How to Make Skirts Feel as Easy as Jeans: Part 3

It’s all about proportion baby!

So, have I convinced you yet that wearing skirts can be easy and fun?

I know, I know … they can still feel a little bit daunting, specially if you are not used to wearing them. But most of the time, when a skirt outfit is not working, the culprit is not actually the skirt. It’s everything else happening around it.

This is why I started this series with shoes. Once you nail what you are wearing on your feet, everything else gets a little easier. Then what you wear on top can decide your mood for the day or where you want to take the skirt: casual, sporty, polished, dressy…

But sometimes you have nailed both of those things and the outfit still does not quite work.

Before getting annoyed, blaming your body (not on my watch!) or reaching for the old jeans and calling it a day, there is another thing worth looking at: The Proportion.

I have talked before about my 3 Ps, as an easy reminder to nail an outfit, but today I want to go much deeper into proportion specifically to do with skirts. Where things finish, how much fabric is happening where, when showing a little bit of shape changes everything, and all those tiny adjustments that can make an outfit suddenly click.

And because I’ve had quite a few questions about maxi skirts, we are getting into those too.

A small disclaimer before we start: these are the proportions I tend to like on my body. Yours might be completely different, and that is exactly the whole point about personal style… so if you are struggling to wear your skirts, let’s chat!

For me what’s important is that I am not trying to make myself look smaller, slimmer or more hourglass. What I generally want is to avoid feeling swallowed by fabric, to feel put together without looking overly done, and most importantly, to feel comfortable.

When you are putting your own outfits together, think first about what you want the clothes to do and how you want to feel in them. Maybe you like emphasising your waist. Maybe you love volume. Maybe you want to show your legs, your shoulders or absolutely none of the above. There is no correct answer.

Styling is not about “fixing” your body. It’s about using clothes to highlight what you enjoy about yourself and creating proportions that make you feel good.

1. Change the silhouette before you change the outfit

Before you take off the skirt and throw it out of the window, try changing the silhouette first.

With skirts, where the top ends can have a much bigger impact than it does with trousers. A skirt is one continuous shape of fabric, so if the top finishes at an awkward point, the whole outfit can suddenly feel heavy, shapeless or slightly off.

Most times the problem is not the top, it just needs to sit somewhere else, so try moving it up slightly, tucking one side or to the back, showing a little more of the waistband, or changing how much volume is sitting around your middle. Those tiny shifts can completely change the look.

But let’s compare!

Graphic tee + column/satin skirt = pay attention to where the top ends

The first example is an outfit I wear a lot: a long, straight silk skirt with a graphic T-shirt.

There is nothing particularly wrong with the oversized T-shirt worn loose over the skirt. In fact, the shoes are doing quite a lot of work here because a pointed toe is always going to help elongate the silhouette. If you like them, these are very similar.

But in the second picture there is a little more styling involved. I have rolled the waistband of the skirt slightly to shorten the hem, so it finishes just as the calf starts to narrow. Then I have added my usual little side tuck to show a bit more of the waist, which is something I like when I want to feel slightly more put together.

Nothing dramatic has happened. Same T-shirt, same skirt, same shoes. But those few small adjustments give the outfit a bit more definition and another dimension.

And this is the outfit I wore on Friday. Instead of tucking the T-shirt, I tied a knit around my waist for three reasons: to give the waist a bit more definition, to keep the casual feel of the T-shirt while contrasting with the more elevated skirt and shoes, and to connect with the colour of the bag and earrings.

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You will also get access to the paid subscribers’ chat, where you can ask me anything: styling dilemmas, wardrobe questions, second-hand finds, what to wear to your ex’s wedding…

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Jumper + maxi skirt = keep the volume but add definition

A really great way of wearing skirts during the colder months is with knitwear. Feels cosy, it makes the skirt look less serious, but it can have the potential of making you look a little bit like a floating head, especially if the skirt is long and floaty.

This was actually a question that came up in my subscribers’ chat, so I wanted to show you a few ways I make this combination work.

I have gone for a maxi skirt because, in my opinion, this is the hardest version to nail, especially if you are on the shorter side like me. I am 164cm, which I think is perfectly average for a Spanish, but my husband thinks I am tiny.

Anyway, when you are wearing lots of volume on top, going shorter on the bottom is obviously the easier option. I particularly love a long chunky jumper with a mini or just above the knee skirt because showing more leg naturally breaks up all that fabric and makes the silhouette feel longer.

But because I love a boho vibe, I am super into a floaty maxi with a jumper, so this is how I tend to wear it:

For me, the trick is not necessarily to remove the volume, but to give it some definition. A chunky jumper cannot always be tucked neatly into the waistband of a skirt, so I usually start by folding the jumper under slightly and pushing up the sleeves. Straight away, that creates a bit more shape around the waist and breaks up the fabric as you can see in the picture above.

Then, if I want even more definition, I add a belt. In the third version, the belt is not really making the outfit smaller; it is consolidating the shape I have already created. It gives the eye somewhere to land and adds a little more structure to two very soft, floaty pieces.

You can also buy elastic belts designed to sit underneath a jumper and create this effect, but before buying anything I would always try folding, gathering or pinning the knit first.

For footwear, I generally like something that keeps the bottom of the outfit relatively clean: a shoe that shows the top of the foot, like the fisherman pair I am wearing here, a pointy flat like this or a slim boot that disappears underneath the skirt works really well too.

Other ways of ‘tucking’ the jumper without actually tucking it:

• Use a brooch or pin to gather the jumper slightly at the side or front. It changes where the hem sits without stuffing half the knit into the waistband.

• Show the layer underneath. Let a t-shirt or fitted long sleeve peek out at the hem. That little break between jumper and skirt can stop everything merging into one long block.

• Fold the jumper under itself. If the knit is soft enough, roll or fold the hem underneath so it sits higher without needing a tuck.

• Push the sleeves up. If there is already a lot of fabric from shoulder to ankle, showing the wrists can make the whole silhouette feel lighter.

• Use the skirt waistband as a visual break. Even showing a tiny bit of it at the front or side can be enough.

• Let it stay oversized on purpose. If you actually like the long, loose silhouette, do not “fix” it just because some stupid rule says you need a waist. The question is whether you feel intentionally oversized or simply swallowed.

This is a good example of volume on volume working without feeling heavy. The jumper and skirt are both loose, but the pushed-up sleeves and delicate shoe keep enough skin visible to stop the whole look becoming one big block of fabric.

Shirt + floaty skirt = change the shape with small details

The most obvious way of adding contrast to a feminine skirt is with a men’s shirt, but it needs a bit of styling!

The first version does not work for me at all. There is too much fabric sitting in one long, uninterrupted block, and the shirt is swallowing the skirt rather than working with it. Also, Canva’s background remover has decided I no longer need ankles. They are still there, I promise.

In the second version, I have opened the neckline, pushed up the sleeves and undone a few buttons at the bottom. Those tiny changes completely alter the proportions: you can see more skin, there is less visual weight through the middle, and the whole outfit feels lighter and much more like me.

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If you are in the mood for a browse, I have put together a little ShopMy edit for this series with pieces I like and similar options to the ones I am wearing.

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2. A note on maxi skirts

Maxi skirts can feel trickier simply because there is more fabric and less leg showing, so every other proportion becomes a little more noticeable. I normally keep an eye for these:

• Create a break somewhere. Show a bit of waist, push up the sleeves, open the neckline or shorten the top slightly.

• Do not assume one half has to be fitted: as I showed you before a slightly chunky jumper, an oversized shirt or big jacket can work too, as long as the volume feels deliberate and there is some lightness somewhere else in the outfit

• Watch where the top ends. A long top finishing at the fullest part of the skirt can make everything feel heavier.

• Keep the shoe relatively light. I love a shoe that shows the top of the foot, or a slim boot that disappears under the hem.

• I really like adding a belt with a maxi skirt or dress because it breaks up the silhouette and stops me feeling like I am drowing in fabric.

  Depending on the mood, I might go for something leather and structured. I love a statement buckle, like this one from Sézane or this Prada preloved one, because it gives the outfit a stronger focal point.

  But it does not always need to be that obvious. Even a dainty chain belt can help define where the top ends and the skirt begins, without adding much weight to the outfit.

• If you are on the petite side, going for a tonal look can help you elongate the figure, the colours don’t need to match, in fact I think is better when they don’t, just need to sit within the same colour story like the outfit below.

Celine aviator sunglasses / Monica Vinader hoops / COS cashmere jumper / Massimo Dutti satin skirt / Reformation bag / Sézane leather boots / Etsy vintage belt

3. But what about when you add another layer?

Ok, now this is where things get interesting! because adding a jacket can completely change the proportions of the outfit. But the same idea still applies: look at where the jacket ends in relation to the skirt, and sometimes the top underneath too.

If the jacket finishes right where the skirt starts to flare, or if everything ends around the same point, the middle can suddenly feel much heavier. So I usually play with length, how open the jacket is and what I am doing with the sleeves.

A shorter jacket can help define the shape

With the white skirt and striped shirt, the brown leather jacket finishes quite high, which lets the fullness of the skirt start underneath it rather than competing with it. I also like that you can still see the shirt poking out, so there are a few different lengths happening rather than one solid block.

Yes, I do have ankles.

Wearing the jacket open keeps the outfit lighter

With the orange maxi, the jacket sits around the hip, but wearing it open creates two vertical lines through the front and lets the belt and waist underneath stay visible. That stops the jacket from cutting across the outfit too heavily.

Push the sleeves up

The black leather blazer is quite structured, but pushing the sleeves up makes it feel much less formal and exposes my forearms which immediately lightens the whole look.

Oversized can work too

And then there is the oversized biker. It’s longer, heavier and much bigger than the blazer, but I actually really like that extra volume because it feels intentional. The pointed shoe and column skirt keeps the bottom of the outfit relatively sleek, so the jacket can be the big shape without everything feeling super bulky.

The main take away from this is whether the proportions feel deliberate once that extra layer goes on.

Now, with longer coats and maxi skirts, I like to either have a clear difference between the two hems or for the coat to almost cover the skirt, if both hems hover around exactly the same point it can feel a bit too busy.

4. A quick skirt check

If you have followed all three parts of this series (I love you and thank you!) so this is basically the little checklist I would run through before deciding a skirt outfit is not working:

• What do I want the outfit to feel like? More defined, more relaxed, more dramatic, more polished?

• Check the footwear. Is the shoe helping the skirt length, or fighting with it?

• Check what is happening on top. Does the top make the skirt feel too dressy, too obvious or too serious?

• Add a bit of friction. A graphic tee, a sporty note, something utilitarian or slightly unexpected can make the skirt feel much fun.

• Check the proportions. Where does the top end? Is there too much fabric in one place? Would showing a bit more waist, wrist, ankle or neckline help?

• Style before you swap. Tuck, fold, roll, unbutton, push up a sleeve, add a belt, change the hemline.

• Then ask yourself if you actually dislike the outfit, or if you are just not used to seeing yourself in it yet.

And if it’s the second one, come and book a session with me. We can go through the skirts you already own, work out why they are not quite clicking, and find ways of styling them that actually feel as easy as wearing jeans.

Love,

Noelia x