Why I'm mad about the midi skirt
Demure but sexy, grown-up yet on-trend, the midi is a style to suit all women
Along with Downton Abbey and frozen yoghurt, the return of the midi to the shops is one of my top ten reasons to be cheerful.
By the time I return from my summer holiday, I’ll have had my fill of short skirts, maxi dresses and sarongs, and will be ready to embrace this skirt length with enthusiasm. But not everyone is as keen on the midi as I am.
Like many ideas that are inherently reasonable, this style gets a bad press because it falls neither on one side or another — it’s not extreme like the maxi or the mini.
Autumn style: The midi look on the catwalks of Christopher Kane, Erdem and Jonathan Saunders
Its reception has been similar to the feeding frenzy in politics when political parties dare to compromise; immediately accusations of bottling out are flung about. The way some of the fashion press has reacted has not been too dissimilar.
But for me, there is very little not to like about a length that avoids flapping around in wet wintry pavements and which challenges — for the first time in at least five years — the assumption that we all want to walk around in skirts that expose our upper thighs.
For the sake of definition, the midi starts somewhere just below the knee and ends at least a couple of inches above the ankle.
These are important points because what you can wear with this length is based on these measurements. The fact that your knees are covered means the emphasis shifts on to the calf and ankle, which determines the whole look.
I’ve always been a great fan of the midi. Who says you shouldn’t adopt styles that you’ve worn before? I can’t wait to get my hands on pieces that are close to identical to some of my favourite teenage looks.
Any Biba fan will surely remember the wonderful berry-coloured dresses that we wore with suede boots, floppy hats and indigo lipstick. Even if you couldn’t afford them, you couldn’t fail to be influenced by Ossie Clark and Bill Gibb’s printed chiffons that made the Sixties mini look common. They wafted round the calves of girls with wavy hair and knowing smiles. After spending half a decade showing off as much flesh as possible in bottom-skimming minis, it was a sign of sophistication to cover up.
Trend alert: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, left, and Samantha Cameron are both fans of the midi
The midi was flung on the dustheap of style in the Eighties. By then, the once-sophisticated midi had become matronly, given the kiss of fashion death by Margaret Thatcher, who adored them.
When designers such as Gianni Versace, Bruce Oldfield, Jasper Conran, Christian Lacroix and Karl Lagerfeld snipped a few feet off hemlines, introducing a high voltage array of mini-skirted suits for the new working girl and society princess, they caused a sensation.
Gone were the wildflower fields and beach locations of fashion photography and in came streets lined with skyscrapers, the model confidently hailing a taxi, carrying a handbag that meant business — and wearing the tiniest of micro-minis.
This isn’t the first time the midi has been resuscitated since then, but — putting my professional head on the block — I think this time it’s going to work.
It augurs well for the midi that the maxi has been such a success this summer, even translating into offices, where floor-sweeping skirts from Topshop and Zara became standard summer-in-the-city wear.
Not that anyone is going to be deprived of the mini altogether, it’s just that we are going to have more options.
And who wouldn’t want that? My preference is not to go too long. Unless you are tall, over-long skirts make you look like Mrs Tiggy-Winkle.
British designers have been particularly keen on the new length and their autumn collections are heaving with beautiful midi-length colours and fabrics.
Jonathan Saunders, Christopher Kane, Erdem and Clements Ribeiro all brought their individual take on the length, which ranged from womanly patterns to pared-down techno style.
High Street stores are more likely to major on the Sixties beat trend than they are to stock this more sophisticated look, but there have been early sightings of midis in Topshop, Jaeger and Whistles.
In Milan, Miuccia Prada gave us Forties glamour in her Miu Miu collection, and Frida Giannini for Gucci based a whole show on midi skirts, belted coats, wide trousers and fedoras.
The key to this length is in the way you wear it. It is essential to get some shape into your outfit — jackets must be short and coats must be belted.
I think that all sounds a bit fussy, so intend to invest in some fitted sweaters and blouses that will give some shape to the top half, new earrings and a pair of elegant platform shoes. It almost makes me look forward to the end of summer.
FIVE OF THE BEST MIDI SKIRTS
From left: Red with belt detail, £30, riverisland.co.uk. Denim, £39.50, marksandspencer.com. DKNY nude, £60, my-wardrobe.com
Black with yellow and cream detail, £40, topshop.com, left, Miu Miu purple crepe, £360, netaporter.com
Alexandra Shulman is the Editor of Vogue magazine
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