Why Your Skirts and Sneakers are Smart Together
Quote of the day: “Everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself.” Leo Tolstoy
Are there some styles that you see on the younger girls, but couldn’t imagine wearing yourself? I would bet many women over age 50 or 60 feel that way about sneakers and skirts! But I would rationalize, that even though athletic wear is taking over, we can still wear it with some dressier items!! In fact, to prove it, I have not only 1 or 2 blogettes to show other options, but in this post there are 3 other women!! Now you all need to send me your photos too!! It’ll be a party!! And here’s another blogger showing the same concept—say hello to Susan!
I admit, that this look isn’t what we were brought up to wear. A skirt was meant to be with heels, or at least dressy flats, right? But the truth is that styles change, and how does it hurt to see if we can roll with the changes? Besides sneakers are perfect for walking, and skirts give us women such variety in our clothing options! So that’s why they are smart together!
If this category of how to wear your athletic shoes, just gives you the heebie jeebies, then maybe you’ll like the previous ones better? There was sneakers and jeans, here, & the same shoes with leggings, here.
Jude: (Blogette): Of course, having floral sneakers is one way to make your athletic shoes seems less casual!
It’s almost like Jude and my mom were thinking along the same lines by having the print of the skirt coordinate with the print of the shoes!! Floral pieces are always fun in the spring and summer, so having a pair of sneakers with this print is brilliant.
If you don’t already have a pair (I don’t, but I think I need to get some), then let me introduce you to a couple of pairs. For the neutral lovers out there, check out these!! However, if you love color like I do, then this pair could be right up your alley! We’ve been seeing a ton of embroidery lately, and shoes are certainly something that can be embroidered, like these, these or these!
And just for a little variety, I had to include these! I’m not even sure if I like this pair or not—but they are certainly different!
Karen (blogette): Karen added a jean jacket with her sneakers and dress!
Are you noticing the jean jacket is quite popular right now? It’s the perfect way to add an air of casualness to an otherwise dressier item.
It’s almost like Karen knew that the 3 of us are putting together a series featuring the jean jacket!! If you’re a fan of this item, then you’ll be a happy camper. If you don’t already have one in your possession then let me point you to this one or this one so you’ll be ready to join us in a couple of weeks!!
Mireille (blogette): And welcome back, Mireille, who just informed me that she is 12 weeks pregnant and since this is her 4th child, she’s already showing!
But see how perfect this category can be for any aged woman. Whether you need the comfort of your athletic shoes because of pregnancy or a neuroma, you can wear them with a skirt and still look positively fabulous!
Jodie’s (50’s) Outfit: I’ve worn these sneakers with a midi skirt on the blog before, here! I’ve seen it on many other bloggers, and I always think it looks cute.
And it is funny, because I never really like how it looks in the mirror. And I’m sure that’s because I’ve heard over and over the need to elongate my legs. But let’s be real. I’m never going to trick you into thinking that I’m tall if we meet in person…ha ha!
But maybe you would like this look better if your sneakers were closer in color to your skin tone? Then these would work for me, these for some of you, and these for the rest??
Now picking out the skirt may seem like the hard part of this exercise. But a denim skirt could be exactly the stepping stone to help get caught up in this trend! I figure that denim is casual anyways, right, so a denim skirt is the perfect casual skirt!
Denim has been making a comeback in these last 5 years or so. We’ve seen the denim on denim trend surface, and now we’re seeing all kinds of skirts, shoes & tops in denim.
Of course your denim skirt doesn’t have to be short. There are midi length ones like this one or this one. But if you already have one in your closet, and you think it’s a tidge too short, then I have the perfect solution! Rip out the hem and iron it down. That’s exactly what they did on my skirt, and that will add about 1.5-2 inches for you AND it’s a modern detail!!
You may be wondering why I’d wear a turtleneck if I have naked legs? This shirt is really a lightweight sweater, and has 3/4 length sleeves. So it’s one of those pieces that is perfect for Colorado’s bipolar weather (you know, cold in the mornings, and warmer throughout the day)!
Does anyone else out there love the 3/4 length sleeves as much as I do? I used to love them when I was working because they the powder from the gloves would’t get all over them. But I know Nancy loves them too because then we don’t have to shorten them for her!! If you think they are advantageous, then this one is pretty, or here are those fun stripes!!
And I just cracked myself up, because when I was talking about print purses 2 weeks ago, here, I totally forgot about this plaid one! So you could say that I’m print mixing slightly since the cuffs on my jacket are a print too!!
I do love my white pieces, and this jacket is no exception. Although I have to admit it doesn’t seem to go with everything the way an all white jacket would. I laughed when I was looking at my shopping site, because here’s a jacket for any of you worried about stains!! But if you want a pure white jean jacket, this would fit the bill!!
Skirt: Gap (similar here)~~Cardigan: Sparrow-thrifted (similar here with black trim)~~Top: Catherine Maladrino (similar here made for the summer)~~Shoes: Guess (here)~~Earrings: (similar here)~~Bracelet: (similar here)~~Purse: (similar here)
Nancy’s (60’s) Outfit: For Nancy’s skirt to style with her sneakers, she picked out this floral skirt that buttons up the front.
I feel like in the spring and summer, floral skirts could be the backbone of our outfits!! Maybe you don’t wear skirts much anymore, but there are so many pretty ones out there. However, now that we’ve shown that it’s okay to wear sneakers with them, would you change your mind?
I mean, check out the colors in this one. And if that seems like the pleats are too big, then here’s the small pleated version! Or if you enjoy your flowers, but only with one color, then this one really caught my eye!
Since Nancy’s skirt has more volume to it, I suggested a workout t-shirt with it. Now if you’re anything like Nancy, you don’t wear a workout t-shirt by itself unless you are working out! So we put her pink cardigan over it.
Even though the cardigan is not tight, I think the fact that the t-shirt under it is, makes the outfit work better. We had tried on a pink blouse at first that was very boxy which seemed overwhelming. So this was our next try!
The open cardigans are an easy topper without worrying about buttoning them! If you really like your floral items, then this one is quite the stunner!! But these easy cardigans work in solid colors too like here or here!
I felt like we needed some bling since the t-shirt and cardigan are both solid colored. This silver necklace is a souvenir from Taos many moons ago!
You can certainly find some interesting silver necklaces when you look around. I found quite a few but thought showing you two would be enough. This one is shorter, whereas this one has many strands and is longer!
I know that these shoes weren’t Nancy’s idea when we first went shoe shopping for good walking shoes! But I think they’ve really proven their worth because they aren’t exactly tennis shoes, but they certainly are comfortable!
If you are against the thought of sneakers, yet want a casual and comfortable shoe, then the brogues might be something to consider! Lately they come in many colors like this pair or a neutral like these! And if you haven’t heard, the loafers might be making a comeback too, so there’s always shoes like these or these to consider!
Skirt: Sag Harbor (similar here)~~Cardigan: Claudia Richard (similar here)~~Top: 32 degrees (similar here)~~Shoes: Cole Haan (similar here)~~Necklace: (similar here)~~Earrings: (similar here)
Charlotte’s (70’s) Outfit: Now we all know by now that my mother loves her animal print everything, so it shouldn’t surprise you that she picked this skirt to pair with her sneakers.
I’ve been trying to let both my mom & Nancy choose much of their own outfits lately, but I always joke that I get veto power!! However, since I knew that mom would not like this category at all, I figured she could wear a skirt that matched her sneakers! So if you have a pair of leopard sneakers you might need this skirt!!
And, of course, my mom had to showcase an owl on her shirt. Owls have been her favorite collector’s item for at least 20 years or so. What that really means is she has a ton of them on her clothing, jewelry, and home decor!
It really is amazing how many owl pieces are out there right now. I remember when mom was first collecting owls, they were so hard to find. Now I turn around and they are everywhere. The jewelry is the most fun, I think. Because it’s not quite as in your face! Like this necklace—it so colorful, you might not realize there was an owl head on top? Or definitely this bracelet because there are many other beads and baubles to concentrate on!
I tried to show a closeup of both the ring and the shirt in this photo. The ring is an owl (shocking, I know). And the shirt seemed too long, so we rubber banded it up on the side!
If you’ve been shopping lately, you might have noticed the hi-lo trend for shirts as well as dresses. I think this style can be so nice on many women. The shirts can be long enough in the back, yet not too long in the front, like this one or this one!
Now you may think that it’s way too warm for a turtleneck under this shirt, but this is no ordinary turtleneck. It’s a dickey!
Anyone else still have a dickey in their closet? I know my first knitting project was a dickey turtleneck, however, it’s been thrown out for years now! I was thinking that maybe this is how the sleeveless turtlenecks got so popular. It can be nice to have a little extra layer for you body & even neck, but not your arms?
If you agree then you might think that having one of these in a neutral, like this, would be beneficial! But if you wanted some fun for the underneath part, then this one could be it!
Skirt: Harris Wallace-thrifted (similar here)~~Top: Mom made it (similar here with a much smaller emblem on it)~~Turtleneck Dickey: Dana Buchman (similar here you didn’t really think I could find a dickey, did you?)~~Shoes: Mossimo (similar here)~~Earrings: (similar here)~~Ring: (similar here)~~Bracelet: (similar here)
I like how all three of us have on different kind of skirts to show for this category. I wore a denim, short skirt, Nancy has one a floral, flowy skirt, and my mom wore her animal print pencil skirt.
Even if you are on a strict clothing budget, there are certain articles of clothing you can buy that are great to have on hand. One is a skirt. There are many types of skirts to potentially select. They come in lots of different lengths and styles. For example, some skirts are pleated. Others have asymmetrical hemlines or other unique features, such as attached sashes. The length of the skirt you choose also plays a role in its versatility. Select a length appropriate for the majority of your activities to get the most use out of your new skirt. In general, shorter skirts are casual and longer skirts are more formal, but there are some exceptions.
But no matter what kind of skirt you pick, the truth is your feet will thank you if you wear it with sneakers!
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