Full skirts were never out of style, but form fitting pencil skirts have dominated the fashion scene for several seasons. The change has been building for a while, but this season the full skirt is retaking the limelight. 

Whether they are cut on the bias, layered with tulle, pleated, box-pleated, gathered, paneled, ruffled, inset with godets, or circular, full skirts are voluminous from the waist or hipbone down. Made of hard or soft fabric, they move as you stride and swish from side to side. The silhouette is conventionally feminine and quite dramatic.  

I LOVE full skirts, have four, and don’t believe they have an expiry date. I prefer them just below the knee because the effect is elegant, but also sport lengths on and just above the knee. There is something about their romance, movement and drape that makes me happy when I wear them. Having a stye that is equal parts ladylike and androgynous, I am as into wearing twirly full skirts with dainty pointy toed shoes as I am into sporting trousers with masculine footwear. 

My clients run the gamut when it comes to full skirts. Some love them for the same reasons that I do. Some feel that it is the most flattering silhouette for their pear shaped figures. Some feel that they look juvenile, prissy, fussy and overly feminine in a full skirt. Some feel that it makes them look larger than they are and stick to sleek pencil skirts. Some prefer to wear dresses over skirts. Some don’t wear skirts of any description. And some like the idea of wearing full skirts, but have a hard time matching them up with tops. 

Granted, pencil skirts are easier to style because they work with untucked tops, and with both fitted and roomy top silhouettes. Full skirts are tricker, especially if you don’t want to tuck tops into skirts but you do want to define your waist. You have to find a top that is short and tight enough to do the job, which is a tall order. Or belt a longer one at the waist. And as some of the photos below show, wearing roomy tops over a full skirt is “sack-like” and not everyone’s cup of tea. 

I’m seldom stuck with what top to wear with a full skirt because I match them with one of my wardrobe essentials. I either tuck in a button down shirt, wear a tucked or untucked, form fitting turtleneck, or pop a buttoned-up denim jacket or cropped moto jacket over a layering top. Every so often I play around with a new silhouette, like an oversized cropped lace blouse.

The only problem right now is that most of the full skirts at retail are mini length. This is a great look for those who like to showcase their gams, but it’s definitely not for me. I won’t go shorter than a length that brushes the top of my knee-cap and that’s that. Longer length full skirts are a rare breed at the moment, and actually this makes no sense at all. Runway shows are showcasing skirts in an assortment of lengths. Why can’t retailers follow suit? Here’s hoping that longer full skirts will appear at retail alongside their mini cousins very soon.   

What are your feelings on wearing full skirts? Do you like to wear them short or a little longer? Or do you prefer to wear straight skirts, period.