& Other Stories vs Good American: which skirt wins?
Both land in the premium tier — the & Other Stories Satin Midi Skirt at $99, the Good American Good '90s Mini Skirt at $134, just $35 apart. Here's how they stack up, head to head.
| & Other Stories | Good American | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $99 | $134 |
| Material | Satin here describes the weave rather than the fiber — the current drawstring version lists a 100% acetate shell on the brand's spec, and composition shifts between seasonal versions. | Stretch denim listed by the brand at 79% cotton, 20% recycled cotton and 1% elastane, in a zip-fly, five-pocket construction; some other skirts in the line use an 81% cotton, 18% lyocell, 1% elastane blend instead. |
| Fit | High-waisted and fluid through the hip, with a wrapover front and an adjustable drawstring on the current version; an editor try-on of the brand's skirts found her usual size fitting well. The range tops out around a US 14, which reviewers have called limited. | High-waisted with a straight '90s-inspired cut; core washes run from 00 through plus 32. Third-party retailer listings for the brand's denim skirts describe them as true to size, and the small elastane content gives modest stretch rather than heavy compression. |
| Quality | Editorial try-ons consistently place the construction above typical high-street level, describing satin that holds a silhouette instead of clinging; the trade-offs are a delicate low-heat fabric and occasional sheerness in lighter colors. | Construction carries over from the brand's jeans — reinforced belt loops, a gap-proof waistband and a smoothing panel, per the brand's own spec sheet. Independent long-term durability reports for the skirt line specifically are thin, so treat those claims as brand-stated rather than owner-verified. |
| Best for | Someone who wants one fluid office-to-evening skirt and accepts delicate, seasonally changing fabrics in exchange for a lower price than silk. | Shoppers who want a high-waisted denim skirt in an extended size range that matches the cut and stretch of the brand's jeans. |
| Care | Acetate-based satin dislikes heat: wash cold on a gentle cycle or by hand, hang to dry, and iron low on the reverse only if needed. | Machine wash cold inside out with like colors, tumble dry low, and skip bleach and dry cleaning per the brand's care label. |
These two skirts share a price tier and a high-waisted silhouette but almost nothing else: one is a fluid acetate satin aimed at office-to-evening dressing, the other a structured stretch-denim mini built on the same block as the brand's jeans. The $35 gap is real but secondary to the question of what each garment actually is, because no amount of markup converts denim into satin or vice versa.
- The case for & Other Stories
- The & Other Stories skirt wins on versatility across dress codes — the fluid satin construction transitions from desk to dinner in a way stretch denim structurally cannot, and at full price $99 it costs less; on sale it drops into mid-tier value where the acetate-satin construction is genuinely hard to fault for the money.
- The case for Good American
- The Good American skirt wins on size range and durability calculus — it runs from 00 through plus 32 with a gap-proof waistband and reinforced construction borrowed from the brand's jeans program, and stretch denim in daily rotation will outlast delicate acetate satin under normal wear and washing.
The bottom lineWhich should you buy?
Buy the & Other Stories skirt if the use case is elevated dressing — evenings, offices, occasions — and the wearer is comfortable with cold-hand-wash care and a size range that stops around a US 14; at $99, and especially on sale, the acetate satin construction delivers above its price. Step up to the Good American if the need is a workhorse high-waisted denim mini that fits across an extended size range and tolerates machine washing: the $35 premium buys meaningful construction upgrades and genuine size inclusivity, not primarily brand positioning, though independent long-term durability data for this specific skirt remains thin enough that the brand's construction claims should be weighted accordingly.
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