Full Circle - Skirts for Fun and Frolics and Flattery

I was asked months ago by a friend to have a look at circle skirts, but I confess I forgot.  Still, she has reminded me, and so here we are.  Circle skirts flatter most hourglass and pearshaped women, but actually give the impression of curves to anyone with boobs bigger than their waist - and they're forgiving of bums, hips and thighs, and tummies too, if like me you bulge out primarily below your natural waist.  They're a fun, lighthearted sort of shape, often - but not always - evocative of a retro 1950s look, and as the Autumn Winter collections reassured us, they're going to be around more and more over the coming months.

The retro look of the circle skirt is fairly obvious - they're much beloved for giving incomparable swirl and movement when dancing, and you need a lot of skirt to top a net petticoat.  The skirts above and top are by Hellbunny, cost less than £20, but come in a terribly limited range of sizes: only going up to a 14.  I include them because they're fun, but for similar skirts you could also try Wagtails Dancewear, who have a good range of sizes and patterns in a slightly longer length.

Length then.  Most circle skirts fall between 'just above the knee' to 'tea length' (upper calf), and certainly it's worth bearing in mind that most retro petticoats are designed to fall just below the knee if you're average height.  But the full circle skirt has many incarnations. Taken shorter it becomes a skater skirt, and these are huge fun if you're confident showing your legs (be aware that circle skirts of any length have a tendency to get caught by the slightest gust of wind and expose more leg than you'd planned) - ASOS have a good range of these up to a size 22.  Taken longer than calf length, and without a petticoat to create the shape, all that extra volume becomes quite blowsy.  They are around - the example above is by fashion brand American Apparel, and you'll find a lot of them in 'hippy' shops, but it's not a flattering look.  As a rule of thumb, the longer a skirt is, the stronger silhouette it needs.

What about a modern look? Well, a circle skirt doesn't need to be dressed up in retro trappings to be a flattering option.  The skirt above is by catalogue company Very, and with its net overlayer looks very contemporary and clean-lined.  It's available up to a size 24 and costs a reasonable £32.  To avoid echoes of the fifties, don't overplay the waist with a cinched belt, and whereas you would wear a more retro look with ballet pumps, wedge heeled espadrilles or curvy high heels, here you'd keep things modern with some more modern lines as above, or perhaps a tomboyish pair of flat, heavy-soled boots.

In most cases, circle skirts look best with a close fitted top, to give definition to the waist, but of course if you opt for a dress you don't have to think about what to wear with it. Obviously purveyors of fine retro frocks Vivien of Holloway and Collectif, amongst others, will cater perfectly to your vintage-look needs, but contemporary fashion also provides.  The dress above is silk, by Great Plains at Oli, and it breaks my heart to say it only goes up to a size sixteen, because it truly is gorgeous. £59 reduced from £85.  For other full skirted frocks, look for anything called a 'prom dress'.  Odd terminology (have you seen what is generally worn to proms?), but the silhouette is usually right.

Lastly, an apology and a request. My friend did ask me to find a particular skirt that she saw, once upon a time in some long-lost corner of the internet. I couldn't track it down, but maybe the swelegencia can? We're looking for a circle skirt with flames appliques or embroidered around the hem. Please pass the information on via the comments box or email if you happen across it on your travels.

Edit - one suggestion from the lovely people at Biscuit Boutique: This gauzy number from Mode Merr - handmade and with a breathtaking price to reflect all the work involved.

Skirtquest!

*Puts hand up*

Charlotte, can you help me please? I'm looking for a black wool (or that sort of thickness) skirt. Actually, the colour doesn't matter that much really...

Either knee length or just above to wear with thick tights and boots. Any ideas? I can't find one anywhere.

What we're looking for here is an everyday skirt with some weight to it. Simple enough, but this may have been one of the hardest missions yet. The shops are full of spring summer floatiness, and at any rate, skirt profiles have been pretty 'sculptural' for a while. The pencil skirt, while glam, is not the most practical thing to throw on when ferrying three kids and a dog around all day. And the least said about it's unflattering little sister, the tulip skirt, the better. I know in my mind's eye exactly what I want to recommend: modern, fun - maybe a bit of a pattern... but all I'm finding is serious tailoring for the office.

Marks and sparks have over a hundred skirts to choose from, and two of them look like contenders. The first is a cosy winter plaid in muted greys or browny greys for £35. I like the high belted waist - which deserves a tucked in lightweight jumper, but could just as easily be hidden beneath something more chunky. The best feature, though, is the choppy, flirty hem. Not only is it fun, it's flattering too, breaking up the horizontal line. The other contender is a pure neutral. Classic A-line design for maximum versatility. If this skirt were slightly shorter I would recommend it unreservedly; at this length, I worry it may look frumpy. £39.50.

The White Stuff is a shop that needles me. I think it's overpriced, it only goes up to a sixteen, (despite clearly making clothes for thirtyandfortysomethings) and some of its tailoring is so unflattering. Particularly some of it's skirts where, like monsoon they seems to add weight to the silhouette right at the top of the thighs. As if that were a good idea. Oh and half of their website leads to dead links. But. Grudgingly I must recommend a couple of very lovely skirts. The first is somewhat over-whimsically called the 'Vibrant Gift skirt' (£45). It's a clean A line, with a gorgeous scattering of embroidered and printed flowers. It strays close to being a horizontal band of pattern, and that would be a very bad thing, but the way the flowers float up the skirt draws the eye into the vertical. The second skirt is called "Fly away with me" (no, really). It's also £45, and the warmth of the rose print is very appealing in the midst of winter.

The last recommendation is from a website called Toast. Usually retailing at over £77, this cord skirt with jeans styling is now a reasonable £40. It's young and uncomplicated, but not mutton dressed as lamb-young. It comes in three dark neutral shades: olive brown, soft khaki and dark grey-brown. Cord skirts look great with ribbed or woolly tights too.

Oh my! I could actually weep.

Yesterday I bought the above frock to wear while celebrating my impending birthday.

Today I got an email from Collectif (retailers of said frock), announcing their one week, 50% off everything sale - from 17th - 24th January.  Poo.  

Anyway, you presumably haven't just paid full price for a frock from Collectif, and so really should consider paying half price for one.  The frock I bought is called sugar, and I chose it because, unlike many retro frocks, not only is it not a halterneck, the straps aren't the thin 'spaghetti' type, so beloved of prom dresses.  The problem then is not that they show your bra (no big deal), but that a thin strap can look lost in all that expanse of arm, shoulder and cleavage -  making your flesh look swampingly huge by comparison.  The sugar dress avoids this problem by borrowing from the Mouret Galaxy dress in it's lines.  I bought it in pink with black flocked animal print (rarr) for £45.  In the sale it comes in at a much more modest £22.50. Find dresses here.

Collectif is also the home of the 321 skirt (£30 before discount): a modern take on the circle skirt witha built-in net underskirt, and more pencil skirts than you can shake a stick at, including the ultra high-waisted Heidi style (also £30 before discount). Find skirts on this page.

There are trousers, cardies and bags - plus some items already heavily discounted in the sale - and it's 50% off the lot from from 17th -24th.  Use the coupon code 'shocking' and click submit to view the reduction before paying.  Please don't do this before 17th!

Bit of skirt

Hey Ms Charlotte, I need a skirt. A plainish black one that comes to just below my footballer's knees that I can wear with woolly tights and bike boots, and that doesn't shout at whatever I wear on the top. I've tried a few on, but they had too much volume and make my derriere look even larger than it is. Oh, and I don't really have a waist as such, but I do have longish legs.

I love the look of a skirt with bike boots - very funky: utilitarian but girlie. My first choice will probably come lower than the tops of the boots - but they'll still be visible when you sit and climb stairs, etc - you might even take the chance to inject a flash of colour with some funky tights. This skirt is expensive (£48.90!) - but it's definitely long enough for our girl, as it comes from Long Tall Sally. I use it to illustrate a really flattering shape. Remember how bootcuts balance out weight above the knee with a flare below? This does the same thing - but the close fit to the knee is less bulky than a skirt which is full all the way down. I like the corduroy here, and the jeans-type styling at the waist. Cheaper - and more versatile due to a less 'casual' fabric is this similar skirt from Anna Scholtz at Simply Be (£35).

Also from Simply Be - and at a very reasonable £18 is this pencil skirt. Forget the secretary look in the picture. A pencil skirt with biker boots will look a little bit 'rock chick' - but in a dignified, flattering way. It won't disguise your bum - but it won't add any bulk at all, and the emphasis - especially given the longer 32" length - is on the vertical line, drawing the eye down the leg and not across the bum.

But once again it's Dotty P's who come up trumps with the easiest skirt to wear with biker boots. Unfortunately the plain black is pretty much sold out - but this grey and black striped 'witchy hem' skirt is a good buy at £22. The dippy, irregular hemline will contrast with the no-nonsense biker boots. If you wanted to take that look further you could look for something gauzy or floaty: pretty-hippy chic contrasted with heavy boots - it's a great look.