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).