What is the perfect skirt length at work? Age old question and one that people struggle with. Well, struggle with until you realize you’ve made a mistake, live in shame for a day at the office, and then never wear that length again.
Not like I’ve done exactly that or anything.
There are some cardinal rules when we’re discussing length of skirts or length of dresses, I bet you’ve heard of some of them, but maybe not all of them.
So let’s run through the rules of skirt length I live by:
“Fingertip” length is BS. Fingertip length on me (5’9″) is too short but fingertip length on a woman who is considerably shorter than me looks more conservative. Don’t look at the length of the skirt or dress on a model or mannequin (are mannequins still around, I do so much shopping online I’m out of in store practice) look at the length on you.
The shorter the skirt the shorter the heel. Conversely the longer the skirts the higher your heels can be. There’s limits on both skirt lengths and heels of course – I wouldn’t go higher than four inches for heels and even then it’s pushing it. Two or three inches is the sweet spot, here’s my favorite heels for work!
It’s not the length it’s the amount of leg. The amount of leg you’re showing is more important that how many inches in length your skirt is. How short something looks on you is what you need to be concerned about. This is similar to the ‘fingertip length’ rule above. Be more concerned with what you’re showing that what you’re covering.
Tights only buy you about half an inch. Toss on a pair of tights and you can get away with a skirt that is only a tad shorter. Nylons are not tights, we’re talking opaque tights. Your legs look shorter in opaque tights hence the shorter skirt. So the appropriate length for a skirt at work can depend lots of things!
Stay around the knee. Right below, at, or right above the knee is the perfect length for a dress or a skirt at work. Going shorter is when you get into trouble, obviously it can be done but it’s tricky, and going longer than right below the knee (like mid calf, ankle, and maxi) tends to get a bit dowdy. I will personally go to mid calf but no longer and usually with tall heels so the part of my legs that are still shown look longer. Check out my favorite pencil skirts – seriously I grab them in every color I can!
If you ever think ‘mini skirt’ think again. Hard and fast rule here, minis should never go to work with you. I don’t care if it’s a matching suit, minis should never be in the office.
Trust your instincts. If you have a doubt, if you’re taking a picture to send to a friend or a colleague, then it’s too short. Trust your gut here.
