Spring has sprung, snow showers and all, and, just like the season’s little lambs, we’ve been let out by the government to graze.
In a normal year it would be time to start thinking about a pretty midiskirt. Something ladylike or a bit slinky, silky or ruffled, to be worn with ankle boots and bare legs. However, that was when we had the luxury of socialising indoors — imagine! Floaty, floral and frilly midis might have done for bottomless brunch in 2019, but no amount of lukewarm prosecco will provide an effective enough beer jacket to make one viable this April.
That doesn’t mean that we’re stuck with jeans until May, though. Rather, 2021’s spring midiskirt shares the same qualities. It’s warm, for one, and low maintenance in the face of a grassy floor. It’s flattering regardless of one’s step count and there are versions for every shape. Best of all, it makes getting dressed easy because it will work with everything else in your wardrobe. All you need to buy now is a denim midi.
Buy, you say? I’ve got one! Great, pull it out. The 2021 denim midi is much the same as 1970’s. On spring-summer 2021 catwalks — Celine, Gucci, Tod’s — the styling had a hippie slant, skirts teamed with cardigans, mullet haircuts and suede jackets respectively.
For the rest of us, there are updates aplenty in new collections. Arket’s A-line version comes in patchwork blues (£99, arket.com). Hush’s Danica style is straight with a split hem at the front (£65, hush-uk.com). Mango has a white pencil skirt-like iteration that comes with all the usual warnings about watching where you sit (£35.99, mango.com).
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Zara’s 1970s-style premium denim midi is the longest, and is slightly flared at the bottom (£29.99, zara.com). Reiss’s Myla skirt is the sexiest, with a slim fit and split hem hitting the knee (£115, reiss.com). My favourite is Essentiel Antwerp’s leopard-print style, ripe for a social safari (£155, essentielantwerp.com).
Choosing the best for your shape is easy, says the personal stylist Anna Berkeley. “Just find one where the calf meets the lower leg, at the narrowest point. Straight-cut styles will suit both straight and curvy figures, and a split hem will flatter, or add extra height to petites. A bit of stretch will show off super curves but more angular body types are better with rigid denim.”
As for styling, the best way to wear your denim midi now is with tall boots, bare legs to flash an inch of flesh (mine will be coated in fake tan) and your favourite jumper; my money is on Kitri’s relaxed-fit, candy-striped Brooke knit, French-tucked at the front (£79, kitristudio.com).
The result should feel a bit sexy, put-together and, most importantly, worth wearing only to meet friends in person, so they can admire the bottom half of us that got lost on Zoom.
