One Skirt, Three Ways: Pumpkin Border-Print Jenny Skirt

2016 is officially the year that I fell headlong down the Halloween-print rabbit hole. Over the past few weeks, I've let my inner Jack Skellington freak flag fly, and it's been awesome. Sparkly pumpkin brooches? Check. Spiderweb-print everything? Yes please! Halloween Harlequin? I'll take the top and the skirt, please. But the petite pumpkin border-print Jenny skirt from Pinup Girl Clothing? This, my friends, is the One Novelty Print Skirt to Rule Them All.

Sadly, it's already sold out, though the Allison dress in this print is still available in most sizes, but I'm taking this to mean that most of the pinup-style world picked this little beauty up, so I figured it was the perfect candidate for the One Skirt, Three Ways treatment.

Outfit #1

 

For its first outing, I decided to pair this skirt with another staple of my Instagram feed this Halloween: this gloriously punny Target top. (Sidebar: I made a special trip to Target just to pick this up, which of course meant that I left with three new shirts, a pair of tights, and a new cardigan. Such is the peril of setting foot inside Target.)

Since fall has finally decided to put in a brief appearance in Chicago, I layered one of my ancient long-sleeved tees under the sleeveless top. It was incredibly windy when I wore this outfit, so I wore my Jennifer petticoat from Malco Modes for an extra bit of insulation, corralled my hair into my go-to quiff-and-bun combination, and shot approximately twice as many skirt-up-over-my-head outtakes as usual. I finished the look off with my favorite red no-name flats and my new spiderweb earrings from Atomic Lucite, just in case anyone doubted my commitment to Halloween.

Outfit #2

It is a truth universally acknowledged (on this blog, at least) that stripes go with absolutely everything. I decided to test this theory with one of my impulse buys from my Halloween Target run. Verdict: even the most intricate novelty print works if you pick the right stripe. I think this skirt works better with an uneven stripe, like the one I'm wearing, rather than one with stripes of equal width. The effect of black stripes on a white background just strikes me as a better match for this border print.

When your hair falls below the waistband of your skirt, you 1) need to be careful not to get it caught in the zipper, and 2) desperately need a haircut.

I went for broke on the sparkly-accessory front, with orange Atomic Lucite earrings, an incredible pumpkin brooch from Nuclear Novelties, and an armful of bangles. To balance that out, I chose a somewhat more muted lipstick than usual, and black flats. This look is a fun way to style such a bold print for work, if, like me, you're lucky enough to work in a less-traditional office.

Outfit #3

For my final look, I went with an unorthodox choice: my olive-green Lauren top from Pinup Girl Clothing. One of my favorite ways to style a novelty-print skirt is to match my top to one of the accent colors in the skirt, rather than the colors that make up the bulk of the print. This skirt has a bit of olive in it, which I chose to view as a license to wear one of my favorite colors. Patterned tights, black ballet flats, my black Zooey petticoat, and a wide black belt finished off the look.

I really love how the Lauren top fits, so it was a natural choice now that the weather is cool enough for sleeves and collars. If I were wearing this outfit to work, I'd add a cami or a bandeau under the top, but for the weekend, I like it without.

After putting this post together, I'm even more in love with this skirt than I was when it first arrived. For such a busy print, it's surprisingly easy to wear with a variety of different patterns and colors. I'm especially looking forward to wearing it with my orange peasant top, as well as bright yellow and black-and-white polka dots.

Which outfit do you like best, and how would you wear this skirt?

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