I don’t want to wear very short skirts, but I also don’t particularly want to look like a dowdy between-the-wars governess. Is that too much to ask? You wouldn’t have thought so. It seems entirely reasonable to expect that there might be an inch or two of sartorial middle ground somewhere between being a bare-thighed minx in this season’s Miu Miu miniskirt and a mousey wallflower mooning along with droopy hemlines trailing in her wake. That doesn’t seem too much to ask, does it? A skirt that looks modern, without being short.
I would love to be a short-skirt person. And I really have tried, I promise. But I don’t love my knees, at least not in flat shoes, and only rarely can I rouse myself to a pair of high heels these days. I realise this is a hopelessly old-fashioned lack of body positivity and I should probably keep quiet, but I’ve always been useless at lying so we are where we are. One can’t be on trend all the time.
It’s not that it is hard to find a long skirt. Quite the contrary – they are everywhere. Miniskirts have made a catwalk comeback in the past two years, but for most of the decade, hemlines have hovered around mid-calf level.
When the midi-length skirt came into vogue a few years ago it was, for a while, an exciting and experimental new look. A longer skirt felt arty and alternative, after all those years of just-above-the-knee straight skirts, or A-line pleated skirts, or knee-length pencil skirts. Longer skirts felt romantic, free-spirited and a little mysterious. But after five years of you and every other woman in your office wearing a long tiered skirt teamed with trainers and a sweatshirt emblazoned with random French words, it is hard to keep the sense of romance and mystery alive.
So I am thrilled to report that fashion’s next big thing is the sharp-but-not-short skirt. The bohemian, tiered maxi skirt is on the way out and the sleek, chic maxi skirt is on the way in. This look made its fashion debut on the Paris catwalk earlier this year, for Saint Laurent’s autumn collection. Long, pristine skirts in ivory silk were worn with spike-heeled boots or dazzling evening sandals. There were no spriggy floral prints to make the fabric of the skirts approachable (or even practical, come to that), and no every-mum white trainers. The chic updos and black sunglasses added to the new-attitude feel but, more important, this was simply a different skirt: plain rather than ditsy-printed, with sharp corners rather than gathered tiers.
A more angular silhouette goes some way to giving a long skirt more energy. No tiers, no gathers, no flounces or trims. This doesn’t mean you will be hobbling around trapped in a cylinder of fabric: fabric cut on the bias gives movement without looking messy. Alternatively, look for wrapover shapes or side slits. If you like a print, try something graphic or an animal print. No meadow flowers, no toile de jouy. Also, think about fabric. No cheesecloth crumples, nothing that sags. Shiny satins or tough leathers are a better bet.
One of the joys of a long skirt is that heels are strictly optional – only for those who really fancy strutting around in a pair one evening. But a heeled boot is an excellent partner for the sharper long skirt. Just that tiny lift can make a look sexier.
One day I hope to be forward-thinking enough to wear a miniskirt and flat shoes. But for now, the sharp-not-short skirt definitly feels like progress.
Model: Mei Mei at Milk. Hair and Make-up: Carol Morley at Carol Hayes Management. Black body: £85, Iris & Ink from The Outnet. Skirt: from a selection, Hayley Menzies.com. Boots, £230, Boden. Recycled earrings, £195, Loveness Lee
