Fashion: Skirt the Issue

When you have mile-long legs, finding skirts long enough to be flattering is a guessing game. Let’s demystify the skirt chase:

Mini-skirts: Some commentators say that tall women shouldn’t wear short skirts. I call B.S. It all depends on your level of personal comfort and your venue—yes at the bar, no at the office. In my opinion, the ideal place for a short skirt to hit is mid-thigh (not so short that when you bend over you give the actual skirt chasers a heart attack). Here’s an example from ASOS:

Bear in mind that this is an average height model, so you have to mentally raise the hemline another couple of inches if you’re above 5’8”-9”.

Pencil skirts: When I wear pencil skirts to work I find myself constantly scooting them down to avoid the skirt version of “waiting for the flood.” There’s some debate about the proper length for this style—I’ve seen skirts anywhere from an inch or two above the knee to completely covering the knee. I try to aim for a length that just grazes the top of my knee. Here’s an example from the “tall” line at Banana Republic:

Calf-length skirts: I love this cut, especially since I tend to look for vintage-inspired styles. This really is a length that only works on tall women; if you don’t have long enough legs to carry it off, you could wind up looking stumpy. But even tall girls have to be wary of “stumpifacation”—the easiest way around this is to pair the skirt with heels. Here are some great examples from ASOS (notice the platform heels on the models):

 

Asymmetrical skirts: Another great thing about long legs is that you have a grand canvas on which to try some unusual cuts. Long, flowing skirts with dramatic slits or interesting wraps add dimension and movement to your silhouette. Here are two styles I’m dying to try from Urban Outfitters:

And then there’s the ever-elegant maxi-skirt, which I’ll be covering soon in a post all its own!