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Inappropriate clothes

Sharon

Veteran

Ok, so I have been reading this thread on skirt lengths avidly as I recently bought a a dreaded skater skirt. And one of my dilemmas since buying it has been how to style it so it doesn't look too young. My thought process in buying it was this:

1.I want to feel more feminine in my clothes and since I generally favour more structured, severe styles this translates to wearing more skirts.
2.Pencil skirts are to constricting for "off duty" - I often sit cross-legged or with my legs pulled up on the couch at home.
3.A skater skirt allows me the freedom to move around the way I want at home, and to look identifiably female when I go out.

So I seem to have arrived at a place where the item of clothing that is most practical and appealing to me for lifestyle reasons has social connotations that make the choice a bit borderline. Rabbit and Cocolion have both very kindly given me some styling suggestions, and I will post my experiments soon, but I wondered if anyone else has encountered this issue (with any type of clothing) and if so, how did you resolve it?

Dressing

20 replies

Latest reply was from Gigi

Diana

Veteran

Sharon, I think you can pull it off. I would look at Anna's posts, actually, for styling suggestions. I think she does short skirts better than almost everyone else - they are edgy and sophisticated when she wears them, not at all childish and young.

My personal issue (which applies only to me - I don't make this judgment on anyone else) with skater skirts and the like is that, I look really young anyway. Dressing in a stereotypically "young" way just adds to that effect. I can't really afford in my personal and professional life for people to still think that I am 25 and inexperienced/still a student. On the other hand, 10 years from now I might be happy to be mistaken for 10 years younger so you never know... I might be adopting the skater skirts when I am in my 40s.

rabbit

Veteran

Well I'm with you, I have two skater skirts, and another one that's short and gauzy. They all are in dark neutral colors which I think helps and I wear them with dark/neutral tights or leggings. Usually they are the 'fun' bit of an outfit that is otherwise fairly sober/androgynous for me. I hear you on how comfortable they are to wear for a work at home/run a few errands day.

This is ideally what I'd like to look like in mine: http://intotheshades.com/my-style-15-10-13

Although I probably more often look like Velma from Scooby Doo wearing sweater tights and dark gray, I'm actually okay with that.

Or an alternate approach that might work for some people: skew pastel/pale, but aim for chic rather than frilly: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....etty-paste

ETA: you might be on to something Diana, I found this article that 40 year olds might be more willing to wear short skirts than 30 year olds interesting: http://www.glamour.com/fashion.....ok-to.html

Anonymous

I'm not sure what "skater skirts" are, Sharon. I look forward to seeing your styling photos.

carter

Veteran

Sharon, I don't think you'll look inappropriate at all. Every look I've seen from you has been sophisticated and appropriate. If a skater skirt makes you feel comfortable and feminie, by all means, wear it. In Atlanta, women my age and older walk around in tennis skirts all day (whether they've been playing tennis or not). Aside from the gear/no gear discussion, they don't look inappropriate. I look at them and think, "well, if I had legs like that..." If your legs are a great feature, more power to you. Go for it!

rabbit

Veteran

On the general issue of above the knee skirts and older women, my take is that ship has long sailed in pop culture, as the ladies below at their film openings and in their publicity shots and going dining will attest:

I basically think in general we should do what feels best/works best for us at the particular moment in time we are in and the life we are living.

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Aziraphale

Veteran

Sharon, I'm looking forward to seeing you in your skater skirt.

Here are my thoughts on skirt lengths:

1. You need to evaluate things on a case-by-case basis. Some "mature" women, like, f'rinstance, Kate Middleton's mum, have fantastic legs and look all kinds of awesome in a short skirt. (Still, she wears hers with patterned tights so she doesn't look too bare, and I think at a certain age, that's not a bad idea).

2. Getting all fashion police about skirt lengths is soooo 2005.

3. For me personally, it's about when and where I'm wearing the short skirt. And what kind of short skirt. Like I said, I'm 41, so officially on the older side if we're talking miniskirts. But I've got a gamine figure and the right kind of legs for it, so I do wear them sometimes. They do not make me feel sophisticated, but there are plenty of times when that's not a priority. I feel better wearing them with flat boots or flat sandals and a non-revealing top, because shortening the skirt hem dials up the sexy in the outfit, and I feel that I must counterbalance this with elements that dial it back down. But that's just my personal preference.

4. A skater skirt is indeed a youthful silhouette, but if you do it like Rabbit does, in non-girlish colours and with non-flirty other elements, it will work.

Kristin L

Veteran

I've been wondering the same thing about skater skirts. And I'm in a similar boat as Diana - I'm trying to start my career and I already have a "youthful look."

Have you thought about a few other skirt silhouettes? I found a fairly fluid a-line skirt that isn't as tight as a pencil, but it's still close to knee length (which is the highest hem I'll wear to work). Other options could be a flared or full skirt.

Have you tried any on yet? I'd give it a go. The worst thing that can happen is that you realize it isn't for you. Of course, that won't happen because you're awesome. And if you don't like it, it's probably because the clothes don't get you.

Sharon

Veteran

Thank you for all the ideas.

Diane, I will have to track down Anna's posts. I think that for me, skater skirts are casual wear rather than work wear. I am in no danger of being mistaken for being young, but I think a casual environment is more forgiving of the playful vibe than work is!

rabbit and Aziriphale, I have come to the conclusion that I feel most comfortable in this silhouette worn over leggings and with long sleeves, so I am not showing any skin. So maybe this is my "winter casual" uniform. And I'm with you on the flat footwear. I really like the textured top you linked to, rabbit.

carter, good to here that it seems to be situational and environmental. People where I live often wear gym tights to the supermarket (presumably after they have been to the gym) and I can certainly see a lot more than if they were wearing a short skirt.

K, I haven't tried a short A-line, but I may give it a go. Long, flared skirts seem a bit high-maintainance for casual wear as I usually feel I need to add heels to avoid feeling frumpy. But A-line could work well. Thanks for the suggestion.:)

Aida

Veteran

I bought a short tweed skater skirt for fall and quite enjoyed wearing it! I'm not sure I would wear my particular skirt's length in warm weather, but with cozy tights and a sweater it's great. I found that a lot of the "debombshelling a pencil skirt" rules worked pretty well, especially pairing boxier or oversized tops. I didn't post many outfits this past winter, but I do have a couple (#10 here, and #3 here).

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Sharon, I share your frustration with pencil skirts for at-home wear -- it's one reason my two winter pencil skirts are pretty much orphaned except when I travel. I DO wear the Vince Camuto tube skirts in summer -- because they are stretchy knit they work for my curling up on the couch times as easily as anything else. But I've often wanted another silhouette also. So I absolutely understand why you'd be drawn to this look.

I actually think it would be brilliant on you, worn with tights etc. as you say. I am sure you can find ways to make it really sophisticated. It truly is all in the styling. And also in your purpose. This is casual wear, not for a conservative office. I can't wait to see how you style yours.

Thistle

Veteran

I have also struggled with this as I do love skater skirts. For me, it has been a lot about length and then the top being less young.

And I agree, they are way more comfy than pencil skirts.

Deborah

Veteran

Sharon, I thinkt the way you have described styling the skirt, long sleeve toppper and leggings (full length?) would look very cool. A skater skirt would look ridiculous on me but I think it will work nicely on your lovely slender figure and with your height. I find your always has a bit of an edge to it and so I think adding your signuature edge will make the style yours. Have you mentioned what colour it is?

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Skirt lengths and styles that work have so much more to do with the entire individual than just one element like age. So show us your skirt!

Echo

Veteran

It isn't what you wear, it's how you wear it. I have always loved the flared, playful silhouette of skater skirts, and they were popular during my college years. I wore them all the time then, and for casual wear I now wear dresses with a similar vibe. You aren't trying to make them work-appropriate, and you aren't looking at going bare-legged with a super-short skirt, and I have never seen you post an inappropriate or even dubious outfit. I am sure this style of skirt will be fabulous on you.

ironkurtin

Veteran

I'm always a bit leery of "inappropriate" because, inappropriate to whom and why? Is it informal when formal is needed? Too sexy when serious is needed? To me it's about intention and attitude, because there are a lot of judgey folks and if they're gonna, you might as well be comfortable and feel great.

Gigi

Veteran

Sharon, I would suggest that you trust your instincts. I am 40 and have two skater skirts; I wore one yesterday and wore one today. I ran some errands today at the mall and got two compliments from cashiers (one at Nordie's :^) ). When I see myself in the skirt, I think I look good, and obviously others think so too. It's only the "prevailing wisdom" or whatever you want to call it that says that you can't wear such a skirt after a certain age. If you think you look good, I would trust that and run with it. I really think a lot of it has to do with body type.

I would also say to trust your instincts with the styling. Yes, the short, flirty hem dials up the sexiness, as Aziraphale says, so just don't wear anything else that's too sexy with it. I was actually able to manage heeled booties with my skater skirt today, but I had on black tights, and the booties were very simple and solid black. So they just blended with the rest of the outfit. For a top, I wore a lightweight sweater from Loft that wasn't slouchy but wasn't form-fitting either—it was middle of the road.

Anonymous

I'd say you definitely have the figure and streamlined, polished style to make a skater skirt look sophisticated!

I don't really have skater skirts, but I do wear the short-tunic-with-leggings look that was also discussed in the other thread for casual weekend wear. And I have a feeling it might not be the most flattering, current, or "appropriate" option ever, but it's so convenient and comfortable. What I've noticed, actually, is that I've recently been trying to tone down colors and accessories compared to what I might otherwise wear (which, admittedly, aren't super-extreme anyway) when I'm going for that particular silhouette so I look a little more polished and less like I think it's still 2009.

E

Veteran

I only wear flared skirts, although they tend to hit around the knee region, because I think they're so comfortable as well as flattering. I really think it's all in the styling, and I'm sure you'll style yours in a sophisticated manner. I don't mind having a young style, but when I want to make it look more mature, I use more neutrals or 'sophisticated' colours, nicer fabrics than what you'd see in a 'teenybopper' store, solids instead of prints (except maybe stripes), and keep my accessorising to a minimum. That being said, I just wanted to empathise as far as this goes:

>> the item of clothing that is most practical and appealing to me for lifestyle reasons has social connotations that make the choice a bit borderline.

It is so frustrating, and I find it especially odd that the most restrictive type of skirt cut has come to be seen as the most mature/professional looking. Luckily, you're dressing for your non-work time, so you don't have to worry quite so much about that!

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

It is odd that pencil skirts have become synonymous with corporate business wear, since they are quite form fitting and rather va va voom on a lot of ladies. Maybe it's because they were slim and so more like men's wear, or actually because they are restrictive and like suits?

Most of my pencil skirts are knit or stretch wovens at this point, but you're all right that they are less comfy for moving around a lot than wider skirts. I wore a sorta trumpet / Aline skirt today and it is easier to walk in and sit and squat in than a pencil skirt, even knit with a vent. For pure practicality, I would say Alines or dirndl skirts are the best - the full skater skirts are often so full and short that they would tend to flip out more than an Aline.

I will look forward to further revelations on the skater skirt thing, because I have one on its way to me from Gwynnie Bee, and I have no idea how to wear it.

Gigi

Veteran

I forgot to mention: If you like button-downs, those can be conservative enough to "dial down" the youthfulness of the skater skirt. I also think that a knit top with a band at the bottom works well.