There are all kinds of long skirts. And, in general, long skirts are more comfortable than slacks, unless your pants are very stretchy all over. However, most women look trashy or lumpy in stretchy trousers. So, long skirts are definitely a fabulous alternative. And, fortunately, long skirts are "in" for 2018/2019.
Skirt Length
If you don’t know what length skirt you look good in, it’s time to play with some skirts in front of a full-length mirror.
Some women depend upon fashion designers to tell them what length their skirts should be. Don’t do that. Unless you are an anorexic supermodel, there are going to be some skirt styles and skirt lengths that are more flattering to you than others. Stand firm.
Long Skirts and Body Shape
Many articles say that you should wear this, if you are an apple shape, and you should wear that, if you are a pear shape. I disagree. There are too many variables involved. You must look at yourself as if you are an artist trying to camouflage bad areas, highlight good areas, and balance your composition in a pleasing manner.
For example, I am an apple shape. If I followed the “fashion rules”, I would wear a flared A-line skirt that hit just below the knee. No flipping way! I would look like a dowdy, scary old schoolmarm. Children would run screaming.
Long Skirts for Apple Shapes
I have very broad shoulders, a top-heavy torso, and short legs. I need to wear a long skirt (tea length or longer) with a slight flair, made out of drapey fabric with movement. I look top-heavy if I wear a shorter or stiffer skirt. Give me Boho silk, rayon, knits, and shapes with drape.
Long Skirts for Pear Shapes
A pear-shape, with a big tush and hips, could wear a similar skirt, but she would need to balance her hips with a neckline or sleeve that stretched her upper silhouette out a bit. A pear-shaped woman may be happier with a stiffer fabric with no cling, such as a long denim skirt.
My guess, from an artistic standpoint, is that a pear-shaped woman would look better in a skirt that came to tea length or above. A longer skirt might be too much fabric, unless she was out for the evening, when different rules would apply.
As a general rule, I believe that a pear-shaped woman’s worst look would be a tulip, fishtail, or straight skirt. And, if I had a comparatively small waist next to my hips, like most pears, I would always wear a long skirt with a belt.
Long Skirts for Tall Boyish Shapes
Tall, fairly slender women look great in column skirts, pencil skirts, and circle skirts. And, girls with model figures can really rock the Mad Men style of January Jones. I have seen taller, but older, women look fabulous in voluminous Sandy-Starkman style skirts.
The reason that you can’t generalize about all women’s body types is that apples, pears, sticks, twigs, hourglasses, inverted triangles, and whatever, come in short, medium, and tall versions. A woman’s bone structure, head size, and weight are important, too. Every woman must learn to adapt fashion to fit her body.
Proportion With Long Skirts
Even though this photo shows a beautiful teenage girl in a mini dress, imagine that her dress continues straight down below her knees. She looks like a skinny apple shape and her shoulders would still look too wide with a tight straight skirt of any kind. She needs a skirt with more flare.
Sally McGraw in her AlreadyPretty.com article How to Wear Long Skirts has discovered the same secret as I have. Sally, who talks about thrifting and other inexpensive habits, explains, “For ages, I bought long skirts made from stiff materials, that tapered a bit toward the hem…It wasn’t until I started looking for long skirts that flared at the hem, that I found my magic formula. This style of skirt works for me because the flare balances my behind.”
Ms McGraw continues to compare a long flared skirt to a pair of bootcut jeans. She has found this skirt shape to be almost universally flattering, and mentions that the best skirt for her is not a long A-line, because an A-line doesn’t have the extra flare at the bottom.
What I find interesting is that Ms. McGraw has a pear-shaped body and she likes the same types of skirts that I do.
In the comment section at the bottom of Ms McGraw’s article, many shorter women say that they like longer skirts (especially black column skirts), but that it’s extremely important to wear a long skirt with a top that hits in the correct spot to give balance. This is most critical when you have non-matching tops and bottoms. But, a dark top with a long, dark skirt is almost a no-brainer.
Author Twinkle Brar
Skirt Length
If you don’t know what length skirt you look good in, it’s time to play with some skirts in front of a full-length mirror.
Some women depend upon fashion designers to tell them what length their skirts should be. Don’t do that. Unless you are an anorexic supermodel, there are going to be some skirt styles and skirt lengths that are more flattering to you than others. Stand firm.
Long Skirts and Body Shape
Many articles say that you should wear this, if you are an apple shape, and you should wear that, if you are a pear shape. I disagree. There are too many variables involved. You must look at yourself as if you are an artist trying to camouflage bad areas, highlight good areas, and balance your composition in a pleasing manner.
For example, I am an apple shape. If I followed the “fashion rules”, I would wear a flared A-line skirt that hit just below the knee. No flipping way! I would look like a dowdy, scary old schoolmarm. Children would run screaming.
Long Skirts for Apple Shapes
I have very broad shoulders, a top-heavy torso, and short legs. I need to wear a long skirt (tea length or longer) with a slight flair, made out of drapey fabric with movement. I look top-heavy if I wear a shorter or stiffer skirt. Give me Boho silk, rayon, knits, and shapes with drape.
Long Skirts for Pear Shapes
A pear-shape, with a big tush and hips, could wear a similar skirt, but she would need to balance her hips with a neckline or sleeve that stretched her upper silhouette out a bit. A pear-shaped woman may be happier with a stiffer fabric with no cling, such as a long denim skirt.
My guess, from an artistic standpoint, is that a pear-shaped woman would look better in a skirt that came to tea length or above. A longer skirt might be too much fabric, unless she was out for the evening, when different rules would apply.
As a general rule, I believe that a pear-shaped woman’s worst look would be a tulip, fishtail, or straight skirt. And, if I had a comparatively small waist next to my hips, like most pears, I would always wear a long skirt with a belt.
Long Skirts for Tall Boyish Shapes
Tall, fairly slender women look great in column skirts, pencil skirts, and circle skirts. And, girls with model figures can really rock the Mad Men style of January Jones. I have seen taller, but older, women look fabulous in voluminous Sandy-Starkman style skirts.
The reason that you can’t generalize about all women’s body types is that apples, pears, sticks, twigs, hourglasses, inverted triangles, and whatever, come in short, medium, and tall versions. A woman’s bone structure, head size, and weight are important, too. Every woman must learn to adapt fashion to fit her body.
Proportion With Long Skirts
Even though this photo shows a beautiful teenage girl in a mini dress, imagine that her dress continues straight down below her knees. She looks like a skinny apple shape and her shoulders would still look too wide with a tight straight skirt of any kind. She needs a skirt with more flare.
Sally McGraw in her AlreadyPretty.com article How to Wear Long Skirts has discovered the same secret as I have. Sally, who talks about thrifting and other inexpensive habits, explains, “For ages, I bought long skirts made from stiff materials, that tapered a bit toward the hem…It wasn’t until I started looking for long skirts that flared at the hem, that I found my magic formula. This style of skirt works for me because the flare balances my behind.”
Ms McGraw continues to compare a long flared skirt to a pair of bootcut jeans. She has found this skirt shape to be almost universally flattering, and mentions that the best skirt for her is not a long A-line, because an A-line doesn’t have the extra flare at the bottom.
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What I find interesting is that Ms. McGraw has a pear-shaped body and she likes the same types of skirts that I do.
In the comment section at the bottom of Ms McGraw’s article, many shorter women say that they like longer skirts (especially black column skirts), but that it’s extremely important to wear a long skirt with a top that hits in the correct spot to give balance. This is most critical when you have non-matching tops and bottoms. But, a dark top with a long, dark skirt is almost a no-brainer.
Author Twinkle Brar
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