The Best Coat Length for Flared Skirts and Dresses

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Angie is co-founder of YLF and its resident fashion stylist.

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The Best Coat Length for Flared Skirts and Dresses

— by Angie

on November 18, 2011

Guidelines on what length coat looks best with a flared skirt or dress will differ, but let me share the two options that I think work really well.

A cropped coat: We’re talking about a coat hem that ends between your waistline and crotch point. The point is that there is a large distance between the hem of the coat and the hem of the dress or skirt. To my eye, when the distance between the two hemlines is smaller than what I have described, the proportions are off and the combination can look a little dowdy.
A coat at least as long as the length of the dress or skirt: In this way, the hem of the flared skirt or dress does not peek out from under the coat. That’s why the coverage of midi coats is handy. They work with many dress and skirt lengths and silhouettes.

The key here is that the hemlines of the coat and the dress or skirt must not compete with each other.

Pencil skirts or dresses with tapered side seams are much more versatile in this respect. Just about any length of coat will work. Somehow, the hem lengths don’t compete when the visible under layer is narrow and form fitting.

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32 comments · Add a comment

Sigrid

Thank you for great tips!

November 18, 2011 at 5:08 am

Patti @ NotDeadYet Style

(website)

Agreed. I don’t need many coats in Florida, so I find a short jacket very versatile for all my skirts. I do love the look of a long, sweeping wool coat though.

November 18, 2011 at 5:12 am

Angela

I prefer a knee length for all skirts and dresses, love the midi coat link

November 18, 2011 at 5:13 am

Sihaya

Veteran

I follow this tip on the rare occasions I wear flared skirts or dresses. Most of mine are pencil or trim lined.

November 18, 2011 at 5:25 am

Joy

Veteran

What helpful guidelines! Now to actually find a selection of coats in this length. I like the look of the fit and flare coats and would love to find one to cover my hems, but that’s probably asking too much. All the coats I’ve tried with the length overwhelm me, so it’s still a wait for the right one.

November 18, 2011 at 6:18 am

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Suz, where are you? This post is for us!!!
Angie, thank you so much for this post. Flared skirts and coat length bothered me for a long time and you just confirmed that my intuitive feeling was right. I have been looking for a midi coat length for ever for this very reason but did not have any success yet. A cropped coat is a great idea but it does not work well for Canadian winters

November 18, 2011 at 6:24 am

Diana

Veteran

I almost always wear a short coat with flared skirts. I agree with you that the hemlines should be quite different in length, and it personally bothers me a lot when you can’t see the bottom of the skirt under a coat (it makes me feel like a flasher!) although I think it would be OK with a midi or full length coat, neither of which I own.

November 18, 2011 at 6:30 am

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I so hear you, Sveta. You need an extra long blanket puffer for the coldest parts of a Canadian Winter.

Diana, your “flasher” reference had me in stitches. I never thought about it that way! I do prefer a coat the same length or a little longer than my dresses and skirts (flared or tapered). I find the combination elegant and retro. I am on Team Flasher

November 18, 2011 at 6:45 am

rute

Veteran

Loved! I needed that post! Thanks Angie!

November 18, 2011 at 6:55 am

Elisabeth

I’m with Diana. I’ve always thought the coat should be a couple of inches shorter than the skirt, just so it would be clear that I do, in fact, have something on underneath the coat! But I recently had a fit-and-flare coat shortened and the seamstress convinced me that the hem should end at my knee, which makes it slightly longer than many of my skirts. She was right — it does look good at that length.

I think the ‘flasher phenomenon’ only really happens when it’s a long trench coat that completely obscures a shorter skirt.

November 18, 2011 at 7:24 am

mamark

Active Member

I’m the opposite of those with flasher syndrome. Probably due to my old-school mom’s teachings, I grew up believing that coats should be longer than your longest skirt. I think it was historically considered tacky/poor to have a few inches of skirt hem showing beneath the hem of the coat. Therefore my coats have always been knee-length or longer.

I only recently bought a coat that is above-knee and shows an inch or two of my knee length skirts. It took some getting used to with pencil skirts, but it has always been a no-go with skirts that have any sort of flare.

November 18, 2011 at 7:39 am

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Elisabeth, I look like a flasher today :). I’m wearing an above the knee sack dress, and for outside, I’ll pop on my red coat – which is the same length.

Mamark, I also had to get used to the length (hemline difference) of my shorter coats over a pencil skirt/dress. Now I don’t mind it at all. But flared skirts and dresses are still a different animal.

November 18, 2011 at 7:54 am

Nakidra

Veteran

This is why I LOVE my long coat! Covers my bum and my skirts and dresses!

November 18, 2011 at 8:07 am

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Sveta, I’m here! And Angie, THANK you! I will be interested in the discussion. I was brought up like Mamark to believe that the coat should always be longer than the skirt. But I actually like the look of a slim skirt peeking out the bottom of a knee length coat (assuming the colour combination is pleasing). It is flared skirts that bother me with the knee length coat.

Sveta, you and I definitely need to be on the lookout for a super fashionable puffer coat that is midi length. Let’s keep each other updated on what we see, okay?

I do have a LONG puffer coat from Land’s End. I will post a pic on the forum. I do not think it is terribly fab. And the worst of it is that it is not even terrifically warm for some unknown reason!

November 18, 2011 at 8:39 am

rae

(website)

Veteran

Thank goodness I don’t favor flared skirts – I don’t think any of my coats would work.

November 18, 2011 at 8:46 am

Irene

Veteran

I think I’m happy I wear short skirts and longer coats Neither my pocket nor my wardrobe can afford ANOTHER coat.

November 18, 2011 at 10:11 am

mamark

Active Member

I just remembered what my mom said about coats shorter than skirts/dresses. It was unladylike and it seemed like you either didn’t care about your appearance, or you didn’t have enough money to buy a long enough coat. HA! No wonder I grew up feeling strongly about this one particular thing.

(She also thought animal prints and dangly earrings were “fast” and I still pretty much avoid those, too!)

November 18, 2011 at 10:19 am

Vicki

(website)

Veteran

I love coats, “flashy” trench coats and short jackets, so I think I’m covered on these cooler autumn and winter months we have, so long as I don’t wear a flared skirt, because almost all of my coats are above the knee.

I’m so glad to hear that a shorter-length coat will work with pencil skirts, as I agree with mamark that it just looks funny when the garment shows below the coat hem. Like Rae, I don’t really wear flared skirts, so it’s nice to have Angie’s trained eye to help with cover-ups on these colder days and nights!

I have a short black jacket that is perfect using Angie’s specifications and falls just below my waist.

November 18, 2011 at 10:59 am

rachylou

Veteran

Haha! The *flasher* aspect has always bothered me a little bit too. LOL.

November 18, 2011 at 11:12 am

Heather

Veteran

Would it be wrong to print this, laminate it and hand it out to people? Brilliant post, Angie!

November 18, 2011 at 11:40 am

Linda

Heh. To me the flasher effect occurs only when the coat is several inches above the knee and the skirt is shorter than that.

I actually like a hip-length coat, a bit longer than what you’re describing, with a midi-length flared skirt (though I can see how it would look odd if the skirt were shorter). I find these are easier to layer under than most cropped coats, which is an important feature in the winter. But I have all three kinds (cropped, hip-length, and longer-than-nearly-all-my-hemlines).I wear flared skirts almost daily.

November 18, 2011 at 12:03 pm

RoseandJoan

Veteran

Another member of the flasher club, thank you for the guidelines Angie and for the giggle.

November 18, 2011 at 12:08 pm

KCanShop

So funny! I don’t like the look of a straight, long coat that doesn’t cover a flared skirt hem. Too constricting clashing with too fluttery. However, I do like the look of a fit and flare skirt over a flared skirt hem. The repeated silhouettes make it work to my eye. It reminds me a little bit of petticoats–just a little saucy and fun!

November 18, 2011 at 12:13 pm

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Can I join the flasher club too? Both my trenches are about 2 in above the knee and I wear them with some dresses which are shorter…never bothered me!

November 18, 2011 at 12:18 pm

san

Veteran

Very interesting that the skirt hemlines with tapered sides don’t compete with the shorter coat hemline. I suppose in the case of a tapered skirt hem you would not want a coat long enough that only a point of the tapered skirt hem would hang out. That would look odd.

November 18, 2011 at 12:25 pm

Lisa

Veteran

I’ve always been a fan of long length coats with skirts and dresses. I like when you see very little to no hem of a skirt or dress. I’ve never been a fan of coats that are very short with a skirt or dress. I don’t mind when a blazer or jacket is cropped, but when it’s heavy enough to wear a coat, I prefer more coverage. Then it’s a surprise what outfit is hiding underneath.

November 18, 2011 at 1:06 pm

Mainelady

Veteran

Until today I never realized that my mother raised a flasher!!! Mom insisted upon a few fashion musts: Ladies, young and old, must always wear a slip beneath a dress or skirt. Coats must always be longer than skirts and dresses. Bathrobes must be worn over nighties. School clothes must be changed for play clothes as soon as we got home.
So, in reading this thread, I now realize that I was raised with a flasher mentality. Living in Maine I have rationalized the need for many coats, so I have an appropriate length for each frock. With flared skirts and dresses I love to wear my cropped black jacket with faux fir collar. Combined with the flare, the silhouette makes my waist look itty bitty.

November 18, 2011 at 2:35 pm

Inge

(website)

Moderator

You ladies are cracking me up with your flasher tendencies:-)

I actually don’t mind my coat being a little shorter with pencil skirt and straight silhouettes, but agree that flared ones look better paired with the styles you are describing here, Angie. Thank you for the pointers!

November 18, 2011 at 2:45 pm

Bianca

Veteran

Ooohh, a handy little tidbit to know!

November 18, 2011 at 3:32 pm

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

My jacket is about 2-3″ shorter than most of my long midi-skirts and I love it They have the same flare!

November 18, 2011 at 4:04 pm

Aida

Veteran

Another flasher here Great guidelines! I love the retro integrity of a long coat with a shorter dress/skirt below, too.

November 18, 2011 at 4:40 pm

Jan Hubbs

I have a long black dress coat that is tea length. I have had it many years but it is like new. Women use to wear them very long. I know it needs to be shortened but I don’t know what length is acceptable. I don’t want to cut it to short. Your conversations sound like it would ok to hem it a few inches below the knee. My dresses and skirts are knee length. I would appreciate your feed back.

January 16, 2015 at 6:38 pm

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