I used to think one black pencil skirt was basically the same as any other black pencil skirt, which is a stupid thing to believe and I believed it for about six years. Then I bought one from a supermarket own brand rail for £12, wore it to a meeting, sat down, and heard an actual rip somewhere near the back vent. That was the day I started paying attention to what makes a good one, and it’s mostly about the bits you can’t see. A proper waistband that sits where your waist actually is, not three inches below it. A lining, always a lining, because nothing kills a look faster than static clinging the fabric to your tights on a windy platform. And a vent or pleat with enough give that you can get up a flight of stairs without doing the tiny shuffling steps that make you look like you’re queuing for communion.
The best ones have a bit of structure without going stiff, so they hold their shape through a full day at a desk and still let you walk properly, sit properly, and get in a taxi without performing a small negotiation with the fabric. My colleague Priya once watched me try to get out of a cab in a too tight one and said, completely deadpan, “that looked like a birth,” which is the exact moment I learned that fit matters more than length.
Styling one is honestly the easy part, that’s the appeal. A crisp white shirt tucked in properly, sleeves pushed up, makes it look like you have your life together even on days you very much do not.
A jumper worn slightly oversized on top plays against the neatness of the skirt in a way that stops it looking too office, too formal, too much like you’re about to present a quarterly report nobody asked for. Boots take it into evening without any real effort, loafers keep it sharp for the day, and a proper coat over the top solves the entire problem of British weather having opinions about your outfit.
It works for the obvious things, meetings, interviews, any day you need to feel a bit more assembled than you actually are. But it earns its place doing the unglamorous stuff too, the school run, the supermarket, the Tuesday that has no occasion attached to it at all.
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