smart skirts for work? do people actually still go to work?

[xksismybestletter]

Im looking, fruitlessly, for some skirts to wear to work. I have some jackets from m&s, so went there to look for skirts and can only find "jersey mini a-line" skirt, which doesnt exactly scream corporate smart.

And it has kicked off a long hour in front of the laptop trying to find a suitable skirt or two for work. They need to be smart, suitable to wear with black tights, and ok to go with shirts and jackets. Does no-one dress like this anymore?

I have a senior professional role, but find suits with beige tights both cold and dated looking.

Please recommend me some shops - ive tried wallis, dp, boden, hawes and curtis and m&s so far. Bit of a range of pricing I accept!!

I find I rarely wear pencil skirts anymore and don't see so many in the office. I prefer dresses from COS or Zara with a blazer or trousers

I agree, Hobbs is a good shout. I have several skirts from Next, too

I work for a very very old and extremely conservative institution - we aren't casual and we have a no denim, no trainers and no 'slogans' (graphic tees, I think they mean!) rules. I love the fact that my work clothes are so different to my outside work clothes.

I recently got this one for work, looks fine with black opaque tights too
www.stories.com/en_gbp/clothing/skirts/mini-skirts/product.a-line-mini-skirt-beige.0962907002.html

My smartest work skirts are all Hobbs and M&S.

Try seasalt? Whistles /Jigsaw/ John Lewis? Perhaps Toast if you're feeling flush?!

I get my work wear online from next - www.next.co.uk/shop/gender-women-productaffiliation-tailoring-0#

They do various skirts, trousers, dresses & jackets for formal workwear. I don't bother going into the shop though- they don't stock a huge range. But I do order it to pick up in store - I can try it on there and return straight away if not suitable.

I know people in my office think I'm very formal. My idea of work casual is black trousers with a sweater whereas they all come in wearing Jeans and boots if there's no formal meetings going on.

Try Vinted, loads of past season stuff on there and plenty unworn and lightly worn. You can filter by skirt style, colour and brand, it's fab!

@Ozberry

I’m struggling with this too. For the first time in my life I’ve turned to eBay for clothes. Saved myself a few quid too.

Same. I have a cupboard full of structured corporate gear and the thought of wearing any of it gives me hives. I'm on eBay buying up soft and plain but interesting jersey dresses from brands like Sahara and Cos. Planning to wear them with really nice boxy jackets from Nicole Farhi or Toast.

Please don't outbid me though.

Uniqlo do some tweedy office skirts each autumn.

I did. I usually have to go with alternative shops for smart clothes. At first you might think ‘no way’ when you see what they have a rummage online.
hellbunny.com/5324-a-hell-bunny-joni-skirt.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Product&gclid=CjwKCAjwh5qLBhALEiwAioods49WHusw1ucQKnrTAJ3smKKOxwZgTkpiVfv_mIf1yTrYnrIzua2U_BoCQvEQAvD_BwE

The ‘I did’ shouldn’t be there above sorry!

Only read the first half but I struggled to find a plain black knee length skirt (work supplies our tunics to be worn with plain black or navy skirts or trousers). I ended up buying a couple of school skirts (only works up to about a size 16 though)

www.skoolkit.co.uk/products/26/view/5082

Matalan I agree
or Sainsbury

I think the best place to turn for classic skirts and dresses at the moment is ebay. So many of us will never be back in the office and we are selling all our stuff. Last month, via a local seller, I sold 6 almost brand new office dresses from 2 years ago, when I still worked in London. All from Hobs, Reiss, Ted Baker, etc. The seller was telling me it can be rather difficult to sell them these days as there's less demand, but I was quite lucky. Some of them still had labels on. You can really find some bargains

In case you are interested, this is the lady I used and I believe she accepts returns, so it is rather "safe".

www.ebay.co.uk/str/sellmystyle1

Winser London

Have a look at banana republic (the more formal GAP brand). They do have some skirts amongst the floaty ones

Hobbs.

I also have a couple of nice formal skirts from Reiss.

Karenmillen.com
Silkfred.com

I have been on the same hunt. My customers are funeral directors so occasionally I need to be very smart.

I have a couple of bonden Ponte pencil skirts but whilst comfortable I want something a little more structured.

I've seen stuff in phase eight and whistles there's definitely a couple of skirts in their sale.

Never heard of Libby London and they have the perfect shape jacket I'm after so thanks op for the thread!

Are you wanting to wear sheer or opaque black tights? For work wear, I would (currently) favour sheer tights, and while I don't look for skirts, if I couldn't find what I wanted, then I'd be looking for good fabric and a seamstress to make what I wanted. I still keep one black pencil skirt (bought 1985) in the wardrobe; it still (just) fits and the tweed/leather mix is bang on trend this year, but it would look horrendous with flat shoes or boots.

I'm in a fairly formal office but only two days a week, and buying new stuff feels like a bit of a waste, so I'm trying to buy stuff that will work outside of work too and it's a tricky line.

Same here! Pre COVID I had a fairly formal working wardrobe. Fast forward 18 months and we’re only going in 2 days per week (which is fab) and suddenly everyone is very casual. So my clothes have to work both inside and outside of work, which is a whole new mindset after decades of formal workwear. I just bought two cord skirts, just above the knee from White Stuff, I’ve seen some nice bright dresses in Roman (to wear with opaque tights) and I’ve still got a few pairs of tailored trousers from before lockdown. I think this is fine for two days per week. It’s going to take some getting used to, but this feels like a change for the better.

qvc has some nice clothes

Amazon ...Grace Karin .
I got a lovely blue one that I can tuck my work (uniform )shirt into if the occasion demands .

So I bought the m&s one and also a checked one the same and a pencil skirt too. All underwhelming by a long shot.
I might keep the black one as it will do, but it is jersey and looks like it. I'm 40 fgs. I would also like an interesting cut and pockets rather than the most boring school type skirt I can find.

I'm not very interested in tweed or check either which seems to be the alternative thing

I'll work through some more of the (great) suggestions and update if I find the perfect one.