Witchery skirt - you get what you pay for

Style into Action literally left skid marks today, heading for the Witchery shop, to try on the skirt circled above. 

After seeing it on the Witchery blog, it was a drop everything and think about nothing else until she had explored this. 

It was a fixed wrap (no adjusting 20 times a day & no accidental openings)

How could anyone not love this skirt?

In black (nuff said)

Wide band at the waist which keeps the tummy in (nuff said here too)

Angular lines (slimming)

Pleating/ruching at top but pencil width at the knee (perfect for pear shapes, or the always annoying hourglasses & due to the diagonal lines, it may work well for a rectangle too).

So, so, so, so nice...

Knee length - no unflattering midi proportions to deal with.

Leather waistband (a better look & a sturdier look as pleather rips easily on seams).

$150 - reasonable price, in fact, great price for a leather trimmed item

In short, it looked like the holy grail of black skirts. Hence the skid marks. 

At the store, this is what I saw.....on all of them. 

The finish along the top of the leather band was awful. I get goose bumps thinking about it.

Even though I loved the weighty stretch fabric & the style, the making at the top is horrible. 

I didnt try it on - there was no point. I felt icky looking at it. 

Extra horribleness was present if you tuck your top in, but just plain horribleness, even if the top is out. Mind you, in this style, most tops would need to be tucked in, otherwise they would compete with the leather band/pleats of the skirt and the eye would convulse trying to understand what is going on. 

Then the penny dropped: You get what you pay for. 

There is no way you can get a decently constructed piece with leather trim for $150 without some serious compromises. 

Don't expect otherwise & especially don't expect miracles from the high street. 

Sometimes you hope the compromises are small or not visible, but often they are big & visible. Like here. 

Even if the compromises are not visible, you still need to feel good about wearing the item - the moment you get that shivery goose bump feeling - run away - fast. 

Yes, I was disappointed about not being able to court this skirt, but if I listened to my preaching, I would have known better. 

I wouldnt touch this skirt in a gazillion years & frankly. In fact, this skirt helps to prove to me that anyone (like Tash, the brunette in the photo), who wears high end like Chanel on a regular basis, has got to be getting paid a decent rate to wear this item.  

Have you seen anything lately which you loved on screen & were disappointed with in person?