Channeling The 70’s With Chevrons

I’d had my eye on this 70’s-inspired suede mini skirt for some time, when I was insanely lucky enough to find one in a recent sample sale in Brook Green (conveniently, the MiH Head Office resides a short stroll from my front door). As with all sample sales, it was a bun fight – requiring patience and tenacity to filter through the mountains of denim and knits to find hidden gems, missed by other punters.

Ordinarily, I don’t have the patience for these things, but it was a beautiful day and the sunlight flooded in through the enormous windows, making the whole experience almost enjoyable. That, and the prices, which were so discounted that I gathered as many items in my size as I could and heaved a precarious tower of clothes into the open plan changing room. Here, naked women were gathered in vast numbers, crawling around the floor, searching for goodies buried in the deep denim carpet. I made a little corner for myself, deposited my hard-earned heap of clothes and stood my ground, glaring at anyone who dared snatch a glance at my treasure trove. It somehow reminded me of bowerbirds (huge David Attenborough fan) who steal their competitors’ carefully gathered and most captivating objects while they’re not looking.

Chevron Suede Mini Skirt, MiH, £170

When I got home I hung it with my only other mini, a Sailor skirt from J.Crew, where it stayed for some weeks. While I love a skirt, my legs are rarely in a fit state to be shown and when the glorious sunshine of those early spring days suddenly reverted to norm it was just too damn cold. When the sun did return, I scrubbed, buffed and fake-tanned till gleaming, before excitedly stepping into my suede mini skirt, a glorious nod to the 70’s. It’s still available in various sizes and prices at Matches, The Outnet and Very Exclusive.

Styling a skirt like this – with geometric shapes and multiple colours – is trickier than you might think. The most important thing is to keep the rest of the look plain. A chunky black or neutral knit would work well with some ankle boots for a autumn look, but given the glorious weather, I opted for one of my old favourites, a simple high neck blouse by SET, a tall girl-friendly contemporary German brand. This one from Zara could work too. Either way, when wearing a mini-skirt, a nice rule of thumb is always to avoid showing too much skin elsewhere. Unless you’re still in your teens and twenties. Which sadly I am not.

White Lolla Sandals, £50, Aldo

The obvious shoe option would be black, chunky heeled sandals, but I felt the white ones were more surprising and spring-friendly. These are from Aldo, an unexpected delight of a shoe shop that never fails to capture my interest or provide footwear for my size 9 feet (they come up super big – I wear a UK8!). I accessorised the look with a red camera bag, just £30 from the new collection at Next, the colour complementing the red in the skirt and the tassels another nod to the 70’s. We feel the result is a modern take on a retro look, reimagining the 70’s through chevrons, suede and tassels. What do you think?

Red Camera Bag, £30, Next

SHOP THE LOOK AT THE LINKS ABOVE AND BELOW:

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SHOP Zoe’s look at last week’s blog post here.