Time Travel in a Plaid Skirt

It all started with this skirt….

And then there was the Fab Collab on plaid that I did with Jodie and the ladies of JTouchofStyle.com.

I got plaid fever, I tell you!

But seriously, the skirt spoke to me from a place I visit often when I’m looking for thrifted inspiration. You may have heard of it. It’s called eBay.

The skirt is an oldie but a goodie from Anthropologie. It’s by Tracy Reese and is known as the Easy Keeper plaid wool skirt. I’ve created a convenient search route for you on eBay, if you’re interested. Here’s a link.

Transported Through Time

One look at that skirt and I was transported through time. Past the bold plaids of the 60s and 70s.

Beyond the cinched skirts of the 50s, 40s, 30s.

All the way to a time when ladies wore 20 pounds of underwear and their posterior shape was defined by a bustle.

Did anybody else watch the show The Paradise before it got the ax from BBC?

Take a look at the swoop on the front of that blue dress! Can you see a similar shape in the “swoop” of my plaid skirt?

Modern Day Victorian

My skirt is quite a bit shorter than those on the examples above. And, of course, it doesn’t have a bustle. But the cut of it — cinched at the waist, swooping, gathered lines — provides visual curve around my hips similar to the feel of those lavish lovelies from way back when.

 

Inspired by the era of bustles and tiers and furs and jewels, I created my own little take on a style thought to be long-gone.

The turtleneck reminds me of the high-necked blouses and jackets from that time period. I bought it at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale earlier this year. Unlike those blouses and jackets, though, the sleeves on my top have a flirty flourish at the wrists. Here’s a link to a similar style in the same brand.

Back in the day, a lady might have worn a velvet choker with a cameo dangling off it. I went with an amber cameo brooch that I bought a million years ago in Gdansk, Poland. I pinned it below the turtleneck to create the illusion of a dangling pendant.

If you like the look of this brooch, do a search on eBay for amber cameo brooches. For your convenience, I created a link to that search. Click here to check it out.

For more bling appeal, I added a stack of sparkly bracelets from Dainty Wrist Jewelry. As mentioned in a previous post, the bracelets I get from Dainty Wrist always take an outfit to the next level.

And finally, the fake fur. It was an Etsy find from a shop called Surf and the City, located right here in the Pacific Northwest.

Both Etsy and eBay have a great selection on vintage and previously owned fake fur shrugs. Here’s a link to a search on eBay.

Up close, it’s clearly not real fur, but it still makes me feel like royalty (without the guilt of fur) when I drape it around my shoulders. (And it has pockets!)

This is a look I will wear as the temperatures start to drop. I get warm easily these days, so the faux fur is a little warm for me right now.

Making It Even More Modern (and Casual)

To bring everything down a notch–and to keep from spontaneously combusting while walking to dinner–I switched out the fur to my denim jacket from Nordstrom.

You’ll be seeing a lot of this jacket in future posts. It’s the perfect layer right now and it just goes with the vibe of such a casual city as Seattle.

I recently wore this outfit with gray knee-high boots to Black Bottle, a dinner pub Hubby and I like to go to. (Try their Blasted Broccoli! It’s addicting!)

Do you see the Victorian influence in this outfit? What other influences do you pick up on? Is this a look you would wear?

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Affiliate link disclaimer: Please note, some of the items linked may be affiliated with companies I am associated with, like eBay and Nordstrom. By clicking the affiliated links and purchasing from those stores, I might receive a small commission. By purchasing from these stores, you support the work I do here and I greatly appreciate your support!