Liz wants to know how to style skirts, a category of clothing that receded from view like your teenage daughter’s mini. Relatively rare, skirts have become special and turn heads.
Here’s your maddening answer, Liz: “It depends.”
How do you like your knees and calves? What are your shoe options? Where will you wear it: work, play, or an occasion? Do you want to wear one because everyone else is wearing trousers? That’s a very good reason!
I think of skirts in three categories: pencil, midi, and maxi. Versions of each are easier and more fun to wear than others.
The pencil, above or below the knee, midi or full-length, flatters with its elegant taper from hip to hem. As a tailored piece, the pencil suggests a refined formality and femininity. Wearing one shows that you’re willing to put in the work, especially if vanity or weather requires hosiery. Whether the pencil pulls on or zips to the side or back, it’s vital to move easily to wear them well. Look for properly finished kick pleat(s) or side openings and make sure you walk gracefully in heels if you only pull them out now and then. Note the skirt length while seated, too, in case it shows more thigh than you prefer.
I feel silly wearing a pencil skirt with sneakers, my 80% shoe choice, but to make the leg line as elegant as the skirt’s, I’ll tolerate a kitten heel mule or 2” pump.
Enjoy the range of pencil skirts our designers offer:
The easiest skirt to wear is a midi with enough fabric – or great side slits - for easy movement. Most shoes work well, and changing them makes transitioning effortless for the Bar Mitzvah or Graduate Mom going from ceremony to celebration. Choose shoes that ensure you wear the skirt, because some of them will try to wear you.
Our third skirt category, the maxi, is the rarest. Full-length, it can be straight and tailored, as shown above, or fluid and fuller. Gorgeous and delightful to wear sometimes, they obviate the need for hosiery and are more versatile than gowns. Overall, however, they work best for formal affairs, social occasions, or lounging. Having to hike a maxi up to cross 7th Avenue and navigate Subway stairs, or even to get in and out of your car, takes the grace and half the fun out of wearing them day to day.
