Thrifting Queen

K/R Two Colourful Pencil Skirts

July 17, 2012

Well I can blame this purchase on Sveta and Jem - all their talk of Calvin Klein dresses and Fossil handbags at Winner's got me so excited I just had to nip there right after supper (lol)!

No Fossil handbags in the one in my area and the Calvin Klein dresses were already sold out in my size, but I did find white jeans from White House Black Market, lots of Vince Camuto items, all sorts of other fabulous brands and lots of Tahari. Looks like maybe we'll be getting some better quality brands. And of course with Winner's, each one is slightly different so another store in another part of the city may have items that the one in my end doesn't have.

This resulted in me purchasing two knit pencil skirts for fall - one in a gorgeous burnt orange colour and the other in a rich cobalt blue colour. The orange one is by Grace Elements (never heard of it) and the blue one is Tahari, trimmed in black leather.

These aren't particularly exciting pieces but they are good basics for my work wardrobe and at least have some colour to them. These are items that I can wear to death.

So what do my YLFers think? Keep or return? BTW excuse the off-centered zipper at the back of the orange skirt - I obviously put it on in too much of a hurry.

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Posted in the Shopping category
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37 Comments

  • cheryle (Dianthus) replied 11 years ago

    Love the colors and the fit looks very nice too. I like the detail on the tahari too.

    I don't find them unexciting at all and think they are both excellent purchases.

  • RunnerChick replied 11 years ago

    Such lovely colors in such a versatile form - don't you love when that happens?! Both the coral and the cobalt look terrific, and I think you're going to have fun styling them in a lot of different ways. My style usually involves wearing bright color tops with neutral/ muted skirts, but I have been thinking of switching it up and around; your picture are an inspiration. Have you thought of other tops that you might wear with the skirts?

  • Kari replied 11 years ago

    Shannon, I personally prefer the fit of the orange skirt (once the zipper is straightened out! I do that too if I'm not paying attention.) I love that cute little notch at the front.

  • annagybe replied 11 years ago

    I really like the orange one. Want to warn you dry cleaning for leather trimmed items is very expensive.

  • RunnerChick replied 11 years ago

    p.s. Newbie alert: What is "K/R"?

  • annagybe replied 11 years ago

    K/R = Keep or return

  • replied 11 years ago

    I love them, I have the Halogen in the same exact two colors. They were orphans in winter and spring but are being heavily used now.
    ETA: I see the skirt is Orange mine is red. I still vote keep!

  • Transcona Shannon replied 11 years ago

    Ooooh thanks Anna - didn't think about the dry cleaning costs with the leather trim. Will have to think about that.

  • Melissa replied 11 years ago

    ooooh keep!! I love the colorful pencil skirts that I have been seeing on ylf-ers! I love this concept! Your skirts look to fit you very well...love love them on you! Definitely fun...can't wait to see the completed outfits. Bet you can wear lots of fab pencil skirts in beautiful colors. I think you can get multi-season use out of these depending on the material....

  • D'Ellen replied 11 years ago

    Love, love, love the orange one! I'm not as keen on the blue. All in all I think the color, shape and length of the orange are more current...but my personal preferences are weighing in here, so I'm hesitant to say K or R on either one. They may both work in your closet. :-)

  • Transcona Shannon replied 11 years ago

    Thanks for the feedback ladies! Kari and blonde - when I look at the pics again, I do see that the orange is a more flattering shape. It elongates me a little better. There's something wide about the blue one right at the hips.

  • Joy replied 11 years ago

    I like the fit of the orange one best . It seems to taper in just a little at the bottom .

  • Meredith1953 replied 11 years ago

    I love the blue one for color but the orange one also lovely and does flatter your silhouette more nicely!

  • Jonesy replied 11 years ago

    Orange for the win, as long as you can think of legwear to pair it with (in terms of tights--I find orange tricky in that regard). The blue is nice too, but I agree about the leather trim complicating matters, and the fit is not quite as fab as with the orange.

  • Transcona Shannon replied 11 years ago

    Hmmmm...tights with orange....what about just nude micro fishnets until it gets too cold? I guess black would be too Halloween-y.

  • Jem replied 11 years ago

    It does seem like they are getting some nicer things in. (although we do have a store across town that has a huge section of designer brands--I'm glad that one isn't close!) Anyway, I saw that blue skirt, it was too short for me, but I really liked the fabric on it. I didn't notice that the trim was leather. If it was me, I'd just handwash it. I agree that the orange one fits a little better. It looks like the blue one could be tapered a bit at the bottom. I didn't notice how much it was. Winner's usually gets in a lot of good pencil skirts, though and I'm guess they will start getting more and more fall items soon. I'll bet you will get a ton of wear out of them if you keep them. (you have to keep the orange one for sure!!)

  • Transcona Shannon replied 11 years ago

    Whoops - I just realized trying the orange one on again that it isn't lined. Are we talking the potential for skirt-sticking-to-tights syndrome here???

  • Jem replied 11 years ago

    I wear half slips with my skirts that aren't lined. No problems that way. Heck, they probably have those at Winner's, too. ;-)

  • sarah replied 11 years ago

    I'm with everyone else! The orange is a "winner". From the side view, the blue doesn't seem as "pencil-ish" as the orange one. It's a nice color, though.

  • Sveta replied 11 years ago

    I hereby take the blame...because those skirts are AMAZING!!!!
    If they were in my Winners they would go home with me for sure.
    Can you imagine this orange skirt with your cobalt KS shoes and white denim jacket?

  • HelenInCanada replied 11 years ago

    A huge YAY for Winners - one of my fave stores, absolutely. Been scoring big there this season, after a somewhat dismal winter. Both skirts are keepers!!!

  • Jenava replied 11 years ago

    Oh, you have to keep the orange one! I have an orange skirt that I've mixed with all sorts of fun things, from blush pink and mushroom to yellow! Sooo much fun to pair it with unexpected combinations...

    The blue skirt is lovely, but I'd be wary of Anna's point about the cleaning....

  • K. Period. replied 11 years ago

    I love love love the color of both of those. I think you'll find either color can be extremely versatile. I think the fit on the orange one is fabulous. The fit on the blue one (much as I usually love Tahari and I really do love Tahari) is just a smidge off. I think it is because it bells out on the bottom on the side view, rather than cutting in and cupping your cute rear. The extra volume in it looks like...well...extra volume. Then again, I probably like my pencil skirts a little tighter and slightly more bombshell looking (ala Laura Petrie) than most. I'm such an apple that I revel in the illusion of curves.

  • jayne replied 11 years ago

    keep both...love the colors and fit...cannot wait to see you make them SHannon!

  • Deborah replied 11 years ago

    I think these are very exciting! I would love to add a couple of skits in a block color to my closet:). The fit of both looks perfect and I think they will be super versatile. Great finds:)

  • Lyn D. replied 11 years ago

    Love them both, especially the orange!

  • lyn* replied 11 years ago

    I love them both on you, Shannon; I think the orange one looks better, but the blue one is not far behind!

    As for the not-lined problem; I also use a slip!

  • Mona replied 11 years ago

    These skirts are amazing. I want to go to winners too. I absolutely love the orange skirt. but like others said, what coloured tights would you pair it with? The blue one is good too but not as good as orange one.

  • lyn67 replied 11 years ago

    KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!:-)
    (sorry for shouting that loud:-))
    Lovely colour and shape, esp.love they are kind of midi.

  • modgrl replied 11 years ago

    Keep BOTH!!! How often do you really dry clean your skirts? They don't get that dirty at work!

  • ManidipaM replied 11 years ago

    Lovely! I too have a slight preference for the orange in terms of figure flattery (no, it's not the hips, Shannon; like K Can Shop says, it's the centre back that kind of bells outward, though the side seams seem to curve in at the hem) as well as easier upkeep (dry-cleaning might have been a deal-breaker for me).

  • Freckles replied 11 years ago

    I adore the orange on you. The lines of the skirt are stunning.

    The drycleaning would be a deal breaker on the cobalt one. I mean it's already $38 to clean a skirt, add leather trim and you might as well buy a new skirt instead of clean it...

  • Transcona Shannon replied 11 years ago

    I've read the label for the Tahari skirt and it turns out the leather trim at the top of the waistband is faux leather - therefore I think the dry cleaning would be less costly.

    Sounds like I should keep both? although definitely a preference for the orange.

    Sveta - LOVE your idea of pairing the orange skirt with the blue KS pumps and white denim jacket - what would I wear for a top under the jacket? Just a white tank?

    Thanks for all the feedback ladies!

  • Jem replied 11 years ago

    I love Sveta's idea , too! How about a polkadot top under. Superstore had a bunch of Joe Fresh polka dot T's in last time I was there. :-) A plain t would look good, too.

  • rae replied 11 years ago

    Well, as someone who has not been able to find bright skirts, I think these are VERY exciting! Keep keep keep!

  • Aida replied 11 years ago

    I'm a big fan of bright pencil skirts! I love the orange one on you, the shaping is just perfect. The blue one was great... until the side view. I like the way the orange tapers, it looks more flattering to me. But I also prefer my pencils a bit tighter so take that for what you will :) Regarding lining, I would say a slip should work fine. Regarding tights, I think if you like and wear black that should work just fine. If you're concerned about Halloween-ness just be sure that you're not wearing ONLY orange and black; I think that overly matchy matchy with just those two colors is what does it. (I am wearing a primarily orange and black outfit today, but there's a healthy dose of white and blue in there. I don't think it looks Halloweeny at all.)

  • Transcona Shannon replied 11 years ago

    I've tried the blue on again (you can see it in my Leather Jacket #2 thread) and decided I really don't like the fit. I feel very wide in it. It's going back and I'm keeping the orange one.

    Thanks all.

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I started playing dress up when I was 4 years old and haven't stopped since! My income doesn't match my tastes so it's all about figuring out how to thrift my way to a fashionable life while tossing in a few delectable items.