Houndstooth Skirt

Black silk blend shrug, INC. Pink cami with tiered georgette layers, My Michelle (borrowed). Houndstooth pencil skirt, Express (thrifted). Black tights, Danskin. Black pumps, Etienne Aigner. Faux pearl necklace with medallion, Newport News.

Back in the early ‘90s, I had the most awesome houndstooth dress. The top was shirt style, with black velvet collar, cuffs, and covered buttons, and the bottom was a circle skirt. I don’t remember what happened to it, but I miss it, especially now that houndstooth is back.

All the girls rockin’ houndstooth on Wardrobe Remix finally drove me to the thrift store, where I found this skirt. Of course, I couldn’t try it on until I had bought it and brought it home. It fits, but I have discovered that I’m just not bold enough to wear a fitted pencil skirt in such an attention-grabbing print. To compound my lack of confidence, the pattern is matched up along one seam in such a way that it looks as if I may actually be bursting out of the skirt. I’m going to get one $4 wearing out of it today and put it up for swap.

On another note, I have two tips for you today:

1. If you can’t try a skirt or pants on before you buy them, wrap the doubled waistband around your neck. If it the ends meet, it should fit around your waist (your natural waist). Generally, your neck is half the diameter of your waist. Of course, this won’t hold true for everyone, and the trick is pretty useless with low-riding bottoms.

2. To create a French twist with a hair stick, first gather your hair into a low ponytail and secure with a clear poly band. Then, twist your hair up your head and tuck the ends under the roll. Spear the roll near the top with the hair stick. Most importantly: the stick should be at a slight angle, pointing AWAY from the roll, exiting on the side that you did the tucking. Then, pivot the stick TOWARDS the roll and spear it again, exiting near the bottom. The twisting motion (compounding the twist of the hair) is what will secure the hairstyle.