My 10 Best Purchases: No. Six

Oct 22, 2018

Apologies for the late post.  I logged in to the blog last night and everything on the backend was in Mandarin, so that took a while to sort out.  But we’re back with Day 6 of our Best Pieces posts, and I know this one is also a reader favorite.

I bought my first Halogen pencil skirt at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale six years ago, and now I own five of them.  The skirts are simple, wearable basics that wear like iron.  They dress up, they dress down, they barely wrinkle.  In short, they’re the best.

At $59, you really can’t go wrong with this skirt.  And if you’re a person who wears a lot of business suits, this is a great way to give your suit separates a break, so you don’t wear them out before their time.

The ponte skirt comes in regular, petite, and plus.  This is the basic option.  The wear with everything option.

Want something trendier?  I am in love with this navy skirt from Blair’s Halogen x Atlantic-Pacific collection.  Or, for holiday parties, try this velvet skirt with a feminine front-slit.

{this post contains affiliate links that may earn commission for the author; image here}

Best Purchases Ever, Features

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  1. Maria says:

    Abra, love the rave review for this skirt and am inclined to try it out, but I need lined skirts to wear with tights during winter — do you have a recommendation for a slip or something? If not, what do you use to keep this from sticking to your tights during colder weather? Thank you! Love the blog.

    • jen says:

      I wear a half slip between my tights and my ponte/jersey skirts & dresses. I have one from Gap I love, but the one I wear most is from a department store or Amazon.

  2. Liz says:

    I’m a pretty severe pear shape and I’ve all but given up on pencil skirts, despite reading 10000 times that they are very flattering to my shape. I know the advice is to buy it at the size where it fits your widest part, but I would probably have to go up 2-3 sizes to make it work appropriate, which seems like too much fabric for a tailor to take in without totally changing the skirt. I tried Halogen pencil skirts years ago and found them to be very straight up and down (i.e. terrible for my shape). Have they changed at all or does anyone have a recommendation for a pencil skirt that is smaller in the waist and larger in the hips?

    • Ls says:

      Back when I was a runner, I often had to go two sizes up and have the waist tailored. It was no problem at all. Unless you buy a piece final sale, you can always bring it to the tailor, ask them, and return if they say no. A good tailor should be honest about what will and won’t work.

      Ann Taylor and Loft also offer “curvy” sizing including pencil skirts that might work or at least let you buy only one size up to make tailoring easier.

    • Nancy says:

      Same issue as Liz…my shape is not meant for any pencil skirts I have tried so far…love the look and wish I could wear them.

  3. Lindsay says:

    Abra, do you know if this is the same as the seamed pencil skirt? They only have that one in stock once in awhile (and it’s my favorite!).s

  4. Brittany says:

    I’m always in constant search for a great skirt–however I carry most of my weight in my stomach and always feel self conscious of having my profile look large from the side with with a pencil skirt. Does this skirt help that problem because of the stretch fabric?

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