You don't need great legs, good skin

Release time：2024-05-21 14:02:00 Source：Culture Compass news portal

Everyone has their fashion crushes, don't they? I mean those items of clothing that make your heart flip because of all the memories.

It might date back to your adolescence when clothes were the gateway to adulthood (any platform boots) or it could be something that accidentally fitted as if it had been made for you and wearing it, you felt like the queen of the world (strapless satin dress, red, borrowed for one night only in the 1980s).

One thing about a fashion crush, you can guarantee it won't be a useful turtleneck or a wax jacket. Still, if you're lucky, you'll have one that could work again, if certain conditions were met, and come the day when this crush re-enters the fashion charts, you can revisit your fashion happy place all over again.

Actress Katie Holmes wore a summery monochrome maxi skirt while out and about in New York, left, while model Kendall Jenner was spotted in a cream maxi skirt in California

If you happen to have a thing for long skirts (number three on my list), this time has come. They are back this summer in a big way and the risks of looking like an old Woodstock hippy are less than zero so long as you abide by a few basic rules starting with, go for a slimmer cut.

The long skirts I've worn over the years have varied from tiered and low on the hip (in the 1990s) to narrow A line with a yolk top (Laura Ashley 1974), but tiers are off the table now: too virginal or too hippy and (unless you are sapling slim) almost always fattening. Stick to the simple pared back styles, however, and long skirts have a lot going for them.

They are age-proof for one. You don't have to have great legs or good skin or even smooth, depilated legs to wear a long skirt (although a decent pedicure is advisable since you'll want to wear open-toed sandals with your skirt: closed footwear can end up making you feel too covered up).

They're a similar silhouette to baggy or palazzo trousers but more elegant — and cooler in the heat.

READ MORE: Why every woman needs to wear white jeans this summer. Here's how to make them work... and not add inches to your thighs, writes SHANE WATSON 

And they have some of the advantages of trousers (leg lengthening, easy to wear) and none of the drawbacks of regular skirts or dresses ie. having to work out what to wear on your lower legs (especially tricky in early summer when they've been hidden away for so long).

Worn in a nonchalant, smart casual way — with a plain T shirt or a vest under a shirt — they can be a really useful part of your summer wardrobe.

The long skirts we can do business with aren't waisted: the top either has an elasticated waist — more comfortable and flattering than a gathered waist — or a soft yoke top with some stretch, which allows you to wear the skirt higher or lower on the hips, whatever suits you best.

Hush has a good orange maxi skirt with a drawstring waist, lean and nicely draped without being clingy (£79, hush-uk.com) and Me+Em does a yoke top skirt in soft cheesecloth with a bit of stretch in cream with a black daisy print (£125, meandem.com).

The way to wear a maxi skirt now is with a waistband-grazing T shirt (no tucking in with elastic waists), or with a vest under a jacket or open shirt, or with a waisted knit top.

Cate Blanchett paired a maxi skirt with a matching shirt at the Critics' Choice Awards in 2023, left, and fellow actress Michaela Coel wore a Ferragamo co-ord at the Fashion Awards that year

Floaty tops in gauzy fabrics, block prints, rope or cork wedges or any kind of heels, take away from the clean sporty look that keeps this new batch of maxis looking fresh. This is not, repeat not, a boho look — which is why it works for us.

A linen rich skirt in black or dark olive green, still with a drawstring waist, is a smarter every-day-in-the-city look (£25, marksandspencer.com). Marks & Spencer's style has a side split, drapes nicely and looks work-ready with a vest under a stripey open shirt with tan or black flat pumps or sandals.

Marks & Spencer's crisp A-line black maxi (£39.50) is also bang on this summer-in-the-city mood.

It has slouchy pockets and the attitude of relaxed wide-leg trousers and would look smart with a cream knit short-sleeved top or a cropped, buttoned-up cotton jacket in cream or black or khaki.

Another secret to keeping the maxi looking modern and grown up is a glimpse of sandals, just enough that you don't look like you're sailing around on coasters (lots of longer skirts are described as maxis, but a true maxi is ankle bone covering).

For holidays you can go wild and maxis are your mosquito-defying after-dark friend. Ro&Zo's Moroccan rose print skirt (£63, jdwilliams.co.uk) will look great with that gold lurex knitted top.

Whoever said never again?!

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