How to Style a Midi Skirt
Much like a maxi dress, the midi skirt is a great transitional piece for Spring, but just like the maxi dress, a midi skirt can be tricky to get just right. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that midi skirts can be downright awkward. If not styled the right way, you'll end up looking frumpy.
Possible awkwardness aside, midi skirts have become one of my favorite things to wear. They make me feel feminine and flirty, but unlike a maxi dress they take a little more effort to turn into a polished outfit. In this post, I'll share some tips for finding the right midi skirt for your body type and share some ideas for how to style them as the weather continues to warm up.
Did You Know? Midi skirts were made famous by actresses like Audrey Hepburn in the 1950s.
Let's start with the basics.
A midi skirt is designed to hit you at about mid-calf, hence their name, and are meant to be worn at the narrowest part of your waist. Here's the thing, though, mid-calf is the worst place to visually chop your legs off!
Bottom line, it's all about getting the proportions right! If you're petite, this style of skirt can make you look even shorter if you're not careful, so you may want to opt for a style that stops just below your knee. Or, if you're like me, you'll prefer ones that are 2-3 inches above your ankle. Play around different hemlines between your knee and ankle until you get it just right.
Although midi skirts tend to be looser, there are tighter cuts available. They don't work for me, so unfortunately I don't have any ideas to show you for those.
As with everything, color and print will affect the way a midi skirt looks on your body. Simple, small prints work nicely on smaller people, while bolder prints or florals work for those of us who are curvier. Solid colors are universally flattering.
Keep in mind that I am by no means an expert. These are all guidelines, not rules, and when it comes to fashion, pretty much anything goes. So if you like something, wear it! But if you do need some more advice for how to balance your midi skirt, check out this article.
Now for the fun part of this post - outfit ideas! I rounded up daily outfit pics from the last couple of years to show you ways that I regularly wear my maxi dresses. There are 24 in all, so plenty of inspiration for you to make the most out of your maxi dress collection this Spring.
A note before we get started: these skirts range in size from a small to a large, depending on when I purchased them, and several are old enough to no longer be available. If you've got questions about any of them, you can leave a comment below or email me, and I'll do my best to help!
Sizing info: I'm 5'2" and weigh around 145 lbs. I typically wear size small or 6 in clothing and size 7 in shoes.
I decided for the purpose of this post to break it up by skirt. We're going to start with this pretty pink polka-dot number. This skirt has an elastic waistband, is pleated, and has pockets. It also comes in several other colors.
One of the things I like best about this skirt is how easy it is to take into different seasons. As you can see in the first two pictures, I've layered a jacket over a simple top and added boots. I do want to point out that I frequently break a pretty common midi skirt rule by wearing ankle boots. Because of my height, most midi skirts hit an inch or two below mid-calf on me, making tall boots awkward. Plus, I think that rule is stupid anyway. Moving on...
Another thing I love about this skirt is how easy it is to dress up or down with just a few simple changes. Note in the first picture how I'm wearing a plain white t-shirt and flat sandals. In the second, I've swapped my t-shirt for an eyelet blouse that has a lower scoop neckline and traded my slide sandals for platforms. Oh, I feel the need to point out that those last shoes break another midi skirt rule: no ankle straps to cut off your leg line.
Up next is one of my faves - green gingham. Unfortunately this exact one is no longer available, but I found a similar one here. Anyway, you can see that a simple t-shirt and denim jacket is kind of a go-to for these type skirts for me. And, once again, I'm breaking the ankle strap rule, but it may not fully count since these are clear and you can't really see them.
One thing I love about midi skirts is their versatility. You can literally wear almost anything with them, y'all, including a sweatshirt like in the picture above or a sweater like in the picture below.
This floral skirt is one of the most versatile pieces in my closet, especially for spring. Sadly, this exact pattern is no longer available, but the skirt itself is.
I tend to keep things simple with this particular skirt and let the pattern do the talking, but it's easy to switch up the colors, use different shoes, or adding a jacket to change up the look.
Just because a skirt has an interesting pattern doesn't mean you have to keep it simple all the time. Take this gorgeous patchwork skirt. While a plain t-shirt would certainly work, I've been having fun with unexpected pairings like a tied button-up chambray and platform sandals or a graphic tee with braided heeled sandals.
Speaking of graphic tees, they're one of my favorite ways to add interest to a skirt outfit, and it works with pretty much any skirt...
...even an elevated one like this flounce-hemmed rainbow skirt. It was one of my most-worn skirts when I still worked in an office, but I loved it too much to part ways with it, so I've been learning new ways to style it a little more casually.
The same goes for this rose-patterned skirt I bought with Christmas in mind. It seemed such a shame to relegate it just to the holidays.
Midi skirts really are an easy way to dress up for any occasion. Adding a pair of heels is a simple way to elevate the look of a midi skirt.
Or you can choose one in an elevated fabric like this metallic one. I haven't played with dressing it down yet, but I have enjoyed styling it for several nicer events over the last few months.
Tulle is another fun alternative. I absolutely love this pink star-patterned skirt. This pattern isn't available right now, but there are some other cute ones. You can't go wrong with black tulle. You can't tell from the picture, but mine actually has black polka dots on it. It's several years old and I've not seen anything like it since.
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