Thrifted Burberry skirt, hemming question

I was lucky to find this navy vintage Burberry skirt with green/light grey checks in a wonderful 100% summer wool quality for only 8$! It has inverted pleats in the front and back, while the sides are straight. I can wear it for work, MOTG and fun. I really like the green checks as I'm adding more green to my wardrobe.

I have to do some alterations since it is too long and slightly loose in the waist. I'll shorten it to just below my knees. My question: do you think it would look be best if I got it shorten from the top (moving the waist down) or from the bottom? Obviously it would be easier to just hem it, but I wonder if the pleats would look better if the waist was taken down?

ETA: Pic #3, first one is the skirt as is, in the second pic I've just rolled the waistband to show the approximate length I'd like it to be + you can see how the pleats fall. I'm sure my tailor will make the waistband and everything look smooth and neat. In the last pic I've pinned the hem to show how the inverted pleats look like and the approx. length after alterations. Obviusly, the pleats look far more bulky than how it should look because the pinning done in a hurry.

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6 years ago

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Lovely skirt. Regarding the brand and provenance, still lovely but I think a label saying "Burberrys" with an s on the end may be a clue that it's fake? Pretty sure it should be Burberry without an s. Anyway, the pic on the far right of your 3, whatever you've done there, looks the best.

Marilyn

Not a fake. Same company, different vintage.

""Burberry" was the original name, but then the company soon switched to
using the name "Burberrys", after many customers from around the world
began calling it "Burberrys of London". In 1999, it reverted to its old
name, "Burberry"."

Lovely find, Harmonica. I would shorten from the bottom so as not to ruin the lines of the skirt.

jill58

While I can't speak to the authenticity of this particular skirt it does seem that Burberry has sometimes used Burberrys on their labels. http://vintagefashionguild.org.....burberrys/
I think the waist looks two high in the second photo. Otherwise, great skirt!

Jane

Great skirt Harmonica, I think I would shorten from the bottom. I think the waist seems to fit ok? Or at least how it looks in 3. Great price, great style!

Laura G

I love your skirt! I can see where you could get a lot of mileage out of it. Unless you're planning to alter it yourself, I think you can trust your seamstress to know the best way to go about it.

Excellent that it's not a fake, yay! Thank you Marilyn and Jill! Harmonica will be happy and I apologise. Seems I've only heard of the brand since 1999 which I'm sure would be right as I didn't know much about fashion labels back then

harmonica

Jenni NZ, thanks for the input! I noticed the additional s, too. The quality is impeccable so I wouldn't bother about a fake label, anyway.

Marilyn, jill58, thanks for enlightening us! I didn't know that the spelling has been different at different times. Fun! I want to know more. Do you have any good reads about i to reccomend?

Jane, thanks! I can actually fit my fist between my waist and the waistband. It looks better than it feels, though.

Laura G, that's a great solution! Why didn't I think of just asking her? I'll follow her advice.

Jenni NZ, no need to appologise! Now we learnt something new today, too. So much knowledge and wisdom here at YLF.

jill58, thanks for the link!

Joyce B

Nice find!

Firecracker (Sharan)

Great skirt. It looks really nice the way you have it pinned in the third picture. I think it will work fine to shorten from the bottom, but I agree with asking your alterations expert.
One problem with shortening from the top is that you may end up having to remove and reapply the zipper, if it has one--which adds time and expense. Also, altering the pleats at the top to make the skirt narrow enough at the waist could be tricky.

Thank you, Joyce B and Firecracker!

Firecracker, you are right about the waistband/altering from top issues. I'm willing to pay the extra cost, especially if I have to do some alterations at the waist anyway. I'll ask my tailor what will be the best option.

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