Knitch Magazine

Spring has definitely sprung, the weather keeps going from warm to cool to warm again, and we’re faced with the important fashion decision of what we should add to our wardrobes to be right in style. Based on the runway shows in Paris, Milan, London and New York, the one crucial item to add is the ever-versatile skirt. And the best news of all is that this season, you can strut your stuff and show off your assets in a wide range of styles to suit everyone’s shape and personal preference.

Length is the first skirt aspect to consider when making your decision, and this season haute couture fashions showed all variations from which to choose. From the short skirts designed as eyelet tennis minis by Tommy Hilfiger to the long, flowing lines of maxi skirts from Oscar de la Renta, all lengths are well represented this season. The most common lengths in evidence are the mid-calf length and that oh-so versatile just-above-the-knees length, but the selection is totally up to you. Consider your personal figure strengths and accent whichever portion you choose – or even choose not to if you go with floor length.

Next you need to select the general shaping or outline that works best for you. As part of the retro look of unstructured draping, the A-line skirt in a variety of lengths is very prevalent. This retro look is similar to the styles worn by Jackie Kennedy and the Camelot crowd of the American White House in the early 1960s. But also widely available now are the Bohemian, flowing lines of styles from the 1960s and ‘70s once popular with the “flower child” generation and common once again now that same generation is all grown up. Less popular but still available are pencil-thin, straight skirts, usually as part of a suit and the belled skirt look made popular last season with the popularity of TV’s Mad Men series.

One other important aspect of this new trendsetter is to select what type of embellishments will best suit your taste and figure type. Because of the return to the romantic look, ruffled skirts are once again popular as demonstrated by the fashion offerings of Michael Kors and Nina Ricci. Or if you prefer a more all-American look, harken back to the styles of the American West and enjoy fringed skirts such as the ones Ralph Lauren has brought back in fashion. You can even enjoy pleats-a-plenty once again, but not the tailored, box pleats of past seasons. For this spring and summer, you will enjoy loose, soft pleats as part of the return to less structured designs.

No matter which choices you make, remember to select those trends that best suit your body shape and personal fashion sense. For example, since color blocking is once again popular in skirt styles, choose either subtle color accents to highlight certain features or go with splashes of color blocks for a youthful, funky look. But no matter what you decide upon, the end result will be superb as long as skirts once again play a prominent role in your spring/summer wardrobe.