Hand Picked, The Broderie Skirts Worth Shopping Handpicked by Claire

I used to think broderie was a summer wedding costume, the thing you wear once to a marquee in June and then feel faintly ridiculous about for the rest of the year. I was wrong, and I’ll say that properly rather than mumble it. A good broderie skirt is one of the hardest working things in a warm weather rotation, and the reason is the fabric itself does the styling for you. All that cutwork and open stitching means the skirt has texture and interest built in, so you can be lazy everywhere else and still look like you tried.

The ones worth having get the scale of the embroidery right. Too fine and it reads as plain cotton from three feet away, too heavy and it starts veering into tablecloth territory.

The best sit in between, with enough pattern to catch the light but not so much that the skirt becomes the only thing in the room. Length matters more than people admit too. A midi with proper movement in the hem does something a mini just can’t, it swishes, it has weight, it feels like clothing rather than a costume piece.

Styling wise, the mistake is treating it as a special occasion item and reaching for the whole matching set, broderie top included. Don’t.

Put it with something plain and slightly heavy, a fine knit, a leather jacket if the weather turns, a plain white tee tucked in properly. Boots work better than you’d expect, they stop the whole thing tipping into twee. A pair of trainers underneath does the same job for daytime. Save the delicate sandals for when you actually want the fete energy, there’s a time for that and it’s not every day.

Occasion wise this is a category that earns its keep across a proper stretch of the year, not just the one garden party you bought it for. Daytime drinks, a lunch that runs long, travelling somewhere warm, the kind of wedding where you’re not in the bridal party and can dress with a bit more freedom. It photographs well without trying, which matters more than anyone likes to say out loud. Buy one you’d actually reach for on a Tuesday, not just the one that looked right on the hanger.