How to Pick the Right Hemline for a Skirt

Short and sassy or long and dramatic, the length of your skirt sends plenty of messages. Here's how to find the length that's right for you and right for the moment.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A-line Skirts
• Long Skirts
• Skirts
• dresses and skirts

1. Identify your goal. Are you going for flat-out sexy? Businesslike? Elegant? Striking?

2. Perform a reality check. Do you have slender legs and a trim bottom? Unless you are one of the lucky few, rule out the micromini.

3. If you are micromini-safe, congratulations. Short skirts are fun and hip by nature, so you might go for a bold color or even leather, plastic or one of the new wearable papers.

4. Avoid tight minis. Short and clingy together are too much of a good thing.

5. Consider fabric and cut. In a long skirt, look for fluid movement to give a sense of your shape. Fabrics cut on the bias (with the grain of the fabric running diagonally) offer especially intriguing movement.

6. Avoid bright colors in a long skirt unless you want to make a very loud statement.

7. In a shorter skirt, firmer construction makes for nice, clean lines and a professional look.

8. Look for slits or an uneven hemline. Slits are a great way to break up the solid lines that can make a skirt dull or unflattering. Anything that creates movement, such as slits, asymmetry, sheer layers or flowy fabrics, will create drama and interest.

9. Make sure you can sit and walk comfortably. A skirt too short to sit in is a pain in the neck. Full-length skirts should just graze the floor.

10. Ask yourself or a friend if you are making the most of your figure. A skirt cut just below the knee will flatter slender calves, for example.

Tips & Warnings

• The easy way out: black, cut 2 to 3 inches above the knee, with a back slit.
• Only for the brave: midthigh. This sends all eyes to the thickest part of your leg.
• Skip tea-length - a few inches above the floor - until further notice.

on 11/22/2005 No matter what the hemline, A-line skirts are flattering on everyone.