Midi skirt is the new pencil skirt

The midi skirt has been getting a lot more love by both high end designers and fast fashion retailers lately. With good reason too, I really love how they create shape and I think they can be much more versatile than people give them credit for. They look great dressed up with silky blouse for something more formal but also look great with a sweater or t-shirt tucked into them! I found two great examples of midi skirts that I think would be a great addition to your wardrobe, and like always one is very expensive and the other a bit more reasonable. The first skirt is this Alice+Olivia black skirt with organza sheer panels. 

Alice+Olivia Sheer Panel Midi-$420

I love the shape the pleating creates and the sexy detail of the sheer panel. I think its a great twist on a such a classic piece. I also love the way the merchandiser styled it, I love the juxtaposition of the super feminine skirt with the motorcycle jacket. This skirt comes with a high price tag however at $420! As soon as I saw this skirt I remembered one VERY similar to this one from my time working at Express over the summer. Knowing they tend to bring things back each season, after a quick search on their website sure enough I found this.

Express Sheer Panel Midi-$80

The skirts are both so similar, both have the sheer organza panels and have pretty much the same length. The pleating on the Express on is a bit thicker but it creates a very similar shape. I love the way the merchandiser styles this piece for Express as well, I think it looks great with the striped sweater, it gives a much more effortless feel and tones down the dressiness of it. I think that they look so similar that if worn people would have trouble telling them apart. I was so obsessed with this skirt when it came in over the summer that I bought it for my sister and her wear it on my birthday dinner. I tend to live vicariously through my sister and any fabulous girl clothing I wish I could rock I always end up buying for her and forcing her to wear it. She is sort of like my life sized barbie doll in that respect. Here is a picture of us on my birthday so you can see how I styled it on her.

She wore it with a black turtle neck cropped top and pink pumps for a pop of color and I think the outfit looked great! Next time you are our shopping don't pass up the midi skirt as an option to wear for your next formal event or even a casual lunch date. Take a pass on the boring pencil skirt that everyone has a bunch of anyway!