• Tweed Sweater: Vintage Ralph Lauren, mommed
• Maroon Maxi Skirt (as dress): Old Navy
• Black Tights: HUE
• Brown Woven Belt: LOFT
• Scarf: Malo, mommed
• Earrings: Lulu, gifted
• Black Suede Booties: Franco Sarto via Nordstrom’s

Ever late to the party, I’ve been on the hunt for a full-ish midi-length skirt since they burst (back?) onto the scene last spring. Admittedly, it’s been a pretty casual hunt: if I were the skirt, I’d have almost zero fear of being captured.  My tenuous relationship with waistbands over the past thirteen months has been in part to blame, but it’s probably more generalized pickiness, and a hesitancy towards jumping in on a trend that feels unlikely to suit my proportions. (I am really, really working on feeling all kinds of love for my post-pregnancy body, but there’s a difference between how you feel about your body and how you feel about what clothing items do for it. I recall audibly gasping when I tried on one such pleated number. Holy hip-inflation, batperson!)

When I’m tiptoeing my way in to a new style, I’m always on the lookout for low-cost, low-commitment ways to try something out, so last week, when Terra showed off this neat trick for converting a maxi into a midi-for-short-folks, no scissors necessary, I gave it a go. Like most “x worn as y” tricks, there are some contrived little nips and tucks going on (sweater to cover the fact that I don’t own a strapless nursing bra, scarf to mask any awkward layering incidents, etc), but I’m really pleased with the way this turned out. It wasn’t something I ever would have figured out on my own, and it gave new life to a piece I’d been struggling to wear. And while these booties are not the most comfortable pair of shoes I’ve ever worn, they’ve become my “instant drama” item of the winter, adding a little punch and surprise wherever they go.

Midis on minis: yay, nay, or eh? What are your favorite strategies for dipping your toe into the pool of a new trend? What motivates you to get off the dime and give something a go that you’re skeptical about?

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