Fall is skirt season at Mata Traders. As the air turns crisp, our block-printed and hand-loomed skirts move easily from breezy summer pieces into cozy, layered fall staples — no fast-fashion trend cycle required, just fair trade cotton that's built to last. Here's how to style three of our favorite fall skirts, plus the tops we'd pair them with for effortless, mix-and-match outfits.
Why Fall Is Made for Skirts
Unlike summer dressing, which is all about lightness, fall skirts get to do double duty: they still feel fresh and feminine, but they layer beautifully with sweaters, tights, and boots as temperatures drop. A skirt from our collection isn't just a warm-weather piece you retire in September — with the right styling, it becomes a three-season staple you'll reach for well into the colder months.
And because every Mata Traders skirt is made by artisan partners paid fair trade wages, restyling one piece three or four different ways all season isn't just good for your wardrobe — it's good for the makers behind it too.
3 Fall Skirts to Build Your Season Around
1. The Emma Skirt in Rosy Snakes
The Emma Skirt is a blue midi with a playful pink snake print — a print that feels bold without being loud, which makes it a genuinely versatile fall anchor. Its midi length is the fall sweet spot: long enough to layer over tights, short enough to show off a good boot.
How to style it: Tuck in a fitted long-sleeve top and let the print do the talking, or go tonal with a solid top in one of the colors from the pattern.
2. The Belinda Button Skirt in Soft Fuchsia Rays
The Belinda Button Skirt is a high-waisted wrap midi in a pink-and-purple floral lace print — a moody, romantic floral that leans into fall's love of darker, richer blooms rather than summer pastels. The wrap silhouette and button detailing give it a little more polish, which makes it easy to dress up.
How to style it: Pair it with a fitted top tucked into the wrap waist for definition, add tights and ankle boots for cooler days, and layer a cardigan or blazer over top for an office-ready look.
3. The Laura Pleated Skirt in Retro Stripe
The Laura Pleated Skirt brings pleats and a vertical red, white, and blue stripe — a graphic, retro pattern that's a little more directional than the other two. Pleats add movement, which makes this one especially fun for layering with knits.
How to style it: Let a chunky sweater or cardigan drape over the waistband rather than tucking in, so the pleats and stripe stay the focal point. This is the skirt to reach for when you want texture and print doing more of the outfit's work.
Coordinating with Mata Tops
Part of what makes building a fall capsule easy is pairing our skirts with tops designed to work alongside them. Three to have on rotation:
- Camille Top in Fern Beats Emerald — a dark teal, long-sleeve organic cotton top with a leaf-inspired print. Its jewel-toned base pairs naturally with the blues in the Emma Skirt.
- Stella Top in Violet Scribble Modal — a soft, drapey long-sleeve in a purple scribble print. The purple undertones echo the Belinda Skirt's floral lace for an easy tonal pairing.
- Jane Top in Berry Vine — a berry-toned top with a vine print, warm enough to stand up to Laura's red stripe without competing with it.
Mixing prints with prints can feel intimidating, but the trick is to let one piece lead. If your skirt is the statement (like Laura's stripe), keep your top's print smaller in scale or pull a solid color from the skirt's palette instead.
Layering for Cooler Days
As temperatures dip further:
- Add tights or leggings. Opaque tights under any of these midi skirts keep you warm without losing the silhouette.
- Bring in a cardigan. Our fisherman and betty cardigans layer well over any of the tops above and add warmth without bulk.
- Finish with boots. Ankle boots or knee-high boots complete the look and are the easiest way to transition a skirt outfit from early fall into winter.
Dressing It Up
All three of these skirts can go from daytime to dinner with small changes. Swap flats for heeled boots, add statement earrings, and layer with a blazer instead of a cardigan — the Belinda Skirt in particular, with its wrap silhouette and button details, moves easily from the office to an evening out.
The Takeaway
Fall styling a skirts doesn't require a whole new wardrobe — it just means building around a few well-made, versatile pieces. Emma, Belinda, and Laura each bring something different to the season, and pairing them with Camille, Stella, and Jane gives you a rotation of outfits that all support the same fair trade artisan partners behind every piece.