Skirts 101

If you've ever been one of those guys that gets dragged on a shopping trip with a woman, you might find the world of skirts very confusing. So many types, styles, colors, patterns. It's a whirl of confusion. So for the sake of sanity I thought I'd whip up a terminology list of skirts, aka 'non-bifurcated garments'.

The inspiration for this article was several other articles that listed Kilts as a skirt. I know a few Scotsmen who would take major issue with that. While a kilt is truly a non-bifurcated garment, it's just not proper to call it a skirt unless you are expecting a fist fight.

Having so said, I started thinking of all the kinds of skirts there are. So here's a summary:

1. A-line skirt. So called because it looks like the letter "A". Narrow at the top, and a bit wider at the bottom. A wardrobe essential. Very possibly the most often worn skirt.

2. Gypsy or tiered skirt: A skirt made with several horizontal layers of fabric that are gathered together. A mainstay of bohemian dressing aka. boho.

3. Mermaid Skirt: Typically fitted from waist to knees, then flaring out from knees down like a mermaid's tail.

4. Mini Skirt: Hemline above the knee.

5. Micro Mini Skirt: Basically as short as you can go without the skirt qualifying as a belt.

6. Bustle Skirt: Generally flat across the stomach, with ruffles in the back. It's making a comeback now as part of Steampunk/Neovictorian fashion.

7. Pencil skirt: Popular in movies from the 1940's, a very slender silouette that hugs the body and is often worn just beneath the knees or down to mid-calf.

8. Maxi skirt: A skirt that goes from waist to ankles.

9. Grommeted skirts or skirts with gussets: A skirt made of vertical panels that go from waist to hemline. Great skirts for dancing as you can get a lot of fabric is a slimming silouette.

10. Pleated skirt: The girl's version of a kilt. Pleats are folds of fabric that are sewn across the top similar to gathers. Pleated garments require a lot more fabric.

11. Sarong or pareau: A type of wrap skirt that usually fastens on one side or ties at the hip.

12. Wrap skirt: A skirt without a side seam that is worn wrapped around and tied on the side.

13: Puddle skirt: A long skirt with fabric that puddles on the ground when you stand still.

14. Circle skirt: Cut a circle, cut a hole in the center for the waist. Add a slit at the waist to accomodate a zipper or ties.

15. Jeans skirt: A skirt made by slitting an old pair of jeans and reforming them into a skirt. Or a skirt made out of denim.

16: Bubble skirt: A skirt with a tight waist, full body, then tight again at the hem line causing it to poof out like a bubble.

17. Tutu: A specialized skirt usually made of tulle originally used in ballet, but has now snuck into goth and fetish wear.

18: Flared skirt: Start with an A-line skirt but make the bottom wider.

20. High waisted skirt: A skirt that goes higher than the waistline by a little or a lot. Pencil skirts in particular are often high-waisted.

21. Combo skirts: Many skirts, especially repurposed or upcycled skirts combine more than one style together, like part jeans, part ruffles.

22. Gathered skirt: Perhaps the simplest of all skirts. The waist is gathered into the waistband.

23. Broomstick skirt: Typically a long skirt with vertical wrinkles. These skirts were once wrapped around a broom handle while wet and when dry they had wrinkles. Other methods are rolling the skirt and pulling it through the leg of a discarded stocking (nylons) or drying it in the dryer till damp, rolling it up, knotting it in the middle and letting it dry that way until wearing.

I'm sure there are more and I'll add them as they pop into my head.