Wardrobe Staple: Pencil Skirt

I firmly believe that a woman can never own too many pencil skirts. Okay, not everyone likes the way they look on them, but if you're looking to really own your curves, pencil skirts will make you look and feel like a queen.


[ Marc Jacobs Spring 2009 Ready-to-Wear runway looks ]

Pencil skirts are straight, close-fitting skirts which usually have a slit or vent on the side, back or front for ease of movement. They look particularly sharp with a matching suit jacket that hits at the top of the hips, although they are also quite sexy when worn casually or as cocktail attire. As hemlines rose in the early 20th century, pencil skirts were designed with varying degrees of modesty. In the '30s (and again in the late '40s), hobble skirts had close-fitting hemlines at about mid-calf, which created the gait for which they were named. By the 1950s, pencil skirts and wiggle dresses were becoming scandalously tight, though the hemlines rarely crept above the knee. In the 80s, tight skirts were back with a vengeance, and pencil skirts crept ever higher up the leg.


[ J.Crew cotton pencil skirt ]

Possibly the most wearable pencil skirt ever, from J.Crew. The waistline isn't too high or too low, the hemline isn't too short or too long, the cut isn't too tight or too loose. Great material, simple cut, vivid and neutral colors.

But what if simple just doesn't work for you? Try a pattern or interesting seaming, or details like pockets, buttons, bows, lace, topstitching, high waists, fishtails, or draping. The possibilities are endless!


[ L: Tara Starlet; R: Urban Outfitters ]


[ L: Nanette Lepore; R: Nanette Lepore ]


[ L: Anthropologie; R: SPORTMAX ]

STYLE TIPS:

Tuck your shirt in!!! Nothing ruins the slimming, long-line effect of a pencil skirt more than an untucked shirt (although I suppose you might be able to get away with a cropped shirt that ends around the same spot on your waist as the skirt begins).

Also, if you consider yourself "bottom heavy", you might avoid non-vertical patterns or seams. Find a pattern or seaming that works for you.

Layer a longer cardigan or open wrap sweater on top if you're feeling body-conscious. As long as the waistline is visible from the front, you'll still get that long-line effect. If your layers are loose, belt it in at your waist to create an hourglass figure.

Check out more of my favorite pencil skirts over at StyleHive!