The Fashion Project

Well, I promised more on the perfect skirt, so here it is!

I hate long skirts. When I was a teenager I was fascinated by the romanticism of the Middle Ages, and so I used to occasionally wear floor-length flowing skirts. No matter what shoes I chose to wear with the skirt, I would always, without fail, trip on it at least once every couple hours, and several times I fell down, several times I ripped the hems, and several times I knocked over something (such as a chair). Since it's already terribly embarrassing to be a teenager, to save myself further humiliations, I swore off long skirts forever. As an adult, I kept up my hatred of them because the style of most of them was very old fashioned and dowdy, and I was too much of a tomboy to tolerate that.

The trends of the last few years have produced some lovely long skirts, particularly in floral prints, that do not look like something my great-grandmother would wear, but rather something quite fashionable. Knowing that my disinterest in long skirts was owing in part to a refusal of everything feminine that I experienced in my late teens, I decided to give them a try once again. I bought a couple long floral skirts that came just to the ankle. I figured this slightly shorter hem, along with the enhanced balance of an older age, would give me the ability to wear them without tripping all over myself. I was, however, mistaken.

Problem number one, the skirts got caught in the pedals of my bicycle. Problem two, they were awkward for sitting on the floor when teaching very young children, as I was at the time I bought them. Problem three, I was perpetually catching my ankles on them when I knelt, especially when praying. Problem four, the fabric was very light and airy, nice for summer, but not nice for windy days, even being as long as they were. And I still occasionally tripped on them for no reason while walking.

However, since the only immodest part of my dress has ever been a skirt of knee-length, I endeavored to try and correct this when I started wearing hijab. (Let's be honest- combining hijab and a short skirt is like wearing a turtleneck and bikini shorts- completely stupid looking.) So I have been searching for a long skirt I could wear and not fall all over myself for a long time.

Well, I finally found it! Behold, the perfect skirt! It is perfect because of these features:


-The hem in the front is several inches shorter than the back. This means I am much less likely to trip on it when walking. It also prevents the bottom from getting stuck in my bicycle pedals.

-The material is thick like khaki pants, but sufficiently roomy to not feel in the least heavy.

-It has cute cargo pockets on the side, which makes it look more contemporary and fashionable, so I don't feel dowdy or matronly when I teach kids.

-The waist is part elastic in the back, so the front is smooth and unpleated.

-The colors are useful and solid. Navy and khaki green matches almost everything in my closet.

-The back features a cord, which allows the bottom hem to be drawn in like a pair of pajama pants. This creates a "bubble" effect, and makes the skirt even easier to walk in.

-I can still wear the dozen or so pairs of leggings I bought to wear with shorter skirts. The ankle-length ones are visible with this skirt, and I think they look really cute.

I am thankful for my good fortune in finding these skirts, and I wear them almost every day! If only all shopping trips could be so successful!