyes is now able to blowdry her own hair thanks to her fabulous new haircut! What a superwoman! Alert the Profiles in Courage committee! All of us who blowdry our hair every freaking morning will now give Plum Skyes a standing ovation-- or perhaps a tear-inducing slow clap!

Sorry for the diversion. Nothing brings out my sarcastic side like Vogue. I should be thanking A-Dubs for convincing me to visit my local Kohl's, since only the X-Large size is available in line. In store, there were plenty of sizes and I think every single Simply Vera piece was on sale, so I'd advise you to go check it out in person. This skirt is pretty loose, and the back waistband is elasticized, so I'd recommend going a size down. I can't wait to jazz up my boring blue button-down shirt on Monday morning! And I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on what Vera Wang is designing for Kohl's.

The other skirt I bought is from a more usual suspect: Anthropologie. The Sound Mooring Skirt, $49.95 online but $39.95 in stores (although that might have been a mistake just in my local store, since it rang up the higher price and I had to point out the lower price handwritten on the tag), is pure nautical adorableness. I love the crisp blue and white vertical stripes, and the solid blue ribbon belt, although I think it looks cleaner to tie it in a bow in the back. When I tried it on in the store, I paired it with this Plaited Boatneck shirt, $29.95, since I was shopping in a dress and it isn't helpful to see what a skirt looks like when worn topless (unless you work in a topless bar, I guess). They worked smashingly together: the blue of the ribbon and the shirt were right on, and the loose top created a great hourglass shape with the tight waistband and bigger skirt. I probably should have bought the shirt, but $30 is too much for a navy blue tee, even if it does have cute fluttery sleeves and a nice subtle braid on the neckline. So when I went home, and tried it on with a form fitting tank, I was less pleased with the look. The inverted pleats in the front and back tend to open up in weird, unflattering, origami-like ways. You can see it in the model photo, too, so I know it's not just my child-bearing hips that are causing the problem. So I'm planning to bring it back to New York, see what tops I have there that could work, and return it if I can't fix the proportional problem that is making my bottom half look distinctly egg-shaped.

Would it be confusing to tack on some Target news to this post? It makes sense to me because I went to both Kohl's and Target today, so I'm sure you all can follow along. I went to the Target at Pavillion's today, to return the Converse One Star dress that I wasn't in love with, and do some more searching for McQ collection. On luck on that front, but they did have the Felix Rey handbag collection out, which isn't supposed to be out until March 29th (there's a big two-page ad on the very first page of April Lucky Magazine, with annoying Vanessa from Gossip Girl on the cover). I thought it looked great, although it's extremely beachy. Lots of coral prints, and gold shells, and a tote with a huge sequin fish on it. The two clutches were a little more subtle, and very affordable at $19.99. I might have gotten the blue one if I hadn't already decided to get some shoes, but the material felt a bit cheap (which it is, of course), so I passed. They aren't on Target.com yet, but you can see more images here.

The shoes, I had to get, because I've been to three different Targets this week and in each I've gone to the shoe section specifically to visit and try on the Merona Mavis Pump in Metallic Tan, $24.99. The photo doesn't do justice to the best part of these shoes-- the gold thread interwoven into the tweed! Gold tweed is the best, because it takes something really stuffy and old-fashioned and slams it into something ghetto fabulous and always new. The faux-leather trim and demure bow keeps it classy, and the 3 inch heel is no problem to walk in. I would also like to give a shout out to the fellow Target shopper who used her lighter to cut the elastic Target likes to use to tie their shoes together, making them impossible to properly walk in. I wouldn't have bought them if I didn't get the chance to do a test walk, so I guess Target should be thanking her, too.