Is 42 too old for a mini-ish skirt?

[Millie1]

Can't believe i'm asking this! I'm a real jeans & boots person but enjoyed tunics/wool dress & leggings with boots last winter. Sooooo ... looking ahead. What about a mini with boots & tights this year? I've got skinny, skinny calfs so will only do boots, not ballet flats. I'm 5'7" and a 8-10 but have a 3-pregnancy-tummy IYKWIM! Want something that I can also pull my wellies on with when I need to do outside stuff around home .. so casual and washable is a must .

If it's ok for my age, would any of these fit the bill, and what colours should I go for. These www.duoboots.com/products/boots/detail/calf_fitted_boots_everyday/brindisi/7/colour/2-brown_waxed_nu buck_leather/ are my everyday boots although I also have these www.duoboots.com/products/boots/detail/calf_fitted_boots_everyday/oristano/248/colour/1-black_leathe r/ which are a bit dressier. Okay, and the skirts (in no particular order): www.boden.co.uk/en-gb/Womens-Skirts/Above-Knee-Skirts/WG371/Womens-Favourite-Mini.html?NavGroupID=13 - not sure about colours. Like the pink but it might be a bit bright for me and maybe denim is just too youthful? www.boden.co.uk/en-gb/Womens-Skirts/Knee-Length-Skirts/WG376/Womens-Stitch-Detail-Skirt.html?NavGrou pID=13 or www.boden.co.uk/en-gb/Womens-Skirts/Above-Knee-Skirts/WG372/Womens-Washed-Cord-Mini.html?NavGroupID= 13 - again not sure which colour would be best.

All words of wisdom or links to alternatives appreciated! Thanks!

Try uniqlo. I love that shop. They have lovely knitted dresses for the winter. Not so much now I must admit but worth a look.

I have uniqlo straight short skirt, just above knee. I love them.

Purplepeony I said i was youger than you, not that I LOOKED younger

Hi again - both tunic dresses are lovely ! not at all mumsy lol x Jacket is great !!
x happy shopping x

OMG ... you like the dresses and the jacket? Progress! Boden kids catalogue arrived today so I'm going to do a huge order for me and them - maybe tonight and must order from White Company (note to self - find discount code! ) before anything else sells out. Budget ... smudget! Although shall have to sneak it past DH as I bought 4 ewes yesterday when I really shouldn't have !!!!

Millie your last post made me laugh- you bought 4 ewes! where's your farm?

I am wanting some DUO boots for skinnies this winter and am looking at VIOLA or possible Brindisi, though did try last year re. skirts and they looked clumpy on me. Any opinion?

I like the White Stuff tunics, though being short, I always find tunics look a bit like a dress that's not a dress. And I hate anything that looks maternity.

The merino tunic looks nice.

Have you found a discount code for WC yet? They always used to send me a catalogue and 20% but haven't had one for ages.

sorry- that should read White Company tunics.

p.s again- I'd wait a while and see what Kew come up with- they are always a bit late but were my staple for a while though they did go "off" IMO for a while and I haven't bought anything for a couple of seasons.

i wouldnt call those mini skirts, but yes 42 is ok to wear them if worn the right way, of course it is

it is not about age but about if it suits you and what you wear it like

plenty of teens shouldnt wear them, because of how they do iyswim (teeny skirts with towering heels and skimpy top/everything on display kind of thing), just as plenty of older women still havent cottoned on that an outfit like that is best left to the bedroom

anyway i am 43 and still wear them, with flats and opaque tights, of if in summer then flip flops and a light fake tan, but i wouldnt wear them too short if bare legged

i prefer the cord skirt out of all of them, the first one is ok but i dont like the middle one

the boots links wont load for me

Purple .. the Viola's look lovely. I like the Brindisi with jeans - they are clumpier, no doubt about it, and are probably better with jeans than skirts. Can you get back to a store to try on? I'd love to get to a store - it's like you said, you measure your calf and a xxcm will fit in one style but be way to big or too small in a different style. Would love something this year with a heel to wear with jeans - have a couple of pairs of good jeans which are too long for flats. Don't really want a real stiletto-type heel but nothing too clumpy either. The wish-list grows ever longer!

Haven't looked for a WC discount code - the one I had at home was for 15% and expired a few weeks back. Like you, haven't seen the 20% off card for yonks.

The ewes? Was supposed to be trying to get hold of a new ram and got side-tracked . We've a very small farm in N. Ireland - more of a smallholding, I guess, around 11 acres and just starting off really.

Lou thanks! More words of wisdom. I know what you mean about the Boden skirts. TBH none of them really set me on fire. Shall keep hunting - and might get some alternatives as I hunt!

Millie- yes I can get to a store easily and it is a life saver- before I ended up sending loads back as every boot is different. I have got Pavlov which I love- in black suede but with kitten heels it is an evening boot really.

Your farm sounds wonderful

Oh goodness, you would think I was a slut risque! I am 40 and I wear skirts much shorter than those! Am 5'8' and 10-12 and my legs are my best feature.

Get 'em out I say! And I love the White Co tunics. The Boden skirts ain't mini's in my opinion!

And try Zara - loads of tunic-y things in there. And they cut very well for taller ladies.

as long as you're not 'Shirl' from eastenders i'm sure its fine

Damn, are we not channelling her this season Kala?!

well i think scowling is so overdone these days

Thank you so much for starting this thread.

I'm slightly older, a bit taller and slightly bigger than you and have exactly the same questions! I've also got skinny calves and long legs which I used to be very embarrassed about although I'm not sure why now.

Reading the responses is very reassuring and the links are useful. I'm following this thread with great interest.

lol @ shirl!

i am 5ft 7 and a size 8/10, i have quite a long inside leg for my height as well, and have some real mini skirts, as in 14 inch ones, which i have had for years, and some varying in length, but well above the length of the links

obviously i have other styles too, i really like pencil skirts too, for example, but i really dont get the age barrier thing

i think as we get older most women adapt stuff like mini skirts to suit what feels appropriate to them, and you can certainly wear them without looking like mutton

millie do you have cows too? ds1 is obsessed with cows, and right now i would happily pack him off to stay with a total stranger to give me some peace and enable his love

Am laughing at the though of good old Shirl ... nah, don't think I really want her to take me shopping

Am feeling a bit more confident about going shopping now - thanks! Shall do an on-line order over weekend and will report back in due course.

Lou - no cattle, just sheep - quite enough. Discovered that the 4 ewe lambs I thought I'd bought are actually 5 - don't know how that happened ... am biding my time re telling DH ! Keep your DS at home ... I loathe cows - my Dad was a vet and was knocked over and trampled by grumpy cows too many times!

dammit, does that mean i have to take him to the supermarket with me then?

I am jealous of your thin thighs. am 46 and if my legs would take the scrutiny I would wear a shorter skirt with boots and opaque tights.Look at Mary Portas,she wears short skirts and she looks totally fab.

Bumping this thread up again rather than starting a new one.

The Boden favourite denim skirt is awful on. Ugh.

Have this out from the White Company. Not sure about it - love it, love the fabric, the colour, blah blah but it's quite full and worry that it shows off my tummy. Decisions.

Anyway, Jigsaw's autumn collection is on-line. What's the verdict on this in grey? What colour tights/boots? What on top. It might also give me a tummy as it's sits on the natural waistline. What's best to disguise a t.u.m.m.y.? I'm thin but it's there - maybe more apparent as I'm not carrying weight elsewhere. Darn this diastasis and my rotten muscles

Might get shopping on Friday for a couple of hours so some ideas would be wonderful! Thanks.

"Youth and Middle Years" - Should the woman past forty avoid certain colors, certain outlines, certain proportions in dress - just because she is past forty? The feeling used to be that a woman "old enough to be a grandmother" was either a little weak-witted or of questionable character who continued to dress substantially like a young woman.

Seemingly very few women feel like that nowadays. There is no reason now why a woman of forty-odd need feel foolish in a frock substantially like that of her twenty-year-old daughter - unless, of course, she looks foolish in it; and that is more a matter of weight and contour than of age."

The Australian Woman's Mirror, October 6, 1925

Vesela

Yep Euphemia ... I've a nice black velvet skirt and it's the same ... I spend my time yanking it down.

So ... what about the Jigsaw skirt folks?

Just had a really really bad moment. Tried on my last year's Roxanne skinnies. A 25" waist . Now I have a mega overhang . To be fair to myself, I was way underweight at around 8st 2lb when I got them so knew I'd only get last year out of them. Have finally put on the weight I needed to and am a healthier 8st10lb now but sob sob it's all gone on my tummy. . Am now feeling mega-depressed

Sorry, had to get that last bit off my chest. Now back to my coffee and digestive (ignoring the caramel squares calling my name from the fridge )

I am 50, 6 feet tall with 35inch inside leg, and size 14.
The shortest length I can decently wear (I work in schools) is a 24 inch, otherwise I drive all the male head teachers into a frenzy
I wear Duo's Florence boot, which actually comes right to my knee, and fit snugly.