Walter Piper Lace Top with Faux Leather Combo

I was on the Gilt waitlist forever for this Walter Piper Lace top with faux leather collar.  Finally it became available!  So I bought it, and then it took foreeeeever to get shipped out (like a month?!?) but I finally received it and... yay!  So happy with it!

This top is actually quite different from what I normally buy.  I don't usually like high collars like this because I feel it looks a bit matronly.  But being faux leather, it adds a bit of cool.  I love lace and leather combo, since it's such a nice mix of feminine and masculine materials.  I think it's nice to own some items that I don't normally gravitate towards, just to add some diversity.

I really like the way they styled this top with a quilted leather skirt that matches the collar of the top perfectly.  Of course I immediately thought of my Express minus the leather quilted skirt that is similar looking!  So I copied the look.  =P

The back of the collar has a cute little key hole detail.  There's a button to attach the collar together.  The front body is lined with black lining, but the back is actually lace only.  You can tell from the Gilt pictures above what it looks like without any tops under.  I think that looks pretty good, but I did wear a black tank underneath it in my photos.  That's why it looks lined on the back as well:

I also tried putting the shirt on the outside of the skirt instead of tucked in, I like it too.

Close up details of it:

I think the detail of the lace in this shirt is quite pretty.  It also feels nice and thick, definitely more substantial than the delicate type of lace.  So I don't feel like I will snag it at every turn.  I'm also very glad I held out for a size S too - I could have bought the XS without waiting but I didn't want to get something that was too tight.  This item was non-returnable!  I guess it's because the price was reduced a lot from the original price ($128 to $59).

Anyway, I see this as something that I can wear to work as well as out on weekends so that always adds more value in my book.  Really glad I finally got it!