Aida, sorry, I made it sound like I was singling you out! I was just making the point that Mo wouldn't have to taper the skirt to the point that it became a completely different-fitting skirt. I just happened to use your second pic as an example because it was handy.

Mo, it sounds like you are not in love with this skirt and haven't ever really felt great in it (?). Maybe if you consign it, you won't miss it? I bet if you put it on the style exchange, you could get a buyer.

Angie said in her comment above that people who have a distinct pear shape can look better in the straighter-cut pencils. I guess that would make sense, because pear shapes often look good in A-lines, so perhaps the wider hem of a straight-cut pencil is more flattering.

Gigi the only time I really liked the outfit was the banded taupe sweater with boots if I'm honest with myself. I think I'm at a point where I don't want stuff I have to work at styling hanging around, unless I LOVE the piece.

I like the idea of trying a longer pencil skirt and see how you fee. To the knee, at least.

Deb, I think the VC does that for me. I seem to be dwindling my skirt population down this year getting rid of the straight styles that I just don't feel are very flattering on me. I'm in the single digits at this point. lol

What Angie said. The tapering will help give you a more flattering fit. I find straight skirts to be unflattering on many!

I am a figure 8 too although heavier and taller.

I also like the taper on me, especially this year. Top selection is crucial too, needs to be just at the sweet spot to show we have a waist but not highlighting the high hip.

I mostly wear sheaths rather than a pencil skirt. I now only have one, to the knee. I like it with a top of similar colour either tucked or skimming.

However I totally think you can wear this skirt as is!

I am new to pencil skirts and have enjoyed reading everyone's responses. The suggestions that perhaps a longer skirt would work better, or a more tapered skirt, make me wonder if this could be simplified into a proportion issue regardless of body type. We know that the best proportion to the eye is a 1/3:2/3 division or vice verse.

The skirt would look less boxy if it were the 2/3 proportion, and your top were the 1/3 proportion. I know this is hard to judge in photos but I do not believe that the 1/3:2/3 proportion was the present in any of them except maybe photo 4 in the second set of the pics you posted. Photo 4 however, still may have looked boxy because the skirt was the smaller of the proportions, and for you to feel good it seems it would be best to make the skirt the 2/3 proportion.

OK, I hope that makes sense. I really think you can wear a pencil skirt. You have a beautiful figure, and if I bumped into you in any of the outfits pictured, I wouldn't have noticed the issue with the skirt at all. I suggest you keep the skirt, it isn't that bad, and hunt for a replacement when you get a chance.

I also want to add that you have super long legs and the first top paired with the skinny black pants looks awesome.

First, Mo, I think you look fabulous in the skirt, and I never would have noticed any sort of "blockiness" unless you had mentioned it. You have great legs and an overall great figure.

And this may just be a matter of semantics, but in my mind a pencil skirt must be at least to mid-knee (generally a smidge longer) and it must taper at least slightly because it must have a slim fit and bodies taper from hip to knee. A skirt that is several inches above the knee cannot be a pencil skirt at all to me (perhaps it could be an eraser skirt?). That doesn't make it a bad skirt; it just isn't a pencil skirt. The straight skirt posted previously is a great suit skirt, but it doesn't count as a pencil skirt to me, either.

Mo, I haven't read all the comments, but I do like 3 and 4 from your past photos. You look awesome in those. I do think a straight skirt is hard to wear--I have the same problem with some that I've made. A little taper at the hem is easier for me to wear.

Just a thought Mo, to my eye the skirt has more of a 60's mod feel than of a pencil skirt. If the 60's look appeals to you in any way you may find ways to style the skirt which minimises the blocky feel.

I agree the skirt looks god on you in general( I should hope to look so blocky!) but that other fits may feel more" you" and play up your figure better.
You can really wear the taper and I think you like the fit of more stretchy fabrics compared to the structure of the leather.
Whereas, I need my skirt fabric in general to skim over hip more. I do need taper- it's more flattering than completely straight- but just a little, while you can take advantage of more.

The comments about length are spot on as well-/ you can't get the taper effect unless the skirt is closer to the knee . It doesn't have to be below knee, but again, you can wear that longer tapered look very well, so that's one reason why the longer, stretchy, tapered tube skirts are so fab for you.

I am with you in the no pencil skirt camp, Mo. (I think we may have discussed this before!). For me it's a combination of things, First, the constriction drives me nuts. Second, i feel like they make my hip area look super *long*. I'm ok with my wide hips but not when they suddenly look long as well. I think it's bc i am short waisted and pear shaped, so in a pencil my hip looks like it goes from right below my high waist halfway down my thighs. It's like a giant wide oval. In pants, it's clear where my crotch is so the thighs look like part of my leg and not my hip. In a wider skirt the thigh width is hidden.

It's interesting, the only two pencil-ish skirts (VC tube and a floral silky one) I have are both patterned which breaks up the big oval. The floral one has a draped bit in front which also helps. The horizontal stripes on the VC help visually shorten the long hip effect.

What Staysfit said! I was also thinking it is a proportion/golden ratio issue but didn't have a lot of time yesterday to get into more detail on that.

Mo, I want to reiterate that this skirt fits you perfectly, and it fits you exactly as it's supposed to fit. I do not think it is unflattering at all, and I do think it is very possible that your eye is simply adjusting more towards longer skirt lengths, which are more on trend, so you are seeing "boxy" when no boxy really exists-- it's just a different look.

My own eye has similarly adjusted -- for example the skirt below and others at this length feel too short to me now, especially when I sit down. I am loving the midi length too much these days. (Midi for me is defined as a little below the knee, hitting above the calf, not on it - which is how my VC tube skirts fit. When I sit, the knee is still fully covered). I am finding the longer skirts are a lot easier to style; you can tuck in a top, semi-tuck the top, or wear with a longer, not skirt-length, top... the longer lengths also, to my eye, work more easy with bare legs. Since I'm short I'm ultra sensitive to proportions that stumpify my legs vs elongating them.

Otherwise, it's all in the styling, to achieve golden ratio proportions: a skirt this length is going to look better with a "skirt-length" or tucked in top. And paired with dark tights and dark boots -- to extend the black. However I think you are in a climate too warm for that option, right?

I echo exactly what Aida and Suz said.

Malina, pencil skirts can fit straight from the side seams, like Shiny's and your example. OR the side seams can taper in like the VC tube skirts - all at any length. Does that make sense?

ANY skirt that flares out further than straight from the side seams, is no longer a pencil skirt. They veer into A-line, trumpet, etc. I don't think your black skirt is an A-line. It's still a pencil, but not a tapered one.

FWIW, I don't think the empire top works with the black pencil because it makes you look disproportionately short waisted (first set of photos). The contrast of the peplum is too high. Make the look tonal and the proportions change. I like the way you paired the pink and white tees, and taupe jumper with the skirt though (second set of photos). Gorgeous. You wear the skirt well to my eye.

Mo- didn't get a chance to read all the others, so maybe that means my thoughts haven't been swayed?

Anyway, I would try tapering it just slightly at the bottom. Maybe use a safety pin so you can see the difference.

I am a pear, and I stay away from tapered pencil skirts. My sister has more of your shape, and she looks better when there is just a bit of taper.

Comparing your photo to the model, the model's version is showing an inch more skin above the knee cap. I wonder if that's part of what you are seeing. That model must have abbie-normal long legs.

I appreciate all the input. I wonder if this skirt came up higher on the waist, like Shiny's, if I would be happier with the overall shape. I'm torn on keeping or purging now lol. I did spend money on it, and cost per wear is still over that $20 threshold I like to break through, and it doesn't hurt anything being in my closet. I'm not cramped for space. I have decided I will not buy any more of this shape/length but am undecided on just what to do with this one. I am disappointed that tucking doesn't work like I'd hoped with it. That's where I really feel blocky because my actual waist gets lost with the low rise of the skirt.

Could you try a longer top untucked the belt at your natural waist?

Mo, I actually think you look good in #1 and #4 of the second set of pics. (Well, you look good in all of them, but the outfit looks good on those.)

In analyzing why, each of those outfits includes a slightly drapey untucked top that nevertheless hints at your shape (without reading va va voom) -- so it is slightly de-bombshelled and also slightly casualized, which is in fitting with your lifestyle. There may be a hint of rock and roll (the skirt is leather) but it's not emphasized much in these looks in fact. The skirt happens to be leather -- it's not a leather skirt that is wearing you.

So I am wondering if it is more than just the cut that is making this hard. I'll bet you might be making this skirt work for you more often in Tahoe. It's not easy to find times to wear a leather skirt in hot Florida except for night out events. But the night out tops you have don't really work with it. Meanwhile, you do have more casual tops that work really well, but no occasions for those outfits.

Does that make sense? Because in looking again -- while I agree a longer more tapered pencil is sort of what my eye has adjusted to, and it surely looks fab on you -- you can ALSO wear this length and cut extremely well.

I pulled it out of the bag and put it back on yesterday only to put it right back in the bag. It's cut too straight (including in the hips) to accent my figure. It's tight in the butt, but too loose in the waistband, unless I'm down several pounds like in the pic with the sweater and boots. I'm over it at this point lol. Moving on . . . Thanks again for all the helpful comments.

In addition to all the great proportion discussion and Suz' great analysis, I personally find straighter skirts look more conservative - perhaps especially when worn by someone who clearly has a great figure for a more tapered, bombshell skirt. I find this skirt a bit of a contrast in itself because it is cut "conservatively" (to my eye), but is black leather which is more rocker. As people have pointed out, you CAN indeed wear it well in the right outfit, but I get why this cut is maybe not your style.