So long midis! Floor sweepers are back
AFTER a freezing start to the year, when the tog count of your duvet coat has been the only remotely relevant fashion consideration, let us move to more optimistic thoughts — like what to buy for spring.
I am pleased to report that skirts with real wow-factor are back on the style horizon. We’re talking maxi. In fact, we are talking super-maxi: ankle-bashing, unambiguously tothe-floor, for day as well as night.
Longer lengths have been creeping back into the fashion arena for some time, but the spring/summer runway collections were awash with gloriously decorative pavement-grazing hemlines. London- based designer Roksanda Ilincic’s show at Hyde Park’s Serpentine Pavilion was a case in point, with every look a floor-sweeper.
There are plenty of other interesting forces at play in the current mood for maxi. Fashion historians and, rather more surprisingly, the odd business professor have long been fascinated by the ups and downs of skirt lengths.
In fact, in 1926 it was economist George Taylor who came up with the so-called hemline index — the theory that when the financial mood is high, so are skirt hems.
So is it a coincidence 2018 started with the Dow Jones plunging to its lowest in more than six years? Maybe not.
FORspring, prairie styles abound. To keep your look modern, balance a flouncy print maxi with a chunky cream knit and Cuban heel boots in cowgirl tan.
You don’t want to look insipid or as if you’re in period costume. I spotted a gingham wrap skirt by resortwear specialist Miguelina (£126, netawhich captures the look nicely.
It boasts an asymmetric hem, which is something to look for when shopping for your supermaxi, as it breaks up the line and delivers a bit more of a swoosh when you walk.
On the High Street, check out Zara’s waterfall-hemmed tobacco-hued number (£19.99,
The hemline is cut generously and won’t force you to hobble when you walk.
I will not lie, there are some practical considerations when wearing skirts super-long.
Do not, for instance, consider trying this length when navigating a train platform with a large suitcase … as I learned to my cost while attempting to hop on a train at full gallop coming home from Paris Fashion Week.
It is quite humiliating falling up the Eurostar steps in front of the assembled fashion press corps, even if you are wearing an on-point super-maxi by British designer Preen.
Don’t be shy about taking it to the tailor’s and having the length altered if that will stop you standing on your hem every 30 seconds. You don’t want to shorten the life expectancy of your trophy skirt by puncturing it with a stiletto. If only I’d taken my own advice.
More wearable and slightly less demure than meets the eye are the new wave supermaxis with splits.
The Rixo Georgia star skirt (£205, net-a-porter.com) features now-you-see-them-nowyoudon’t splits to the midthigh. It looks just as good with black tights and knee-high boots, in uncertain spring months, as with bare legs and white loafers in summer.
And for those of you drawn to figure-hugging jersey and a sportier take on the trend, look for tube skirts with side splits. Pair with cool trainers and keep your top fairly covered to avoid looking too vampy.
As ever, the grown-up take on the trend is to temper a show- stopping piece with a more low-key basic, so look to pair your super-maxi with a neat crew-neck sweater or a denim jacket — whatever suits your body shape and style.
If you want to look dressier, wear your skirt with a simple silk T-shirt and minimal jewellery, rather than a ruffle shirt or anything that is too fussy or embellished.
That way lies Ma from Little House On The Prairie. And we don’t want that. Even if you aren’t lugging any suitcases.