Wearing old clothes in a new way (revisiting the silk slip skirt)
— by Alyson Walsh

Photos: Claire Pepper
It is wonderful when two old items of clothing come together to create a new outfit. Old, old, new again. The black silk skirt in this photo was snaffled in the sales during my Fashion Editor Years, in the 1990s. As the slip skirt is quite zeitgeist-y, I’ve been practising different outfit combinations, figuring out how to wear my old clothes in a new way. Such a simple item looks great with a mannish jacket or a chunky cotton knit sweater and trainers. I’ve been racking my brains trying to recall how I styled the slip skirt first time round – quite possibly with a t-shirt or vest top and a denim jacket over the top. No matter. Blending something refined with something rough still appeals – hence the slinky, silk skirt and the khaki men’s military shirt (not quite as old, Margaret Howell sample sale). Perked up with a pair of beaded earrings from Brixton Market and finished off with classic Tevas for running around in. Result. My style has evolved but it’s still feels like my style.

Earrings from Brixton Market

Tevas Forever
When I posted the first photograph on Instagram, I was asked where to find similar slip skirts; take a look at J. Crew, Ghost and Reiss.
Have you found any new ways to wear old clothes?

Please note: affiliate links in this post may generate commission.
Discussion (28 Comments)
Daisy says:
Totally agree about keeping clothes out of the washng machine when possible. This is how I wash my undies and delicate stuff:
Throw them in the shower stall.
Next time you shower, stamp about on them, gently of course. They will of course smell of whatever gel or soap you use.
Before you get out, hook them over the shower handle or whatever, and let them drip dry.Christine says:
Haha I always do that with my swimsuit when I shower after the beach- Gets rid of trapped sand
Sara says:
That skirt is great, Alyson; it gives a lovely laid back overall feel.
Three major difficulties for me in returning to older garments: if I am not wearing something, it goes on EBay and the resulting funds (sometimes surprisingly generous) purchase a new item, so I do not have my older clothes. Secondly, I have varied, over a number of years, from size 8-10, up to a horrific(for me) size 16 a number of years ago, so holding on to all the different sizes is not very practical. Thirdly, I simply do not have the space to accommodate clothing from years back .
I applaud the sentiment but am unsure it altogether works for me but I do wish I’d had a skirt like yours!Harriet Forde says:
I have found a fantastic seamstress who adjusts, remodels and repairs. This has opened a whole new world with the clothes I have. The more I work with her the more she gets my shape (meno waisted!) and what I like. It’s so satisfying to use what I have and what skulks at the back of my wardrobe unloved.
I’ve now come to the end of my year of no clothes spending, which I achieved with around an 85% success rate. I haven’t decided how to continue but the recycling of old outfits will feature heavily regardless.
I used Anna Berkeley on AW’s recommendation to revamp my look and I may well have another session with her to go forward into 2019/20 with less buying, she is fabulous.Claire B says:
I love the idea of recycling clothes from the wardrobe. Like Sara above I don’t have huge amounts of storage space to keep things, but do try and hang on to nice things if I can. I recently found a lovely beaded black tulle blouse I bought from Noa Noa in the very early 2000s which I’d forgotten about. It’s quite fitted and I think I stopped wearing it because it just didn’t look right with skinny jeans, but it looks great with my wide jeans and trousers. It’s very similar to lots of the Victoriana inspired tops which are just coming in to Zara, so I’ll definitely be wearing it again. Also two pairs of ankle boots which had been scratched by the cats, one black leather western style, the other doc martin style – I’ll be lightly sanding these down and then polishing and wearing again. Who needs new stuff? Well, yes I do actually, but probably not as much as I thought!
Hello Sara/ Claire, I do enjoy recycling things and don’t have that much space either – That’s Not My Age Mansions is actually a smallish mansion flat in London. When it comes to a Wardrobe Cull, I have to be quite ruthless and just hang onto the bits and pieces I’ll wear again.
Lisa says:
I just LOVE that skirt on you, and am unabashedly envious of those who can wear a bias cut silk skirt. I’m not slim and trim enough to wear that kind of skirt with any degree of comfort anymore, and like several others have mentioned , size fluctuations over the years (up, down and everything in between) makes hanging on to old clothes near impossible. But such great inspiration for creating sophisticated, personal style.
I didn’t quite know, before, what a brilliant stylist you are. I mean, I’m not surprised, but it seems you keep getting better and better, more and more original but also more refined as in not fancier but distilled. Hats off to you!
Agree with Lisa totally. This outfit is fantastic, love it with the Tevas and you are getting better and better.
Gill Taylor says:
Gorgeous combo. Love the shirt colour wouldn’t have thought of that with black silk but it’s perfect. Love the earrings too. Perfecto!
Catbird Farm says:
Love this look but I find every time I try tucking similar woven shirts into a lightweight, skimming skirt like that, there are visible lumps around my hips/belly from the excess fabric of the shirt tail. How do you avoid this? Or is the skirt quite a heavy fabric? It’s difficult to tell in the photos….
K says:
Yes! That is always my issue too. When we used to wear pantyhose, the trick was to tuck the top into those to smooth things out, however, now that we are all in bare legs….
There’s an Irish-Scots dialect word for those lumps. The word is bumfles and there is no equivalent in Standard English.
Catbird Farm says:
@Ganching, oh my goodness, thank you for “bumfles”! What a wonderful word, and so perfect!
TorixBear says:
I had so many tops I didn’t wear for this reason – they made me look bulky when tucked in but looked frumpy left out at hip length. Last year I spent an afternoon on the sewing machine and shortened them to be just-long-enough-to-tuck-in, and it’s like I have a whole new wardrobe – so many trouser and top combinations are now possible. I’m so glad that I didn’t get rid of all those tops, as I loved them, but just didn’t wear them as they did me no favours
Steele says:
I suspect that Alyson is wearing high-waist, stretchy undies and has tucked the shirt into them. This works for me.
Such a simple idea and it works. Taught to me by a client at the boutique where I worked. Could not fathom why I never thought of it!
maudie says:
Alyson, you look amazing and so comfortable with what you are wearing. I totally agree with Lisa that you are One Fab Stylist. I also cannot wear bias cut skirts as my hips look enormous and my tummy pops out. (Size 12 with galloping post menopause hips and tummy). Not a great look. I get moaned at all the time for the huge ‘dressing up box’ that I keep at the end of the bed stuffed to bursting with things that I haven’t worn for a while. Sometimes, when the mood takes me I turf it all out and come up with new combinations that surprise myself. At the moment I am experimenting with very casual clothes but ‘dolled up’ with bright lipstick, big earrings, snazzy nail polish and ‘out there’ junk jewellery. I have NEVER culled my jewellery – all as cheap as chips – charity shops, markets, holidays etc. I am sure this phase will wear off, but it makes me happy. My winter plan is to dig out all my very long skirts and wear them with clunky black boots and big scarves. (Hmm – thanks Clarks Orinoco Spice black leather bought last week when the weather turned bloody awful). Are we really all little girls with a dressing up box? – I think so.
monique J johnson says:
Yes, I’ll have to return to my silk skirt. It was vintage when I bought it and now it’s ancient…. but super cool.
I loved the earrings too. I just bought a pair on Etsy. They have the same vibe as what you’ve shown here…. but they’re 5 bucks.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MexicoInMyClosetMrs Tonia says:
Like many of you I’ve also had my shape visisitudes and have a thicker waist than I did, not to mention larger bustline. But I have managed post menopause in my sixties to slim down through year round exercise. This means I can fit into things in good colours and fabrics I’ve hung onto. And the clothes and wishing to fit into then has provided an incentive to keep exercising and watch what I eat and drink. Cutting way back on weekly alcohol consumption works wonders for general health, the complexion and waistline I’ve found after several Dry Januarys raising money for Cancer Research UK.
I’ve been a bit of a magpie about retaining clothing but I’m glad I have what I do given the high cost of quality clothing in natural fabrics now. Also when I find older wearable clothes shopping my wardrobe it shows me how consistent my taste is.
Everyone to their own in this matter like all else.My next Fashion Friday post is all about creating an on trend outfit with some of the oldest pieces in my closet. It includes a reversible wool cape that was my Mom’s. I’m not sure how old it is, but I wore it over my wedding dress in 1976!
Snap! I’ve recently been trying out similar combos with an almost identical circa 90’s skirt! I love finding new ways to wear my well loved old clothes – great post! The earrings are a brilliant add on.
I have some items in my wardrobe, that are really, really old. The quality matters! And I realised that trousers, etc. and shoes are most comfortable to wear when worn for many years, quasi broken in. Such a stupid waste, that clothes are too often treated as fast fashion.
Harjeet Virdee says:
I just found your website – great! I’ve still kept my good skirts and jackets from my corporate career days – too good to part with but too emotionally disconnected with that era now. I’m experimenting with pairing them with jumpers, colour pop shoes, wide jeans and cool accessories. A friend has appliquéd her jacket with dragon motifs and it looks great.
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I like the outfit pictured here plus the concept of repurposed older clothing. I have identical African bead necklaces from an Oxford shop promoting Fairtrade. Must search for them.
How’s this for a new/old outfit I wore a few days ago : a chartreuse cotton and linen scoop neck T shirt worn with a linen bias cut midi length linen skirt ecru with an abstract circular pattern with motifs in pale grey, chartreuse, teal. It made a good casual outfit. I wore this with the most comfortable teal sandals by a German brand Think! Bought in Berlin a few summers ago. Both pieces of clothing were from the 90s which came out of my storage units. Hand washed, hung up to dry and still fitting. Not throwing clothes in the washer or dryer prolongs their life and keeps the colours fresh. It’s tedious to hand wash with stergene or woolite or in the case of silk Brora cashmere wash but worth it if the clothes are still useable by doing so.
I notice a lot of retro inspired clothing and colours in the pipeline for the coming season according to the September issue fashion magazines I’ve looked at. Good inspiration for thinking about rewearing and combining older bits of clothing maybe with a few judicious new purchases. I’m following the ideas of Fashion Revolution as best I can.