Want a surefire, speedy wardrobe update?  Try a skirt!  Compared to pants, skirt are far easier to fit, more comfy to wear and suddenly much more stylish too.

 Choose a style based on your body type:

• Classic hourglass shapes look great in slim styles, dart-fitted to the waistline.(a) 
• Triangles – lower body dominant bodies – are also better in slim styles that don’t add unwanted bulk. (a)  Buy the size that fits your hips and plan on taking in the waistline for perfect fit.
• Rectangles and ovals – figures with little waistline definition – find the easiest fit in styles with a drawstring, yoke or facing instead of a traditional waistband. (b)  (c)
• Slender rectangles appear to have more curves when they wear a skirt with a skimming fit and flippy lower fullness. (d)
• Inverted triangles – with dominant shoulders/bust and slim hips/thighs – can balance their figures with slightly fuller skirts, horizontal details and/or patterned fabrics. (e)

 (a)      (b)    (c)    (d)(e)  

I know “they say” that A-line skirts are universally flattering, but that’s just plain wrong.  Take a look at the diagrams below.  See how line A appears longer than Line B?  And Y appears longer than X? 

 Layer those shapes onto a body and see how the converging side seams (representing a slim skirt, slightly tapered) slim and lengthen the silhouette,  while the diverging side seams (representing an A-line) make the figure appear shorter and wider. 

Unless you have super-model shoulders to balance the fullness below, steer away from flared or A-line skirt shapes.

Most slim skirts have side seams that flow straight from the hip to the hemline.  Ramp up the figure flattery by having your tailor stitch a new side team, tapering from just below the fullest point of your hips to the lower edge, taking off at least ¾”.  You’ll love how much trimmer you look.  In the photos below I just added lines to indicate where we would taper the skirt ... and even that made a startling visual difference, didn't it?

Soft fabrics with gentle drape can be worn in fuller styles and still create a narrow  silhouette.  The soft folds of fabric create a series of vertical lines that can actually slim and elongate your body.  

Body type also influences color choices for skirts, since lighter, brighter or warmer colors make your lower body appear larger (great for inverteds), while darker, cooler and more muted colors minimize (great for triangles).

Solid color skirts give you the most versatility and showcase interesting design details like creative seaming and pocket treatments.  If you choose a  plaid skirt, make sure the dominant stripes run up and down, not across.  And check that a significant horizontal stripe falls at the hemline to anchor the entire look.

Prints can also make beautiful soft skirts. (Review the print guidelines in issue #10.) Even large motifs can be figure flattering if they aren’t spaced too far apart on the background.  And the soft folds of a fuller skirt break up the print and keep the eye from jumping from flower to flower across your backside.

 The right hemline can make or break a skirt’s flattery.  Rule # 1:  be sure that the garment, on your body, appears longer than it is wide.  Therefore the fuller the skirt is (or the fuller you are) the longer the skirt needs to be to maintain visual balance.

For those of us “of a certain age”, just above the knee is probably the shortest length worth considering.  Long-enough-to-cast-a-shadow-just-below-the-knee is a flattering length on nearly every leg. 

Mid-calf lengths can look clunky, but the spot where your calf starts to narrow toward the ankle is another flattering option. Try thislonger length with boots or tights in the winter and with chunky sandals for summer.  

And irregular hemlines – asymmetrical, handkerchief, diagonal – magically make both your body and your legs look longer. What's not to like about that?

Hemline details like flounces, godets and pleated edging add movement and energy, but be sure to balance them with a focal point near your face to keep from looking chopped off and dumpy.

So find a time this week to try out some skirts and find what works for you.  Next week we'll explore how to get you best look in pants.