In mid-December, my husband and I made a trip up to the Poconos to visit Ledges Hotel. Ten-out-of-ten recommend getting away from the city. I think the Poconos are underrated as far as Pennsylvania destinations go. After mentioning it to my manager at work, he told me that the Poconos has come a long way, as in decades past, the area the the reputation as a cheesy honeymoon / romantic getaway destination. As in, over-the-top oversized jacuzzi bathtubs and heart-shaped rotating beds.
My boss’ description did not align with our experience at all. Our accommodations (read more about them here) were nothing less than clean and modern luxury set within a natural environment that inevitably must be the envy of other comparable hotels. Frosted with snow, partially frozen and partially flowing, the falls are breathtaking. Waking up sans alarm, to a window featuring the ledges while snow flurries were falling, was a winter highlight.
Shall we discuss the outfit…
The suitcase is vintage. In a time when tartan has become so popular, I like having a tartan item that I know nobody else will. (Fact: I just returned this skirt because it turned up on so many other bloggers’ feeds. I loved it, but I get the sense that it is just going to be too ubiquitous of this season.) I bought the suitcase at a trunk show earlier this autumn, via a vintage vendor. I was walking out of the trunk show and target-freaking-acquired. My husband insisted that I go back and look at it because even he could recognize that it is my style. What he did not know if that there was another tartan suitcase at the vendor’s booth. Spoiler alert: this is one of two tartan suitcases that I purchased that day. I can feel my husband rolling his eyes at my “hoarding” tendencies as I type. Expect to see the other go with me to NYC next month.
The cardigan is merino wool. (No polyester!) It comes in tall (petite and standard sizes, too) and in six colors. Lucky for you, in each color there is a nearly complete size run in the tall sizing. Naturally, I bought the heather green and the candy apple and the pale gray. I have discussed my love of a tall sweater once and again, and guys, these styles do not come along often. Some people call basics, such as the cardigan, boring. I have worn this style since high school and I think there is something to that. Now that they are released in tall, all the better!
My velvet top is sleeveless and slightly cropped. This shirt is available in tall (again, also in petite and standard sizes), so no inappropriate midriff here, especially when worn with a bottom that hits at the natural waist (we will circle back to that). The top has bra stays so undergarment exposure is not an issue. I actually bought the top on deep discount last year, when it was issued across all height sizes and in no more than four colors. It was issued again this year, again in all the height sizes, but in a whopping seven colors. It speaks to the longevity of the item. Act now, this shirt is marked down to $39.99, final sale (relax, it runs true to size).
My favorite part of the outfit is the skirt. I tend to like to wear skirts lower than my natural waist unless it is designed in one of two ways:
- If a skirt is not a mini and it comes in tall sizing, I do not mind wearing it at my natural waist.
- If a skirt does not come in tall, but in the case that the length is modest enough to wear on my waist (meaning, not mini cut) and it is cut with copious fabric around the thighs. Y’all this means the skirt either needs to be a generous a-line, or circle cut, or pleated.
When I saw this skirt, I had a Paul Walker (R.I.P.) moment in She’s All That. “Gentlemen, we have a winner!” This skirt in my regular go-to sizes has just too much fabric. More fabric makes one look larger. Sometimes this would discourage me, but I went a size smaller and loved the result. It is also handy to have all that extra fabric around your stomach when you overindulge in lobster mac and cheese at lunch and still have a full half day schedule ahead of oneself.
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