I’ve been following Vixen by Micheline Pitt (and her gothtastic La Femme En Noir line) for ages, but it was just this year that I finally took the leap and made my first purchase. The day that the pre-orders for the new Micheline Pitt x Ben Cooper Halloween collab launched, I knew that there was no way that I could make it through this Halloween season or any future Halloweens without this skirt in my possession.

Although there have been many Halloween prints that tempted me over the years, nothing has caught my eye quite like this Ben Cooper Vintage Halloween print. I usually favor generically “spooky” prints (like spiderwebs, bats, etc.) over items that are specifically Halloween, which helps with options for year-round wear, but this pattern was too good to pass up. It’s classic, simple, and evocative: solid black illustrations of witches, bats, skulls, pumpkins, moons, and more on a brilliant orange background. This pattern is limited edition, so I swooped in on that pre-order to guarantee I would get my hands on one.
I’m a swing/circle skirt kind of lady, so this is my first experience with the Vixen Swing Skirt, one of the staple pieces of the line. The skirt comes in sizes XS-4X (all sizes are currently in stock, except for 3X). It’s a gathered skirt with a lot of poof and body to it, and as you can see above, hits just past knee-length on my 5’9″ legs. It has giant pockets which is always a major plus. The description on these skirts notes that the waistband is very firm and “nips you in,” and that’s definitely true. I ordered up, as advised, and this skirt is still very snug around my waist. I know that it will loosen up after time, but I highly recommend ordering up if you’re between sizes or unsure. I will say that this skirt does fall prey to my major pet peeve for all skirts of this style, which is that the waistband gets folded over and creases throughout the day because of where it sits on my body. You can see it starting to fold above, when I’d just put it on, and by the end of the day it’ll be fully creased. It’s not very attractive, and it’s one of the only things I dislike about this skirt. But, like I said, this happens with this style of skirt from any brand, so it’s definitely not something exclusive to Vixen.

For my first outing with the skirt, I went classic and paired it with a black top from Modcloth, a darling vintage-inspired Halloween bat pin from Dirty Lola, and (surprise!) an adorable casual witch hat. (Okay, I left the hat at home because it was pretty warm out, but I will 100% be wearing it out and about in fall.) I can see getting a lot of use out of this skirt as the Halloween season continues – it would be really cute paired with stripes or with other autumnal colors like green or purple. Imagine it paired with mustard for some delicious candy corn realness!
At $98, the Vixen Swing Skirt is priced on the higher end of retro reproduction separates. It’s nice, heavy fabric and well made, but it is tough to invest that much in a single piece. Looking at my own needs and wardrobe, I don’t see myself buying solid color skirts in this style; there are styles from other brands that are more ideal for my body type and at a better pricepoint for everyday wear. (Check out my staple circle skirt!) But if there’s a really special print (like this one!), I totally give two thumbs up to picking it up, and I would definitely buy another Vixen Swing if an equally inspiring print comes along in the future. I will also note that shipping estimates for pre-orders seem to be pretty optimistic. This skirt was listed as delivering in mid-August, and I got it the first week of September. Obviously, this was fine for me, but it’s just something to be aware of if you have a specific date in mind for a piece – it’s probably best to mentally add a few weeks just in case.
This was my first Halloween clothing purchase for the year, which was pretty exciting! I’m not shopping quite as hard as I normally would be since I have an international vacation coming up, but I do have a few other spooky pieces on their way to me. (You can see my 31 Days of Halloween Outfits from last year if you want to get an idea of what’s already in my closet!) Keep an eye here or on Instagram to see them as they debut!









ly
September 12, 2018 at 12:27 pmI adore this skirt & your wall of bats equally.
http://www.somethinginthewayshemoves.me
Penny Snark
September 18, 2018 at 4:22 pmThanks so much! My bats are one of my favorite parts of my apartment
Ms. Cat
June 2, 2019 at 1:11 pmIts a good thing that I sew, as this is the 2nd skirt I’ve purchased bearing the name Micheline Pitt that was a huge disappointment. While her concepts are really cool, her merchandise is 2nd rate at best! I mean has she never heard of quality control?
I previously bought her Deadly Damed kinky box pleated Venus flytrap skirt, but had to take it apart and repleat it to compinsate for the extremely poor pattern matching. After that nightmare experience I should have known better.
Still the heart wants what the heart wants, so I reluctantly purchased this Vixen Ben Cooper monster mask skirt, only to have it arrive damage ( hard to photograph – there are snags in the fabric in the ruching along the waist clear a result of the manufacturing process ).
I also feel a need to point out that the black of the waistband clearly dosesn’t match the black panels in the skirt.
I have contact her company regarding this issue. Unfortunately they haven’t bothered to reply. Had to file a paypal claim against Ms. Pitt. I advise you save your money for better quality goods and reliable customer service!