Stylesheet 024: 👑 of asymmetry • trying new silhouettes

Nick decided to try out his new iPhone 14 Pro for the photos in this post! I’m somewhat excited about this outfit because it does have some new pieces that I haven’t shared before, and perhaps in a style that I don’t usually go for. Let’s go!

I want to start with the skirt because it is really out of the realm of the silhouette I usually go for. They say that long skirts in a solid colour are “elongating” and other such nonsense suggestions for shorter people. But since looking at my body more objectively, I can see that it’s not my best look, and on the whole, I look better in shorts or shorter hemlines. I know I have been reading a lot about Kibbe body typology, but that aside, the truth stands, and I stand, at 5’2 or 158cm in height. No matter what I wear, I’m the same height. The length of a long garment gives merely the illusion of height, so look at a photo of just me, and you get the idea. But put me next to my six-foot-tall husband, and I look small. See me in real life, and I’m all of 5’2.

I’m also at that point in my life where I’ve stopped wearing high heels to “look taller” because I don’t feel like I need or want that characteristic. I’m quite fine with how I look. So I dress in what I feel good in and what I believe I look good in, not what makes me “appear taller”. All that aside, I didn’t buy this skirt because I wanted to appear taller at all! I actually wanted to experiment with a more flattering long skirt. The last skirt I owned – one that I wore in a previous outfit, with an animal print and a thin, loose fabric – didn’t flatter my body as much because it didn’t hug my figure. After going through a brief period of wearing looser clothing, I realised that wearing clothes with a lot of fabric had the tendency to swamp my figure, so I looked for a much narrower skirt that was long.

I was also looking for one with a side slit, and some stretch, to make walking easier. I also prioritise comfort, if you hadn’t picked up on that yet. 😉 I couldn’t go past this option from Glassons. Glassons does have a lot of affordable pieces, some of which aren’t the most amazing quality in the world, but the construction of some of their items is good. This skirt was labelled as a midi skirt but it does reach quite a long length on me. I adore the colour and the slit was just what I was looking for. Before ordering, I believed that the length wouldn’t hit the ground if I wore it, which was just what I wanted, and it turns out it was a good purchase. I’ve been able to walk really comfortably in the skirt, it fits well, I feel pretty fantastic in it. ✨

Now I must talk about the top! It didn’t cost me very much at all – I remember watching this item on eBay as it was up for auction, and I had specifically been looking for asymmetrical tops. This one caught my eye because it was like a maximalist version of my cheap second-hand ASOS bustier I wore in Merry-go-round. It also was a designer brand, Acler… and I don’t often care much for designer brands, but it can give a good indicator of quality. 👀 It wasn’t necessary that I have this top, but when I saw that bidding started at $10 and it hadn’t moved much when the end of the auction was drawing to a close, I decided I had to at least try and snag it up for a bargain. I knew it was an item of clothing I would wear if I did end up with it! I ended up getting it for $11.50! A true bargain.

The top is the kind of top I feel works best with simple bottoms. I know some people can pull off wearing lots of prints – personally I can mix and match prints – but this top just speaks for itself in terms of its silhouette and shape that I think it stands out better and feels more balanced with a simple pair of jeans or a plain skirt or pair of shorts.

I preferred my hair wavy rather than straight for this outfit. I know the skirt adds a slightly dramatic long, straight line, so I definitely didn’t want my hair to be pin-straight, and I like the idea of matching my hairstyle to the exaggerated style of the top. I think when my hair was too straight it appeared flat and my head even looked just a little bit small… haha 😂… especially since I am already wearing a top that is downright huge for my small frame. 🤭

I hope you like the look! Let me know what you think. 💙

Outfit details

• Top: Acler (purchased second hand on eBay)
• Skirt: Glassons
• Shoes: Rollie (Bolt overlay white and blue – no longer available)
• Earrings: purchased from By Invite Only many years ago
• Handbag: Mansur Gavriel (Mini Tulipano bag in Ocean – no longer available)
• Sunglasses: Gentle Monster (Bling 06)

Footnotes

📸 All photography by Nicholas Cooke. (on his iPhone 14 Pro)

We took these photos just out and about, no special or specific location. I named the outfit 👑 of asymmetry, i.e. “queen” of asymmetry, because of the very exaggerated asymmetrical top, paired with a slight bit of asymmetry in the skirt (mostly because of the slit).