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How to Style a Denim Skirt: 30 Wears - Part 1

The light teal sweater + denim skirt outfit I shared in my last post brought that denim skirt up to 30 wears! So it's time for a review of how I've styled this skirt. As always, a thank you to Mica for inspiring me with her 30 Ways to Wear series.

Plus size outfit idea for women over 40
OOTD 3/31/23

This Levi's brand denim skirt has been in my closet for a while...since July 2018. It's a very traditional style of "jean skirt" that hits just above the knee. I purchased it using Kohls Cash so my out of pocket was $0. I typically like to spread out my savings from using rewards across the items I've bought so that I don't have clothes with the strange $0 cost, but I didn't do that with this purchase.

Denim skirt - Levi's/Kohls - 22W - $0 (Kohls Cash) - 7/2018

Total wears: 30

Cost per wear: n/a

Additional wears to reach $1 CPW: n/a

Additional wears to reach $0.65 CPW: n/a


Denim skirts are one of those cyclical trends that keep popping up, and honestly the trend cycle is so fast that I don't even bother paying attention to whether they are deemed "in" or "out" by the media. A neat, simple denim skirt is a classic for me. But the denim skirt is having a fashion moment in 2023, so now's a good time to pull yours out of the closet and see what you can do with this highly versatile item.


I really like wearing this particular skirt in cold weather with tights/leggings and boots as a fall/winter/early spring alternative to jeans for work Fridays. In fact, I was wearing it on St. Patrick's Day 3/17/20, just before our office closed due to the pandemic. I didn't wear the skirt at all during the pandemic, but then this February, I brought it out of the closet again and wore it 6 times over the course of February and March (even though I am still on WFH). That's even longer than the hiatus of the orchid ballet flats I dragged out of my closet earlier this spring. As with the ballet flats, I knew this skirt would have its moment again and I wasn't at all concerned that I was violating the (completely arbitrary!) "if you haven't worn it in a year, get rid of it" advice.


I featured my most recent wear of this skirt above (and in detail in my last post), and I am sharing the other 5 OOTD from February and March of this year below. Let's get to it.


My first outfit is the skirt's February debut after its long pandemic hibernation, and I chose a blue ombré sweater and blue polka dot scarf with brown tights and boots. I wore the DIY bracelet set I made specifically for this sweater and supplemented it with a DIY brown/gold bead bracelet to pull out the subtle brown stripes in the bracelet with swirl bead. I also wore brown leather earrings to help bookend the brown boots.

Plus size outfit idea for women over 40
OOTD 2/9/23

My second outfit features a winter modern twin set of a cowlneck top and quilted vest in peacock blue. I once again used the "draped scarf with end knots" technique on the scarf and added a bold silver necklace that really makes the silver zipper on the quilt pop. The scarf has black outlining around the flowers of the print, so I chose black tights + boots plus a peacock/mint DIY bracelet set that I supplemented with a DIY black bead bracelet.

Plus size outfit idea for women over 40
OOTD 2/17/23

My third outfit is a bit like a crayon box exploded but sometimes in the depths of winter, I just need all the color to get me through and I get experimental. It's funny, the combination of this bright cobalt blue sweater and the rust vest is one that I had vetoed in my Rust Color Combos: Blue & Green post last fall, though I had said that "it's quite possible that a well-chosen third color (or print) could bring [it] into greater harmony." I'm not sure whether the rainbow striped scarf (tied using Method #1 in this post) and colorful bead bracelet stack were entirely successful in doing that, but this outfit was an antidote to the winter blahs.

Plus size outfit idea for women over 40
OOTD 2/24/23

My fourth outfit returns to a more simple color palette and the same draping scarf with knots tie of Outfits 1 & 2. I layered an olive sweater vest over an aloe/sage pullover sweater and repeated the colors in my tights and ankle boots...proof of the "muted green for St Patrick's Day" outfit idea I shared last month. I like the contrast from the ivory scarf, which has soft stripes in colors like green, pink, yellow, and black. I picked up the green and pink from the scarf with the DIY bead bracelet stack (set 2 in this design a bracelet set post). I like how the varying shades of green blend together in this outfit.

Plus size outfit idea for women over 40
OOTD 3/17/23

I liked the "one color plus the denim skirt" effect so well that I did it again in my fifth outfit, this time choosing burgundy as my dominant color. It's a nice variant on the full head-to-toe monochromatic look, which can be a bit much at times, and since denim is the ultimate neutral, it works with any neutral, semi-neutral (colored neutral), or accent color.

Plus size outfit idea for women over 40
OOTD 3/24/23

Picking a single rabbit to coordinate with all of these outfits is tough because live bunnies don't come in denim, so instead I chose a Palomino rabbit in a warm beige color ("golden") that goes with my beige carpet...and with his own beige carpet! The Palomino rabbit considers the leap while a Dutch rabbit looks on. Fortunately, the Palomino's human prevented him from jumping out and injuring himself! While he has his ears spread out like the headpiece of the Flying Nun, I don't think it would have worked out well for him.

Mini Satin rabbit
Palomino rabbit and Dutch rabbit at the 2016 Minnesota State Fair

I noticed that my outfits here all had matching tights and boots in brown, black, olive, or burgundy. Only my grey and navy tights/boots combos are missing...but I am confident they will appear in Part 2 of this post, in which I will be sharing many older OOTD featuring this denim skirt from across the seasons of the year...including bare legs season!


Do you own a denim skirt? What kind of denim skirt do you like...or dislike? Do you ever have items hibernate in your closet for a while then come back into rotation again later? Do you follow the "if I haven't worn it in a year, purge it" advice?


Blogs I link up with are listed here.


14 Comments


carolbenton
Apr 17, 2023

Wow! 30 wears for an initial cost of $0!! That's amazing. I like your stylings. Levi is such an iconic brand for all things denim -- jeans, jackets, skirts. Thank you for sharing this post in the Talent-Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 60.

Carol

www.scribblingboomer.com

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sallyinstpaul
sallyinstpaul
Apr 17, 2023
Replying to

It doesn't get better than $0 for such an iconic and versatile item!

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awayfromblue
Apr 15, 2023

Thank you for the shout out! I like the ways you've shared of wearing this skirt and it was definitely a good buy - even if it did not cost you anything, haha!

I think the "if you haven't worn it in a year" rule is maybe for someone with a smaller wardrobe than me, haha! I never really felt it was a good fit before the pandemic, and now after the pandemic, life has changed so much! I still have office pieces I haven't worn since before switching to mainly working from home, but I'm not feeling too bad about that, as I know they are valuable pieces to keep there if I need them, and it means that…


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sallyinstpaul
sallyinstpaul
Apr 16, 2023
Replying to

You make a good point about how certain pieces don't date, and those are good candidates for holding onto longer even if you're not wearing them during a certain phase of your life like WFH or whatnot. When you have some timeless classics in simple silhouettes, and it keeps you from having to shop in a hurry when your situation changes, that makes life so much easier!

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Cathy Keller
Cathy Keller
Apr 10, 2023

Nicely done! All are very attractive! What cute bunnies! Have a grand week! Cathy

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sallyinstpaul
sallyinstpaul
Apr 11, 2023
Replying to

Thanks so much, Cathy - I hope your week is great!

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bijoubeadboutique
bijoubeadboutique
Apr 08, 2023

All of these outfits are fantastic, Sally! I must say, the blue ombré sweater looks amazing on you. Such a great color. And you know me, I love the “crayon box exploded” outfit. Glad the denim skirt is back in rotation.

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sallyinstpaul
sallyinstpaul
Apr 08, 2023
Replying to

Thanks, Michelle! I always enjoy the blue ombre sweater when I wear it - I think it looks better on that the way I represent it in my head, if that makes sense. I like how that rainbow scarf encourages me to wear different color combinations, which is such a cheerful way to dress.

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Di Cook
Di Cook
Apr 06, 2023

Love all of your outfits styling your free denim skirt-there is no bargain better than that! I especially like the colorful crayon box explosion and the marled blue sweater with polka dot scarf outfits. I think a denim skirt is classic and never goes out of style. I have several in my closet, and definitely don't subscribe to the one year rule. Thanks for sharing!

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sallyinstpaul
sallyinstpaul
Apr 07, 2023
Replying to

Thanks, Di! The shades of blue was a favorite of mine too - I just really like blue, I think, and the various shades/textures made an interesting monochrome outfit. Glad to have you in the "denim skirt is a classic" camp with me!

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