I’m convinced that more women are afraid of testing the maxi trend than they are peplums. Everyday I get on the subway and have to meander my way through endless ruffles and peplums on everything from jackets to skirts to blouses to dog collars (fact). Now, before I go any further let me just say that I have nothing against peplums. It’s a trend I still have yet to try for fear of the accentuating affect, but it’s only a matter of days time before curiosity gets the best of me.

More on that later though as I’d like to discuss maxi lengths here.

I’ve mentioned before that they’re the perfect transition piece from spring to summer before you’ve applied a sufficient amount of self-tanner to the legs, but what about in the fall/winter?

I’m all about toying with proportions and in the past have found that a maxi skirt paired with winter appropriate tops can be unflattering in the sort of way that you never want to look like a tree trunk. But when I received this Michael Kors skirt, I knew there was no way I’d let it hang in my closet until next spring/summer. So to the drawing board (otherwise known as the closet) I went and began testing out different looks.

I tried everything from short sweaters to fitted tees and had zero luck. It was then that I decided it was go bulky or go home and I opted for a longer and slightly slouchy sweater with a more structured blazer on top. Jackpot! All this time I’d approached the winterizing of maxi skirts by trying lighter pieces on top like I do in the summer, when in actuality all I had to do was embrace the bulk!

J.Crew blazer | Reiss sweater | Michael Kors skirt | vintage boots | Soixante Neuf ring | Kenneth Cole watch | Minusey bracelet | Mulberry bag | Ray Ban sunglasses

// photos by Emily Malan