Sustainable Wardrobe Highlight: Vintage Esprit Midi Skirt

The story behind a vintage Esprit skirt, how I styled it and building an outfit with some preloved links.

I have a black cotton (?) midi skirt.

I bought it at a thrift store for $8 after the end of my no buy year in October.

It’s from Esprit, which used to be such an aspirational brand for me. I remember seeing the ads in the fashion magazines that I would spend hours obsessing over. And then visiting Toronto in my late teens and walking by the shop, looking at the window displays, wishing I was “that girl” but never feeling like I could be.

I definitely lived a “quantity over quality” life back then and believed that the clothes in Esprit were too expensive. Why would I spend X amount of money on one item when I could buy 5 items for the same price?

I was more of a Forever 21 girl, and the sale section was my jam.

The more, the merrier.

A vintage Esprit ad via Pinterest.

A large chunk of my clothes are black, and I know I should branch out into other colors (I try) but it’s the first section I always gravitate to.

I was first drawn to the length and the flowy shape. A midi skirt that I can twirl in? YES PLEASE. My quest to find a fabric tag proved fruitless but I think it’s made from cotton or a cotton/silk blend. It was during this search that I saw the brand tag and I can’t put into the words the excitement that I felt when I did.

I love vintage brand tags!

[A quick search on the Vintage Fashion Guild leads me to believe that this is an item from the 1980s. There is a tag displayed from a mid 1980s cardigan that looks the same.]

As a little kid, I didn’t get many new clothes. I had some older cousins that would give me a bag of hand-me-downs every so often. I remember the joy of finding something that I loved in those bags. I felt a little like that girl when I took this skirt off the rack and put it in my cart.

I hadn’t really taken in all of the details of this skirt until I took it to the fitting room to try on. My absolute favorite detail is all of the buttons that go down the side. While I’ll keep them all buttoned during the winter, I can imagine leaving some of them open at the bottom during the summer. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that it had pockets!

Is there any better treat than a skirt or dress with deep pockets?!?

When I tried it on, the fit was perfect. The material was light and airy which will make it a great skirt to wear with a tank top and strappy sandals during the warmer months, but the length and volume will also make it great for layering with during the colder months.

I love when an item of clothing can be used throughout the entire year and it really helps with maintaining a smaller wardrobe.

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How I Styled It

The very first time I wore this skirt, I paired it with my black crew neck cashmere sweater that I had bought at a consignment shop a few winters back.

Sustainable wardrobe tip: Preloved cashmere is the most economical, ethical and environmentally friendly way to buy cashmere. I’ve been slowly building a little cashmere sweater collection since around 2018, adding about 1 item each winter. While I can’t remember the exact prices that I’ve paid, it’s never been more than $50, even at the bougiest consignment shop, and a couple have been under $20.

The skirt is more of a washed black and the sweater is more of a true black so they don’t match perfectly and I think it adds more visual interest this way and makes the outfit feel more casual, a little undone, if you will.

I wore my black Frye moto boots with it since they are my favorite and I just love how they look with EVERYTHING. They are also the highest boots that I currently own so there is no gap between the bottom of the skirt and the top of the boots which makes the outfit more “continuous”.

I always find it so funny that I bought these boots in 2012 and didn’t wear them all that much until the last few years, but now I wear them all the time and mourn when I can’t wear them during the summer.

I completed the outfit with a grey silk bandana and the vintage Coach lunchbox bag that I recently won at a silent charity auction. I remember once hearing that you couldn’t wear black and brown together and for a very long time, I heeded that rule. Now it’s one of my favorite color combos.

This outfit felt very “vintage Ralph Lauren” to me. I think all it was missing was a brown tweed or plaid blazer.

Ralph Lauren ad from October 1994, via Vanity Fair.

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Preloved Links (Esprit Edition)

The thing with shopping preloved is that if you liked something that I am wearing, I can rarely point you to it (this is the closest preloved Esprit item I could find; this is a similar option from a sustainable brand).

But while I was writing this post, I went down a little Esprit rabbit-hole and I found some things that I thought were really cute (all Esprit from Poshmark, Etsy and Ebay).

I’m not sharing these links to encourage you to buy any of these items (they’ll probably be unavailable anyways). I just wanted to show a little appreciation to some old clothes 💚.

And also because I had a lot of fun putting it together :) So, let’s build an outfit!

🖤 Sweater

I’m a sucker for a wrap sweater (Poshmark), and I could immediately see this one fitting into my wardrobe! But I already have the crewneck that I am wearing above that serves the same styling purpose.

Sometimes a black item can seem really boring but the details make all the difference. I can only imagine how super soft this one is and then it has a what appears to be a satin ribbon for the tie which I would tie the traditional way but also tie in a bow at the back just to change it up.

Bonus:

I think this wool one (Etsy) is so fun! Some vintage prints, especially ones from the 80-90s, can be a bit too much for me but this one isn’t like that. I like that it has some color but that the print is small and up against a marled grey background. And I love that it’s wool. I try to only buy cotton or wool sweaters as natural fabrics are better for temperature regulation.

I also really like this ski sweater (eBay) and this fun wool sweater (Etsy).

🖤 Skirt

This wool blend tartan skirt (Poshmark) stopped me in my scroll! I’m not big on prints in my wardrobe but I love any type of plaid. And I especially love the fringe detailing at the bottom. I love the color combo and the small black stripe that acts as the border to the plaid, which I think makes it work really well with a black sweater.

I have a black and grey wool maxi skirt that I thrifted a few winters ago that I love to wear over leggings when it’s cold outside.

🖤 Shoes

I can imagine this skirt going really well with some moto boots, obviously, but what about some tights and a pair of cool oxfords?

When I came across these shoes (Poshmark) I went on the hunt for a pair in my size. They feel like such a fun twist on a classic shoe and I think they could work with so many outfits, especially ones that are more basic.

The search for a pair in my size didn’t work out, but I did find a pair of navy/white oxfords that I ended up ordering from Poshmark (I’ll share them with you in a later post). I’ve been wanting some cute, dressier shoes to add to my winter wardrobe, which mostly consists of heavier soled black boots. Another color rule that I grew up hearing was that you can’t wear navy and black together but I’ll be wearing these with my black skirt when they come!

Bonus:

It’s definitely not the right season for these vintage blue leather shoes (Etsy) but when I saw them, they reminded me of the Lemaire Fisherman sandals. I love the woven style of these shoes and the slingback which would make them very suitable for warmer weather. If they were half a size smaller, I’d be very tempted to get them.

🖤 Coat

I’ve been thinking a lot about coats lately, particularly wool coats. I’m on the hunt for a long wool coat, preferably charcoal grey or navy.

This grey wool pea coat (Poshmark) almost ticked all the boxes for me but I’m looking for one with a little more length.

🖤 Accessories

Handbag

For the longest time, the only way that I would wear red was as a accessory. I remember having a pair of red patent leather ballet flats from Nine West when I used to work in an office. I loved them and I wore them with everything. At some point, I had a red handbag but I’ve long since passed that one onto my mom. It was only last year that I started wearing red in clothing, but a red accessory will always be my first love.

Pulling from the red in the skirt and knowing that red would look good with all of the elements of the outfit individually, I went with a red leather crossbody bag (Poshmark).

Scarf

I love wearing a silk scarf. It keeps my neck warm but it’s not bulky and therefore, I can wear it all day and not even notice it. When I came across this silk scarf (Etsy), I thought it would go perfectly with this outfit that I’ve put together. It has a very subtle print and the black and white complements the black and white in the shoes.

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When I started writing this post, I wasn’t sure which direction I was going to go with it. But I had a lot of fun putting it together and I think I ended up with something that I’d like to make into a series where I style an item from my wardrobe and then build an outfit with mostly preloved items and maybe a few from sustainable brands. Let me know what you think!

I hope you have a great week!

🖤 Gillian