Reviews: Fertile Loam Mini

The Fertile Loam Mini ($148) has an interesting name. The only other time I have ever heard the word loam was traveling in Ireland when a native was telling my then-guy and I about building his house out of “straw, sweat and loam.” I don’t think it’s an allusion to the skirt’s color either because I thought loam was kind of brown and sandy. This skirt has a grey-purple-lilac hue to it which is quite lovely. The website product shot does not capture the true color accurately in my opinion.

The Fertile Loam mini has appliques that kind of look like whirlwinds to me, or maybe twirling bows. That is what drew me in. It also has cutouts shaped like viney leaves. There are a few different fabrics used on the applique, but the skirt itself is linen. I am not a huge fan of linen — I find itchy and stiff.

In trying on the skirt, I had some fit issues. My normal size 8 was a bit poofy on me off the hips, so I tried a 6. The 6 had the same poof issues, so I tried a 4. The 4 was tight on my waist but still looked kind of poofy off the hips. You know that scene in Disney’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ movie where Alice is falling and her skirt has caught the air and poufed out? That is how I felt I looked in the skirt — like I was falling and my skirt had caught the air underneath. The skirt hit me above the knee (right at the top of my knee actually) but I don’t know that I’d really call it a mini skirt. It was just shorter than normal. And of course the linen was structured so this skirt had no flounce to it. When I twisted from side to side, it just stayed put. A little less fun than a flouncy skirt.

Despite the poofiness I really liked the skirt’s fullness. I tried it on with the Meadow Squill Top ($98) and liked the complete look (although it was a bit bland in color) and loved the skirt with the From the Ground Up Top ($68) that I reviewed earlier this week. This skirt is overall a maybe for me. The detailing is great but $148 for linen? I dunno.