I need your help, Style Nation. I picked up this skirt the other day, but I'm torn over whether or not I should keep it. Now that we're buying the condo, I'm being a lot more picky about my shopping and I want to really get my money's worth out of anything I do buy. This is a good thing. Normally I would just keep the skirt because it's cute, disregarding the fact that I can't imagine a lot of outfits with it. I like it with green, but I don't know how else to style it. As you can see, it's yellow (it's a little brighter in person), and has a black waist band attached. What should I do?
Hmm... I am going to go with Sal's dictum that if you can't imagine it with at least 3 or 4 outfits, it should go back. Plus, you will get a lot more utility out of new things for the condo than a skirt that you're iffy about, right?
ReplyDeleteIt is very cute, though. I see what's appealing about it.
You have the black & white striped Target turtleneck that I have, right? I think it would look really nice with this skirt. I think stripes, more generally, would look nice with it -- and stop it from potentially too froofy. I think it would also be nice with dark pink or purple -- maybe paired with your cardigans and a neutral tank underneath? It would also be great with a white tank & your denim jacket. While its definitely got a "spring" vibe, I think it would also look really awesome with really opaque black tights in the fall/ early winter (I'm coveting a yellow eyelet skirt at Old Navy, so I've been giving yellow skirts a lot of thought recently!).
ReplyDeleteAnne, I think if you're asking then it might need to go back (this is different than the stuff I already had in my wardrobe), at least until you're in the new condo and have made a few comfortable mortgage payments. If you're like I am about money and materiality (my recent pickiness over the Nordstrom Rack dress came out of anxiety about taxes, funding for research trips, and a desire to be able to pay for my husband to visit when I'm on said (longer) research trip) then you might just feel better about laying low for awhile.
ReplyDeleteWhen you put it in terms of iffy skirt v. fun condo things... I'm currently leaning toward returning it, but we'll see what kinds of suggestions I can get :)
ReplyDeleteWow E-Jo, you are just full of ideas! I'll try some of those out and see how I like them.
ReplyDeleteI think I know the ON skirt you're coveting too - I really like it in green, but they never have it in my size!
You definitely make some good points here. I've really been freaking out about money/shopping lately, yet I can't get myself to stop. Mostly, I've been buying things and then returning them, but it'd probably be better to just stop all together. I mean what's more important, a skirt or a mortgage payment? (or trips, tax bills, etc.)
ReplyDeleteIf you don't love it, then I would take it back since it sounds like the money would be well spent on things for the condo.
ReplyDeleteI do love yellow with grey, if you decide to keep it.
I do really like it on you and I think if you can come with 3 different ways to style it, it might be a keeper.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, if YOU don't really love it and don't feel it's worth the $$$ (when $ can be put towards other things you feel are more imporant), then maybe return it.
So pretty much 50/50 here. I'm so helpful.
I think if you don't love it and that concerns you, then you should take it back. It's one thing to not love something and be okay with that, but if you feel like the money would be better spent elsewhere, I'd take it back. Especially if you're having a hard time styling it and/or find it uncomfortably short.
ReplyDeleteCute skirt and v. cute with the green top--it looks very Easter Sunday to me--but you have lots of cute things. This skirt looks like it might have to be dry-cleaned, what with all of the pleats and the pale colour (I would, of course, sit on something chocolate probably every time I wore this skirt, whether it is Easter or not), so maybe that should also be factored in to the cost.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, love to buy things and return them. It makes me feel like I'm making a payment on my credit card. I have never regretted returning anything; it's sort of like shopping but without the getting and spending. E-Jo and A-Dubs refer to me as a shopping bulimic but they don't know. I think I'm on Team Return, but not because it isn't lovely on you.
Hmmm it looks great on you, but I think I would have a hard time styling it as well. Maybe because I never wear yellow? My inclination is to pair it with grey or white - a simple t, with casual sandals and some chunky jewelry. In fact, it might look really nice with the grey and white stipped cardigan that I am wearing today!
ReplyDeleteOMG shopping bulimia - that's exactly what I was thinking about yesterday! Because, naturally, I was returning something. I buy things only to feel guilty about and return them way too often. Why do we do it?
ReplyDeleteAnd you've reminded me of the time that I dumped a cup of hot coffee in my lap while wearing a brand new white skirt. Perhaps I'm just asking for trouble buying something so light that likely needs dry-cleaning.
Right, I never wear yellow either, so I think this was an attempt to get a color that I like into my life. We're planning to paint 2 rooms in the new condo yellow, so clearly it's been on my mind lately.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it'd probably look good with gray and/or white. Hmm...
I'll give yellow and gray a shot, though it's looking like the skirt is going back. Maybe I can replace it with a yellow scarf or belt or something?
ReplyDeleteI think it's a little too cutesy for work, or at least it would be for me -- where do you see yourself wearing it? That's another important question to go along with "what would you wear it with?" It looks lime green to me and I love that color but it's definitely an item that I'd paw covetously and put back. Or buy and return.
ReplyDeleteI had shopping bulimia last week with two GO Collection dresses from Target, and now I'm happy I returned them, because I found two fabulous, natural fiber dresses marked down at one of my favorite places so that they were just a couple of dollars more than the polyester cheapies.
I seem to shop MORE when I'm freaked out about money. How dumb is that?
ReplyDeleteI think if you are contemplating returning it, then you should. I try to live by a 30 day rule.......I try to only buy things at places with a 30 day return policy, and if I don't wear something in a month of buying it I return it. I also never cut off tags until I wear the item. Sure I still have few things that slip through my system, but I never have regretted returning something.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't make sense, but I've definitely done it too.
ReplyDeleteI love it! I think you should totally keep it. I think then length is perfect on you, and it'll get a lot of wear in the spring/summer months. You can even wear it in the fall if paired with tights/leggings. You can pair it with neutral colors like black or even grey. It's really quite gorgeous, and I think it really flatters you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura! Unfortunately it's too late - the skirt in question is already in the mail and on its way back. I like the style, so I'm hoping I can find something that's a touch longer and perhaps in a color I can style more easily.
ReplyDeleteThat's definitely a good rule to stick to. And I agree, I've never regretted a return, yet I've felt guilty about keeping some things.
ReplyDeleteGreat question! I hadn't gone so far as to think of where I'd actually wear it. Shopping bulimia usually works out for me too, but I wish I could just skip the step of buying things that I don't want/need in the first place.
ReplyDeleteIs it a color that incorporates with your wardrobe? The style is lovely, but I've had problems with pleats before. You sit on them and they squash out, depending on the construction.
ReplyDeleteAh, but I see you've already sent it back. No worries; I think we much more often regret what we do buy rather than what we don't.
Oh, Anne, I'm with you: I'm a habitual buyer-and-returner. But faithful at it. I never wind up with stuff I don't actually want that way. But I think (as does my husband) that I only buy half the stop I do because I can waffle about it and return it later. It's not even like I enjoy the ritual of having to return. Although sometimes I look at the purchase as an expense account--if I already have $45 already on my credit card, I can exchange it right?
ReplyDeleteOh I totally do that with the expense account. That's why I had to mail the skirt back yesterday - I didn't trust myself to go into the store and return something without getting something else. And I hate the ritual of returning. I always feel guilty about it.
ReplyDeleteThe other day I was returning something I had ordered online, but couldn't find my invoice. I printed out the receipt from the store's website, but evidently that wasn't acceptable, because the store manager made me feel like I was doing something seriously wrong for returning an unworn item that I didn't want and had just bought a week earlier. I've sworn off that store because it was such a bad experience, and it's really made me evaluate the buying and returning habit.
Good point, I could definitely see those pleats squashing out with excessive sitting. Which I do a lot of for work. I definitely don't regret the decision to return the skirt, no matter how cute it was.
ReplyDeleteI think I could've come up with at least 3 ways to style the skirt, but the money could definitely be better spent elsewhere.
ReplyDelete