Plaid skirts

How to Wear a Plaid Skirt

Step 1

Pick your skirt. Do a mini or pick a knee-length. Plaid miniskirts can always look cute. If the mini is too mini for your tastes, wear it over opaque tights or leggings. Knee-length plaid skirts also work, as long as you downsize your top half with a form-fitting jacket or blouse. Don’t go longer than a knee-length plaid unless you want to look like you stole the kitchen tablecloth.

Step 2
Stay smooth. Wide pleats with plaid only work in the miniskirt arena. Otherwise, you are bordering on the librarian look. Wide plaid pleats are also apt to add unwanted pounds. Slim, A-line plaid skirts are stylish, as are simple plaid wrap skirts.

Step 3
Top the skirt with a surprising choice. A traditional expectation with plaid skirts is the boring old wool sweater. That will definitely get you a ho-hum look. Instead, top the plaid skirt with a tailored jacket over a tank top or camisole.

Step 4
Stay in the same color family. Plaid usually has at least three or four different hues interwoven in the design, giving you a wide palette of color choices. The only time you should not match is when you are coupling a black and white plaid with, say, a red silk blouse.

Step 5
Keep the top in solids, a subtle design or a print in one or two basic colors. You do not want to top a plaid skirt with a loud plaid blouse, even if they do have the same hues. Yuck. Opt for a solid color or something with a very small design, like tiny polka dots or subtle flowers, to match the plaid but not compete with it.

Step 6

Find funky shoes. Plaid skirts work best with combat or other lace-up boots, clunky clogs or thick-soled oxfords. You can wear heels as long as they are chunky and thick. Don’t wear stilettos. Also skip the flip flops, sandals, penny loafers or saddle shoes with plaid. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------