Fall essentials: The pencil skirt

Disclosure: Banana Republic reached out to me to participate in their fall essentials campaign! Although they are sponsoring this post, all opinions expressed are my own.

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! Ours was pretty relaxed and low key which is exactly what I needed! I'm back today for part two of my fall essentials collaboration with Banana Republic. If you missed last week, you can check out my post on the statement pant here.

Outfit details--- Sunnies: Quay "High Key" | Earrings: Kendra Scott "Danielle" (current colors here) | Top: Express (option, option, option) | Bralette: Express (similar, option) | Bag: Rebecca Minkoff "Moto satchel" (on sale here) | Skirt: Banana Republic "Luxe Brushed Twill Ruffle Pencil skirt" (c/o) | Shoes: Valentino "Rockstud leather wrap-around strap" ---

The pencil skirt is one of those pieces that I feel is universally flattering and I always make sure I have a handful in my collection. I decided on this particular one for this fall essentials campaign because I don't have anything similar. The grey twill will still be relevant for all seasons - even warm weather months. But clearly the ruffle and flirty hem steal the show. For sizing reference, I'm wearing a 4 petite.

Because the skirt is so sweet and feminine by design, I wanted to edge it up a bit, so I added a strappy bralette, studded ankle straps, and my foolproof moto satchel. The tougher details make this outfit feel more like me! Not that I don't like to wear things that are sweet and feminine. But I love pairing opposites together to mix things up and keep things interesting and a little unexpected.

If the plunging neckline + bralette combo is too much for your office (or for your girls...) you can obviously just opt for a more conservative neckline. I wanted to keep the silhouette up top pretty fitted with a top I could tuck in so that it balanced out the ruffle-y volume of the skirt. I love that grey will go with all the colors! I want to pair it with jewel tones like cobalt, emerald, and ruby red. And stripes. Of course stripes.

I have a hard time wearing flats with pencil skirts because I feel like they make my already short legs look even shorter and stubbier. If I wore flats with this, I would try a pointy toe style first. I've definitely seen taller women pull off flats with pencil skirts - even round toe flats, but I don't think it's the most flattering proportion on me. I say all of this just because shoes could take some trial and error based on your own body type so play around with it!

Even though I'm short at 5'-2", I only have a handful of petite items in my closet. For some reason I'm short, but petite sizes don't fit me right more often than not. That said, the 4 petite in this skirt did fit great. Since the skirt is already knee length on the model, I knew the regular size would end up being more of a midi length on me unless I ordered the petite!

Left: See original post here.

And that is it! Two fall essential pieces crossed off my checklist and I'm quite pleased about that! What is on your list for fall?

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