Skirts are a different mindset, and with the proper accompaniments, they are as practical as pants.

But you are correct, if you just slap on a new skirt into your all-pants wardrobe, it won't get a lot of wears. You need more with it.

Skirts Hidden Essentials, A Sort Of Guide:

1) Hoisery or cotton tights (more than one pair, actually more like 3-5 different options (color, type...) per skirt).

2) Simple sleek footwear such as classic pump, ballerina, flat pointy toes; and also an open mind towards trying your skirt with more unconventional footwear such as sneakers, clogs, booties... (some will better fit the pencil, some the A-line)

3) A topper that matches (i.e. if a skirt is sold with a specific jacket or cardigan, consider getting).

4) For long flowey skirts: I find wearing them with good solid color yoga tights (mine are black) is a cool way to feel super comfy in a skirt and still wear a skirt! I have the impression I am in gym clothes only people see a girl in a skirt. Add sneakers, cropped denim/leather jacket and golf cap and you're in business!

My most worn skirt is a distressed denim pencil: I wear with color cotton tights in winter (Bleu Forêt works best for me) and bare legs in the summer. Booties or clogs in the winter, sneakers or ballerinas in the summer.

I like skirts in warm weather. I'm on the hunt for an update to my old tube skirts, which I've worn to death. I find them nicer than shorts in summer and not difficult to fit or wear.

I am not alone!

And yes, when I find the right dress, they work beautifully on my figure. But finding them is awful.

Come summer, I like long maxi skirts, but they are not work friendly. Maxi skirts hide my pale, pale legs

Yes, pale is pretty, but i glow in the dark!

And I bet my climate does have a lot to do with it. Hmmm, things to consider...

Yes, skirts are fussy but I still love them. And I'm with you on Maxi dresses in the summer, they hide my glow in the dark legs!

Yes, I have always considered skirts are a little more fussy, but I like them. If I wear a skirt I need to have legs in decent conditions - shaved, preferably not too pale, without big marks from mosquito/insect bites (this happens to me, I live in the countryside), then tights in the right colour, without runs ... Pants are easier: just put them on and go!

I do think skirts are fussy, mostly because they are harder to get the right top with than are pants. I do wear them in summer but don't really find them any cooler than crops or shorts because I wear bike shorts-type shorts underneath.

I am on a skirt hiatus. It's the proportions that are tricky. In the middle 20th century, when skirts were often part of a woman's daily dress (often with a tucked in shirt), I think the styling was second nature. Now, because I'm no longer a pear shape, I feel I need just the perfect shape to create a flattering look overall, or I feel like Mrs. McCarthy in Father Brown. Not the look I'm going for!

I am hopeful though --- maybe because I still love the swish of a skirt!

I too love the look of skirts on others and wore them often when I worked in a corporate environment and could pair up a pencil skirt with heels blazers and tailored blouses, but I have all but given up on them for my current casual to smart-casual life.

I currently have one black pencil skirt in the closet, but I can't remember the last time I wore it (I wouldn't guarantee that I ever have actually!). Not entirely sure why this is, only that the ones I've bought I've never worn ... so I just stopped!

For me, skirts are easier to fit but harder to style than pants. So, I guess the issue is largely psychological. I'm moving toward loose, easy skirts -- both knee length and midi length -- for hot weather, because casual shorts are pretty disappointing to me (I wear shorts and skirts indiscriminately for running and hiking -- there are some great gear skirts out there!). I do generally feel the need to "toughen up" a skirt -- they can skew a little too sweet if I'm not intentional about what I wear on top. But that goes for a lot of dresses as well.

I find pants more difficult to fit/wear than skirts. I love skirts and have quite a few. I am almost never happy with the way pants fit me in the back, and I end up having to do alterations. Skirts usually fit right off the rack, and I find them very comfortable to wear.

Thanks to this post, I'm challenging myself to wear my skirts more. I pulled out a pencil skirt today that it took me a year to wear! I kept it because I knew I'd find a way to wear it eventually. I went through a no pencil skirts phase after I sized out of a beautiful collection of printed ones, and have only added them back cautiously since.

Love skirts, and Brooklyn said it all for me, too! Bare legs in summer, black sheers/opaques in winter, a more casual jacket(denim, canvas, knit, etc), NO pumps (but wedges, sandals, sneakers or booties instead) and you are set!

ETA: Start with a tube skirt and no tuck flattering top (pref to the hip length but not longer!)+ structured denim jacket(rolled sleeves to 3/4) and you will never look back!:-)

I run cold and for myself find the leggings under a skirt too young looking. I used to wear a ton of skirts but with the loss of wool in their fabric content don't anymore.

I have dressy long skirts and one very comfortable casual maxi. I have the same problem with my knee length pencil skirt and knee length sheath or similar dresses, they ride up when I sit down. This doesn’t happen with my knee length wrap dress. I do find it challenging to find skirts that have enough ease to not ride up but don’t add so much extra material to be unflattering. I find it easier to find dresses that work.

It has been raining skirts for me this year. I find them a bit fussy in the winter when you have to wear tights, but I love them in the summer. I’m just not purchasing any without making sure I have at least a couple tops to work with each.

I NEVER wear skirts. I learned this about myself a couple years ago. I have three in my wardrobe that I can't seem to get rid of, but honestly, I should, because I never wear them. I'm a pants girl. I wear dresses, too, but never skirts. They drive me crazy, spinning around my waist, riding up in the back, being hard to pair a top with... just never feel like they look right on me!
It's been freeing to just eliminate a whole category from my shopping. One of the nice things about getting older is I don't feel I have to have every type of clothes or follow every style.

This is an interesting thread, I must be an outlier because dresses and skirts are easier for me to fit than pants.

Getting perfectly fitting pants is tricky for me. It seems that if I put on or lose even the slightest amount of weight, pants will no longer fit me just right. Jeans with stretch are much more forgiving - so I mainly wear jeans as opposed to pants.

I love the "Le Smoking" look, but really for me, getting pants to be perfect is way harder than a skirt or dress.

I don't think skirts are inherently fussy, I just think they need to fit right to be fuss free and that can be just as difficult to find as well fitting pants! My most often worn skirts were all skirts that I had altered to fit me just right. I also realized I prefer a bit of length - I just feel more comfortable when I don't have to take care how to sit and not having the need to hold my skirt down with every little breeze that comes along helps as well...