Il est midi

On most days, a well-fitted pencil skirt will do. I’ll wriggle into it and suck my tummy in, as I stuff the dangling remains of whatever blouse I pick that morning in to my neatly drawn waist. Et voila! – a fantastical hourglass silhouette emerges, no matter what body shape you in actual fact are, and no matter what naughtiness you gorged on the night before. And the best part is, that when your flaring curves are out and paired with an elegant pair of heels, your legs actually look quite long and chiseled!

But sometimes, …sometimes I just don’t feel like being ‘leggy’. Sometimes, the thought of framing my womanly hips as I strut towards the coffee machine, or of wiggling my skirt-hugging bum in peoples faces as I ascend the escalators of the London underground just does not appeal to me. And this occasion calls for a ‘midi’.

A midi?! A skirt that chops your shins in half and has men questioning your newly assumed librarian attire? In truth, on arriving in to work in my swaddling black midi, my gay male friend wittily reminded me that it wasn’t Sunday yet and that I might want to reserve my outfit for mass. But whilst I am sticking to my guns about my favourite new work garment, this season’s trend couldn’t lie further from the stereotype. This Fendi number for instance screams youthful excitement, whilst channeling that floating elegance that a lengthy skirt will bring.

And that’s the thing about a midi – you don’t need to pack away your femininity when ditching sexy. Some of my favourite midis this year are all about the touch. A delicate fabric, or a soft pleat can instantly transform a traditionally frigid-looking skirt in to a whimsical fantasy. And such is the case for Christopher Kane’s take that combines virtually shapeless pieces in to a gentle and elusively appealing guise.

And finally, would it be anything more than a flash-in-the-pan trend without the Burberry seal of approval? I am utterly enamored with the idea of floating fabrics below the knee as Autumn calls and the cold starts to creep in. From Burberry English lace, to Derek Lam American leather, the possibilities for the turning of the seasons are endless…