8 Black and White Skirt Outfit Ideas for Summer

Jodie and her crew recently styled black and white skirts 3 different ways, and it made me wonder how I have worn black and white skirts in the summer. I found 8 OOTD in my archives to share with you today to keep this summer outfit inspiration with this item going. (And I see no reason that these ideas wouldn't work with black and white pants, shorts, skorts, etc.!)

First, a short introduction to the black and white skirt you'll see in most of my outfits...or a re-introduction, since I talked a bit about this skirt in my "skirts purchased in 2015 that I still wear...or don't" post back in 2024. I am happy to report that 10.5 years after buying this skirt, it's still in my closet! I haven't worn it yet in 2026, but it's still in rotation - I actually already have a new outfit planned with it to wear this summer. We shall see whether the skirt continues to fit well or whether it will join my grey blazer and navy jacket in a fond farewell from my closet. The skirt is a size XLT (extra large tall), which doesn't at all seem like it should still fit me, but with the elastic waist, full A-line cut, and pleats/gathers, it's more forgiving than most styles.

Here are 8 styling ideas...

#1: Bright One-Off Top

This is the idea that I remembered best when reading Jodie's post: how well a black and white skirt (particularly a high contrast optic print like this one) works with a brightly colored top...and how such a pairing is a practical way to get more wear from that one odd-colored, potential closet orphan bright top that doesn't match anything else you own.

I feel that it's particularly easy to end up with orphan summer tops in bright, cheerful colors that appealed to us in part because we didn't already have them in our wardrobes. They offer joy and novelty, often at a seemingly irresistibly low price point from Target/Walmart/thrift store/etc., and it's easy to justify another summer top because they wear out relatively quickly due to their lightweight fabric and the sweat, sun, and frequent washing they endure.

I think the colorful summer top is the kind of impulse purchase that can easily lead to a buy/purge/buy/purge cycle that becomes expensive over time even if each individual top was cheap. Better to figure out how to wear these tops than to purge them, only to buy other versions of them later.

This blue t-shirt is one of those odd-man-out tops in my closet: it's a gorgeous shade of blue (called "splash blue" by CJ Banks in 2020) in a very nice boatneck t-shirt style that fits great and is flattering but doesn't go with my other blue pieces. It's lighter than "bright blue," warmer than "periwinkle blue" or "baby blue," cooler than "azure blue" and "cerulean blue," brighter than "light blue," and so on. But my black and white skirt works with any version of a saturated blue, so it is a happy pairing with this top. This would look great as a color-blocked outfit, but since I like to integrate my outfit colors with bridge pieces, I added a scarf that brought together the colors. Note that the exact blue tones in the scarf, necklace, and shoes differ from the "splash blue" top as well as each other, but worn together, they create an intentional "several shades of saturated blue" look.

#2: Bright Twin Set

If you are fortunate enough to have a top and topper piece in the same/similar colors that can be worn together, they can function together as the layered version of the "bright one-off top" with your black and white skirt. Again, the print scarf is absolutely unnecessary to the effectiveness of this pairing, but I liked the complexity that it added to the look.

#3: Colorful Cardigan

This light purple cardigan was another almost-orphan in my closet for several years. I bought it because it is so very close to one of my all-time favorite colors - a certain saturated lavender that is almost impossible to find - that I didn't even wonder what I'd wear it with, I just had to have the color! My first three wears of the cardigan featured: (1) grey and purple floral top, (2) navy/teal/purple floral top, and (3) oops, out of things that coordinated with the purple, so let's try it with black and white! (This thrifted skirt didn't last long in my closet - only 2 years, 5 wears - because I just didn't like it as much as the "reeds" skirt so it was an unnecessary duplicate; I did at least manage to reach my <$1 CPW goal with it because it was so inexpensive at Goodwill back in the day when that was a thing.)

#4: Dark & Light

This outfit leans into the high value contrast of the skirt by pairing a dark top (a very deep teal) and light cardigan (white) to repeat that contrast level...and of course you could wear the light color as the top and the dark color as the cardigan instead, though I like the unexpectedness of layering light over dark. I introduced some small pops of brighter colors in my accessories: the bright teal is the more vivid cousin to the deep teal, and the orange creates a complementary color scheme with the teal for a dynamic combination. I don't always love a high value contrast outfit on myself, but I was very pleased with this one.

#5: Denim + Vibrant Scarf

By themselves, the textured white top and the dark denim jacket produce another "dark & light" high value contrast outfit with the skirt. But adding a scarf in a vivid summery color brings a lot more energy into the situation. As with the colorful top, twin set, and cardigan options we've explored, this is a primo opportunity to pull from your wardrobe an odd-man-out scarf that you have difficulty styling. If it's a long scarf, you can do this dead-easy "drape around the collar" to showcase the scarf, and you don't even have to know how to tie it! (For more draping ideas, see this post; for easy scarf-tying ideas that won't earn you a Boy Scout merit badge, see this post.) A solid colored scarf like this aqua-blue is pretty foolproof, but a print scarf with black and white in it (and whatever other colors it might have) would be a great choice as well. I wore chambray ballet flats to riff on the denim jacket, but black, white, nude-to-you, and metallics are other good shoe color options that don't require matching to the scarf. You could also create an interesting second pop of color in this look with an accent color that is entirely different from the scarf...or even some low key print mixing with a print shoe such as leopard print.

#6: Print Mix

While we've seen print scarves as an optional accessory in the previous outfits, this styling idea relies on a print top or topper like this floral cardigan to create a bolder print mix with the skirt. This particular print mix looks terrific to my eye because (1) the two prints share both the black and white colors, (2) both prints have an optic quality with clearly demarcated areas of color, and (3) the sizes of the two prints are different. The black top, nude shoes, and pink necklace complete the look but don't compete for attention with the center-stage print mix.

#7: Silky Scarf/Top/Shoes Trio

While I have mentioned a lot of "one-off" options, of course you can build your outfit with a set of items in the same color to pair with the black and white skirt. In this look, I chose maroon as my accent color and picked three items in that color: a t-shirt, ballet flats, and a silky butterfly print scarf. The three point repetition of the maroon color creates a high degree of intentionality, and the print scarf works well because it includes the black and white from the skirt.

#8: Silky Scarf Print Mix, Road Map Styled

In this final outfit, I selected a print scarf that coordinated with the skirt, then filled in the rest of the outfit from the color palette that print mix created. Unlike the print scarves I've shared in the previous outfits, in which the scarf included both the black and white from the skirt, this silk scarf contains black but not white, so the combination may not be as obvious. But you absolutely can make a print mix from two pieces that only share one color, particularly when (1) both prints have a limited color palette (in this case, two for the skirt and three for the scarf) and (2) you have created a visual break between the two prints. I like how the white in the skirt serves as a bright "pop" color in this outfit.

Do you have a black and white skirt, pants, shorts, etc. in your summer closet? What is your favorite way to pair colorful items with black and white? Which of these 8 ideas was your favorite? How should I wear my black and white skirt next?

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