Lenitif Two-Piece Set: Short Top with Tie and Fitted Midi Skirt

A two-piece skirt set that looks like a dress

This two-piece skirt set by Lenitif pairs a short, boxy top with a fitted skirt that ends around the knee. Worn together in one colour they read as a dress with a waist detail: a round opening at the front of the top, with a tie pulled through it and knotted in a bow.

Both pieces are made of 65% viscose, 30% polyester and 5% spandex. There are three pale colours: pink, grey and blue.

At a glance

The piece: top and skirt, sold together

The maker describes a set of a short blouse and a skirt: a blouse with a bow tie and a fitted skirt with a knee-length cut. You get both pieces for the price on this page.

The colours are quiet. The pink is so pale that it is nearly white in the photos. The grey is a light melange and the blue is a soft ice blue. On the grey and blue sets the tie is white, which makes the bow stand out; on the pink set it blends in.

Who it's for

For you if dresses never fit both halves of you. With a separate top and skirt, the top hangs loose from the shoulders and the skirt does the fitting, so a difference between your upper and lower body matters less.

It also suits anyone who likes to get more outfits out of one purchase. The skirt goes with a white shirt on Monday, and the top goes with wide trousers on Friday.

Closer look: what the maker states and what the photos show

• Set of a short blouse and a skirt (maker's data)
• Blouse with a bow tie (maker's data); the tie runs through a round ring opening at the centre front hem (photos)
• Fitted, knee-length skirt (maker's data); narrow pencil shape, hem just below the knee on the model (photos)
• Round neckline and short, wide sleeves cut in one with the body (photos)
• Fine vertical rib in the fabric (photos)
• Small metal tag at the waist of the skirt (photos)

The supplier gives no lengths for either piece and does not say how the skirt closes. With 5% spandex and no zip visible in the photos, a pull-on waist is likely, but we have not confirmed it.

Fabric and feel: mostly viscose, with stretch

The fabric is 65% viscose, 30% polyester and 5% spandex. Viscose is the main fibre here, and the spandex gives the skirt the stretch a narrow shape needs.

In the photos the cloth has a fine vertical rib and a matte surface. Pale colours in a stretch fabric can be a little see-through, so skin-tone underwear is the safe choice, above all under the pink set. The supplier lists the weight at 450 grams.

Fit and silhouette: loose on top, narrow below

The maker gives body ranges per size. Size S is for a chest of 85-88 cm, a waist of 66-69 cm and hips of 92-95 cm. Size L covers 93-96, 74-77 and 99-102 cm. XL goes up to hips of 106 cm.

Because the top is boxy, the hips are the number to watch. If your hips fall in a larger size than your chest, order for the hips. The top ends at the waist, so a strip of skin can show when you raise your arms; a high-waisted fit of the skirt keeps that small.

Size chart (cm)

Source: the maker's size table. The ranges read as body measurements: find the row your own chest, waist and hips fall in.

Styling: together or apart

The photos show the set with nude strappy sandals and nothing else, and it needs little more. A small shoulder bag and sunglasses finish it for a summer day in town.

Apart, the skirt works with a tucked-in T-shirt and white sneakers. The top is short enough for high-waisted jeans or wide summer trousers. In spring, a trench coat over the full set looks neat, and the bow shows between the lapels.

Occasions

Wear it to the office on warm days, to a lunch, a baby shower or a graduation. The skirt covers the knee and the top covers the shoulders, so it passes most dress codes without a jacket.

The pale pink is close to white. For a wedding, grey or blue is the more considerate pick.

Care: follow the label

The maker's data has no washing instructions, so follow the labels sewn into the top and the skirt.

Wash the two pieces together, so the colour stays the same on both. Viscose is weaker when wet; a gentle spin and drying flat or on a wide hanger are kinder to it than a tumble dryer.

The wow detail: a bow through a ring

The front hem of the top curves up into a round ring, about the size of a bracelet, and a ribbon tie is pulled through it and knotted. It sits exactly where a belt buckle would be. From across the room it looks like a belt on a dress. Up close you see it is the top itself, tied to nothing, and a small circle of skin behind it.

Fashion that gives back

5% of each sale goes to a cause you choose. You pick it at checkout from causes linked to 11 of the 17 SDGs, the global goals of the United Nations.

Our promise

Ships from the maker's wholesale partner in Poland, inside the EU, with tracking. The wholesaler lists up to 5 days to prepare an order; within the EU delivery usually takes 2–7 business days after dispatch. Delivery is free within the EU on orders from €69; below that it costs €4.95 in the Netherlands and €6.95 elsewhere in the EU.

You have 14 days after delivery to ask for a return, as long as the set is unworn and still has its tags. Our promise is plain: if what arrives does not match what this page says, send it back within 14 days and we refund you.

More sets that you can wear together or apart are in our matching sets collection.