Ask Angie: Asymmetric hems: Long lived or short lived?

Gigi

Angie (and everyone), do you think the asymmetric hems on skirts such as this one is a trend that will be around for a while, or do you think it will be out of fashion soon? I bought the skirt in the link, but it is a little big, so I will have to see about having it altered, which increases the price. If the trend will probably be around for quite some time, I may go ahead with the alterations, but if the trend is going to be petering out soon, it would make more sense to return it and get a more traditional hem. Asymmetric hems seem like a more novel trend (as opposed to bootcuts, which keep coming back), so I'm a little concerned about its staying power.

Thanks! :^)

12 years ago

Dressing

7 replies

Latest reply was from Angie

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Not Angie, but I'll take a stab at it. (Fab skirt, by the way -- this is the one Una bought, I think, for Sundance!)

I am going to say that this kind of hem will have a certain staying power because it falls into the "avant-garde" category (using avant-garde not in the dictionary sense of the word but in the sense of that particular aesthetic) and items like that have a sort of timelessness to them, particularly when paired with classics.

12 years ago

Diana

Veteran

I agree with Suz. I've had asymmetrical hems like this for ages, and it never really seems to be in or out of style. It's just an arty look, I think.

I am more concerned about high low hemlines. Wondering if I can still wear my coral dress (which has a severe high low hem) to spring events this year.

12 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

Thanks, both! Just to be sure I understand both of you--are you saying that although this is more of a mainstream trend now, it will never really completely go out of style, because if it becomes less mainstream it will still be able to be worn as an avant-garde piece?

Diana, I wonder about hi-lo hemlines too. I have only one hi-lo dress, which I got on sale this fall and had to save for this summer (very light material). At least the dress has a very interesting pattern, so that may give it extended life, despite the hem.

12 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

Suz, you are right that this is the skirt Una bought. It is a little too big in the waist for me, which gives it kind of an unflattering shape (it doesn't have the smooth, angled silhouette down from the hip, and it hits quite low on my thigh). I'm a little scared to alter leather, because if the tailor messes up, I don't know that he can just take the stitches out and redo it without creating visible holes where the stitches have been. But it's a simply constructed skirt, so it's worth asking.

12 years ago