Upholstery Upheaval

When I saw this long silken skirt at Anthropologie a few months ago, when autumn was firmly entrenched, the trees bleeding the familiar colors from outreaching fingers, I was at once attracted to and repulsed by the verisimilitude to an abandoned loveseat from an old abandoned grandmother's basement. Perusing the sale rack with conviction, I saw the skirt, admired the pattern and its resemblance to vintage carpet handbags that frequent the dusty corners of antique shops, then thought, lip upturning incredulously, oh, the pattern looks like a vintage carpet. Ultimately, bizarre lusting and a desire to capriciously purchase some items to feed my consumer nature prevailed, and the skirt now sits in my closet.

I still oscillate between loving and hating this pattern, though, more often than not fall on the tract of contented and approving affection. What has surprised me most, more so than my finding a place for this piece in my full and varied wardrobe, is the variety of items that I already owned which match and complement this skirt perfectly.



My dark teal opaque tights mirror the petal color in the skirt nearly identically, almost too well to be calculated. Because of the long length, which has a definite potential to be awkward and stunting if styling goes awry, I wear heels. I like the pairing with these tall, almost knee-high caramel leather boots, which also match the coloring beautifully; with the proportions, the teal peeps out only barely from a thin slit between textures, at my kneecaps.


A wool cowl neck sweater in a deep plum, which is snugly but comfortably fitted with three-quarter sleeves, has also proven to be a great mate for this seemingly strange skirt. The cut of the sweater has a retro feel, reminding me very much of peppy and Puritanical cheerleaders from the 1960s, innocently flaunting their skin tight sweaters. This is not quite skin tight, however, the more fitted look balances the bulk around the collar well for a more flattering, enhancing top.



Perhaps the trick is simply that this skirt has a complete spectrum of colors, in an autumnal tone.

It had been awhile since I had worn my bakelite and my cow horn bangle; I love pairing my green bakelite with crisp, clean white in the summer, but also wear it frequently with all black. Identifying tops or skirts or dresses that chromatically mimic the recognizable opacity and hue of original bakelite is tough, but behold, I have succeeded.

Wednesday evening procrastination soundtrack: House of Balloons The Weeknd