When my friend Ana (@memories_by_ana on Instagram) was helping me with this post, she called this my Lady Boss outfit, and I thought it was a fitting title for today’s post. I love the idea of soft, feminine silhouettes with more traditionally masculine materials. The two pieces I’m presenting today highlight that juxtaposition quite well.
THE FEMININE SHIRT
I love so many things about this shirt. The fit is just right — not too loose, not too fitted — and it hits right below the hip bone, so it’s long enough for tucking into even a mid-rise pant, but not so long that it makes it feel bulky underneath a thin bottom. The pleated shoulder seams and 3/4 balloon sleeves keeps it ultra-feminine while the classic collar makes it feel a little menswear. I think it looks best when fully-buttoned and tucked.
At first glance, this top doesn’t feel like it’s for everyone, but it is. Here, I’ve paired it with a silk leopard maxi skirt I got at a DVF outlet in August, a statement necklace I dug out of my jewelry box from like 2008 when statement necklaces were EVERYTHING, and black patent pumps that are older than my kindergartener. How do you make it versatile? Wear it with cropped wide-legged black jeans and black ankle boots with a chunky heel. Or with a high-waisted indigo skinny jean and short cowboy boots. Or to work with black dress pant — cropped, wide legged, cigarette, really any would work — and a blazer (preferably something with a textural contrast, like herringbone, plaid, houndstooth, etc.). Or with anything else with which you’d wear a button-down shirt. I totally love it with the faux leather skirt that I’ll be sharing below. Don’t let the atypical fabric intimidate you.
This shirt is a very reasonable $49 at Zara, available here. Want to replicate the rest of the outfit? Any midi or maxi skirt in your closet will work, but if you’re really feeling the leopard, here’s a great one at a great price. Target has a bunch of really interesting statement necklaces at stupidly good prices, but this is my favorite because its chains and pearls similarly straddle the masculine/feminine line.
THE A-LINE MIDI SKIRT
This skirt, available at Anthropologie, just makes me happy. The yoke gives the skirt a bit more flare than a traditional A-line, and the faux leather keeps it feminine but not fussy. I wasn’t sure if I should keep it because I leaned hard into faux leather this fall and it seemed a little crazy to buy another piece, but then I texted a photo to a friend, and she was like, of course you’re keeping it, Dumb Dumb. I love the simplicity of pairing with a simple black sweater, which I’m sure you have in your wardrobe already. I was rushing out of the house because kids and couldn’t find a clean sweater (also because kids), so I wore it with this black Hanes sweatshirt and this pair of simple knee-high suede cowboy boots that I’m also wearing in these photos, and got compliments from strangers at a daytime ballet performance.
Pair it with a clean camel leather knee-high boots and it’s giving all kinds of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy vibes. Wearing it to work? A crisp white shirt would be a timeless but oh-so-current pairing.
And, the best part is the price: $110 (but I suspect you’ll be able to score it at a lower price during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale madness).
