Pencil skirts

Pencil Skirt Tailored, Chiang Mai: the least forgiving skirt

A pencil skirt is fitted at the waist, fitted through the hip and seat, and only slightly tapered below. There is almost no ease anywhere.

That is what makes it look sharp and what makes it the skirt shape that most exposes a mismatch between your proportions and a size chart. The skirts page covers the waist-to-hip problem in general; here it is at its most acute, because there is no fullness anywhere to absorb the difference.

The vent is structural

A fitted skirt at or below the knee physically restricts your stride to the skirt’s circumference at the knee. Without a vent, you either take shortened steps or you put all the strain on the centre back seam, which will eventually split.

A back vent, typically 15 to 20 centimetres, restores a normal stride. It should lie closed when you stand and open only as you walk. A vent that gapes standing still is either too long or the skirt is too tight above it.

A slit is the alternative and is a more overt style choice; a vent is the discreet one.

Lining stops it riding up

This is the fix for the most common complaint about pencil skirts.

A skirt rides up because the outer fabric grips whatever is underneath, tights or skin, and each step drags it a little further. A lining breaks that contact: the lining stays against the body and the outer fabric slides over it.

The lining should be attached at the waist and hang free at the hem, with its own shorter vent matching the skirt’s. In heat, a lighter lining fabric keeps most of the benefit with less warmth.

Waistband

The waistband is what anchors the skirt. If it is loose, nothing else matters, because the whole garment will migrate.

A faced waistband, where the finish is turned to the inside rather than sitting as a separate band, gives a cleaner line under a fitted top or a tucked-in blouse. A separate band is more traditional and slightly more forgiving to alter later.

Either way it wants to sit at your natural waist and be genuinely snug.

Fabric

Wool crepe and wool blends are the classics. They hold shape, resist creasing across the lap from sitting, and take a clean press.

Cotton sateen and heavier cottons work well in heat and need pressing more often. Avoid very soft or very light fabrics for a pencil shape, since the whole silhouette depends on the fabric holding a line. See women’s skirts for the range.