One Blanket Skirt: Check!

At the end of last summer, when I started thinking about my new season wardrobe, I was also starting to lean back towards a more minimalistic approach to fashion. I have gone through these phases before, when deep in the throes of eccentric bohemia, I suddenly start dreaming of its antithesis: minimalism and paring back. It is certainly a startling contrast, and I am not sure why I suddenly change tack, except that it seems to be a natural wave, an ebb and flow in my sense of personal style. It’s as if, after years of minimalism, I find myself longing for simplicity. I make the switch, and years will pass before the pendulum swings again.

Last time I made an abrupt turnaround to minimalism (when I was about 28) I was quite strict – I culled virtually everything vintage from my closet that I had collected during and shortly after my years at art school, and I started from scratch, with a very small colour palette too. This time around (more than ten years later) I have been less rigorous. I have for some time been rather enamoured of the 1970s, as well as the 30s and 40s (my other favourite vintage styles), so I have kept a few vintage pieces in circulation – so long as they fit into a more minimalist aesthetic.

I wanted … a plaid wool skirt that was reminiscent of a blanket – those cosy checked blankets I remembered from my 70s childhood.

Autumn fashion in the USA: a block plaid coat nipped in at the waist, worn with a jaunty hat, 1938. (From Style Book, by Elizabeth Walker, published by Flammarion 2011.)For winter I had decided on what kind of pieces I wanted to keep an eye out for in my various secondhand haunts, both online and in the real world. One of the items I wanted was a plaid wool skirt that was reminiscent of a blanket – those cosy checked blankets I remembered from my 70s childhood. I was very particular on what kind of plaid I wanted: it could be nothing fussy with numerous stripes such as a traditional Scottish tartan.

Jean Shrimpton wears a classic, checked collarless jacket, 1960. (From Style Book, by Elizabeth Walker, published by Flammarion 2011.)I didn’t hold out much hope of finding exactly what I wanted, but browsing one Saturday morning in a Salvos op shop (thrift store), I actually stumbled upon it. Instead of the soft reds and white I wanted, the skirt was woven in quiet tones of smoke blue, soft grey and off-white – basically a blue version of what I had dreamed up in my head. I couldn’t believe my luck: made of 100% wool, the midi skirt fit, and only cost around $8–12.

I wear it usually with a grey jumper, like this short-sleeved sweater, or sometimes with a matt sequin grey tee (another thrifted bargain). In perfect condition, the skirt is so warm too. It’s just like walking about wrapped in a cosy blanket, perfect for some of the very cold days Melbourne has given us this winter.