Why I’ve taken to wearing skirts, even to go to the post office, buy groceries, or take the dog to the vet.

 

In the last six months I’ve taken to wearing skirts several days a week.  There’s no socially-mandated reason for this.  I work for myself, at home and in a downtown studio.  I have no employees or any other people I regularly see for my business.  

Furthermore, there’s not much practical reason for me to wear skirts.  I live in a small, western college town where “dressed up” means a woman puts on her dress parka and Uggs.  In winter it’s usually snowy, muddy, rainy, or some combination of the three.  

I’m mother to a teenage soccer player, keeper of two yappy dogs, and occasional cleaner of the house my family lives in.  

Here are some great Gap coupons if you’re looking to purchase some skirts at a discounted price. 

Technorati Tags: frugal fashion,coupons,Gap coupons,frugaldad

So why wear skirts?  Here’s my short list of reasons.

1.  I feel like a girl in a skirt.  Since I turned forty, my waistline has been steadily going away.  This happens to all the women in my family. 

I used to feel like a girl no matter what I wore, because my shape was clear.  Now,the silhouette is blurred.  I don’t have a waist and my pants don’t fit the way I’d like. 

However, I still have my legs.  They’re girl legs, and I’ve always liked them.  In a skirt that hits just above my knees, I can see and feel my legs and remember that, in fact, I do have a gender and it doesn’t involve a Y chromosome.

2.  Prints.  Say what you want, I think you can express your style more with a skirt.  Think about it.  How easy is it to pull off paisley, plaid, or florals in a pair of pants…especially when you’re not on vacation?  There’s sooo much fantastic fabric out there—so many colors, designs, textures, and other wonderfulness.  But they don’t work so well in pants. 

I see lots of women of the over-40 set going for luscious fabrics in those jeans-style jackets (and other Coldwater-Creek-ish tops) and putting them over jeans.  There’s nothing wrong with this if you want to look like an over-forty lady who shops at Coldwater Creek.  Which I don’t, actually.  It doesn’t seem very creative.   

At the same time, we all need easy outfits because we juggle a lot of duties.  For this reason, my tops tend to be very basic.  In summer, we’re talking 8 variations of white linen or cotton blouse.  In the winter, we’re talking 8 variations of black or gray sweater.  I fill them in with loads of scarves, year-round. 

If one simply slaps such basic tops over a pair of jeans, it looks like a uniform.  For me, this is true even when I change my accessories.  However, I find a skirt works almost as an accessory with basic tops. 

3.  Skirts are easier to fit than pants.  They just are.

4.  Unless they’re velvet or covered with sequins, skirts can be worn with all kinds of shoes.  They are no harder to build an outfit around than a pair of jeans. 

My current skirt-rotation includes a short black pencil from Banana Republic, a short gored denim from Gap, a short, blue paisley linen, and a short vintage-y print from Free People.  All of them stop just above my knees.  All of them can be worn with tights now/no tights in summer; with boots or flats now/sandals in the summer.  To fit in where I live, I also, sometimes, sport any of these with black Keen Mary Janes.  They feel like sneakers, and keep me going all day. 

5.  As a self-employed businessperson, I need incentives to work like a professional.  “Getting Dressed” makes me feel respectable and serious about my day, whereas throwing on the same old sweater/jeans/bad-hair-day-hat combo is one step above staying in my pajamas.  To put it delicately, the latter kind of dressing “encourages sloth” when I indulge in it.  

6.  Beauty makes the world go ‘round.  I’ve been treated for clinical depression for most of my adult life.  By and large, it doesn’t keep me down, because I’ve learned how to manage it.  My favorite way is to infuse my life with little bits of beauty and refinement.  If I make an effort to smile, expose myself to art, and wear something beautiful that makes me feel like the woman I am…my day is better, my life is happier.  I give more to the world and the people I love. 

So…those are my reasons for wearing skirts.  Do you have some of your own? 

Have a great day! 

sallymandy