Thursday’s TPS Report: Calvin Klein Gored Skirt

62 Comments

1. Good skirt, good price. Is it part of a suiting collection?

2. I got two of these skirts — in black and grey — at Century 21 a couple of weeks ago ($38!). It’s a great skirt, comfortable, soft, and work-appropriate. I’m actually surprised it’s not wool, it feels like a tropical wool. It is a bit long, however. I’m just under 5’5″, and it comes an inch or inch and a half below the knee.

3. I have this in grey! I unfortunately paid full price (69) at Macy’s, but it’s been totally worth it in the number of times I have worn it. I’m 5’10”; but by going up a size (8 instead of 6), it sits comfortably at my hip at hits the kneecaps. Has anyone had luck hand washing this or putting it in the gentle cycle? I have some small stains the dry cleaners couldn’t completely remove.

   1. If the dry-cleaner can’t get the stain out, and it’s already set, it might be a no-hoper. But you never know your luck – I’ve had good results with Grandma’s Secret Spot Remover. I think I bought it at a quilting shop. Wet the stain, let this soak in a couple of hours, then hand-wash like a wool sweater, lay flat to dry.

      http://www.clotilde.com/detail.html?source=froogle&prod_id=1567

4. Yes, yes, yes! You would not believe how hard it is to find a classic black skirt, though it sounds from BBD’s description that I’d need to get it hemmed.

5. Also – it is lined, hence eliminating the need for slips.

6. Maybe it’s just me and maybe I’m totally weird, but I feel frumpy in any skirt except a pencil skirt. Or maybe my shapeless body just won’t let me get away with an A-line.

   1. Same. I am wearing an A-Line today with a tucked shirt, and feel a bit like a marshmallow.

   2. Same! I gain like 40 pounds in an A line.

   3. I’m an hourglass and I find the A-line makes my hips look huge…

      1. I tried this on wanting to love it, and it looked AWFUL on me. It just didn’t seem to hang right whether I went up or down a size. I’m hourglass. Maybe that’s the problem?

         1. I’m guessing — because our tops and bottoms are already proportionate, the A line makes our hips look bigger, which makes us look out of whack.

            Try a pencil skirt — very in, sleek, goes well with blouses, sweaters, and polo shirts :-)

      2. I have the same figure type and I’ve always worn A line skirts until this year. I was thinking about going back to them this summer, but after seeing this line of conversation, I am not so sure. So here is my question, if A line skirts emphasize my hips, what kind of skirt should I be looking for? I have some pencil skirts, but more often than not I think I end up looking to va-va-voom for the office.

         1. Also, don’t know if it will affect your suggestions, but I have a ten inch difference between my waist and my hips.

            1. i am so envious. I think i have a half-inch difference between my waist and hips.

            2. I have about a 9 inch difference. I always, always wore A-line skirts until I discovered pencil skirts from the Classiques Entier line at Nordsrom. They are the only pencil skirts I have found that don’t emphasize my hips, and I feel that I look a lot more sleek and sophisticated (and skinnier) in pencil skirts than A-lines. I don’t think they are too va va voom either, although I always make sure to get a size that is big enough so that it is not too clingy. Try them out.

            3. So do I. Do you have a high waist or a low waist? Mine is high with a long torso (an unusual combination), and A-line skirts hang strangely on me because they begin to flare immediately from my waist, but my hips are a good 8 inches south of my waist. So that is not a good look. But I think that hourglass women with a more normal build look fine in them. A 10-inch difference isn’t that great – your hips aren’t proportionately big enough that you’d have any real reason to want deemphasize them. Wear what you like. I think you’d probably look good in pencil skirts too, unless your butt is shapely enough that they cling to you in which case they are maybe not office-appropriate.

         2. Just because they emphasize other people’s hips doesn’t mean they emphasize yours. Or, maybe your hips deserve to be emphasized. If you’ve always felt you looked good in them, you probably do.

   4. Charla Krupp, who wrote How Not to Look Good, said that women tend to look old and frumpy in A-lines. I have a few A-line skirts that I like, but I tend to agree with her (at least on this issue) — pencil skirts look so much more chic.

      1. Really? Everything I’ve read suggests that women who are pear shaped tend to look better in a-line skirts because it de-emphasizes their hips. For women who are bigger up top, it gives more definition in the waist than a pencil skirt.

         1. You’re kidding! An A-line flares out from your hips… making them even more pronounced.

         2. I see a lot of pear-shaped and otherwise hippy/bootylicious women wearing A-lines, perhaps because they think the extra fabric hides their hips, and I’ve never seen it look good. It adds bulk and emphasizes exactly what they’re trying to hide. I especially see women with large rear ends wearing A-lines, and the skirt just hangs straight down from their butt, and it’s impossible to tell what their actual shape is. I guess if they’re trying for modesty it’s working, but it looks so frumpy, and they’d look so much better in a pencil that actually shows that they have legs underneath that butt.

            I hope this doesn’t come off as bodysnarking, but it’s a really unfortunate look and it’s a shame that women try to hide their shapes under extra fabric.

      2. I have curves and I Looooovvveee A-line skirts. I even have an A-line skirt suit. For me, it’s not so much an issue with my waist-hips ratio as it is with my dancer-thunder-thighs. When I’ve bought a pencil (or straight) suit skirt and gotten it taken in (since I have to buy them like 2 sizes too big to fit over my legs), the tailor actually turns them into a bit of an A-line. I don’t get an A-line skirt and wear it at my waist, however; I get one that usually hits between my waist and where I would wear my low-rise jeans. And I don’t usually wear a shirt that has to be tucked in; I wear a shirt that comes down to about my hip-level .

         I also think it depends on the specific skirt whether or not you look frumpy in an a-line. And you definitely have to balance what you wear on top – no big flouncy shirts or else you will be swallowed in fabric.

      3. I’m LOLing, but I think you meant How Not to Look Fat, not How Not to Look Good.

         1. Hee hee, you’re right. :)

   5. I think those of us who are bigger up top than on the bottom tend to look good in A-lines – it makes us look more proportional and helps create the illusion of an hourglass.

      1. I was wondering about that. I have a few skirts like this, and they look much better on me than pencil skirts. I’m bigger on top and I have slim hips and legs. With pencil skirts I look like I have a big gut, but with A-line skirts, I look like I have a waist.

7. Based on my experience at Calvin Klein (although not with this particular skirt) I would size down – I am normally a 6, but I recently bought a CK skirt in a size 4, and I had to get it taken in.

8. I would make sure you wear this skirt with a pretty, feminine blouse – possibly in a jewel tone and in a silky material. I have a very similar one that only looks good when worn that way. A plain button-down shirt as shown on the model just looks frumpy.

9. The style isn’t for me, but Amazon has it for sizes 14 – 24 as well as the regular sizes: http://tinyurl.com/3xzs5aw

10. I own this skirt (from last year) – it was part of the suiting collection at Macy’s. It’s lined and comfortable and pairs well with the matching suit coat. I’m 5’7″ and it hits me just at the knee. The sizes ran large, I got mine taken in as well. I think I actually prefer the look of this one, but maybe I like matronly looking clothes?: http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/3025932?refsid=283781&refcat=0~2376776~2374327~2374336~2377666&SourceID=&SlotID=2&origin=related&cm_Sp=Related-Items-_-Product-_-Auto

    1. ha ha – I’m with you, 2L Nyc. I have the same problem. My 30 year old sister-in-law (who is two months younger than I am) recently told me “you like old women clothing!”
       oops.

    2. Old women clothing is great. When I read bazaar, and they write “what to wear at any age”, I really only can imagine wearing things for 60s+. But maybe that makes me a trendy matronly person?

11. I just ordered this skirt from Lord &Taylor (F&F sale)– should get it today. Didn’t see a matching jacket. I prefer A-line skirts, hope this one works!

12. I like A-line skirts, but this one looks frumpy to me. Maybe it is the combination of the length and the shoe heels. I think it is better to stay with a pencil skirt just now when purchasing a skirt that’s not part of a two piece outfit.

13. I think what’s important when it comes to a-line skirts is to wear something fitted on top. That way you don’t feel too “spacious” and you look great. It really is a flattering cut on all body shapes!

    Our blog actually did a post on this recently. Check it out if you are interested! cubiclechicblog.com/2010/04/28/a-line-skirt

    – Meredith of Cubicle Chic

14. Nice pick. Thanks!

15. This whole frump, old-lady-clothes thing is very interesting. My theory is that whatever your wore when you were in your late teens and 20s will, all your life, look cool and chic to you. If you were that age during the 80s, you will always have a little yen for shoulder pads, because they just look right to you.

    Right now, pencil skirts and low-slung pants are the fashion, so they are the cool go-to. In a while fashion will change and the next shape/style will be The Big Thing and, voila, now pencil skirts look dowdy, and you will strain for the rest of your life to keep track of what’s chic and what’s frumpy.

    1. @Delta Sierra:
       >> and you will strain for the rest of your life to keep track of what’s chic and what’s frumpy.
       So true, and so sad. ;)

       1. K: It’s the main reason I read Corporette. I’m mumblemumble years old now, and some fashions have been in and out of fashion so many times I’ve lost track of what’s ‘in’ this year. Sometimes for work I decide fiddlesticks! I don’t care! I’m wearing it anyhow, but at least it means I know how people might be reacting to it. Other days for work I feel more comfortable staying in line with current trends. But on my own time I’ll wear what I damn well please, and judgers can go to hell and take their narrow definitions of what to wear with them. What, leave my beautiful Tiffany/Peretti heart bracelet and diamonds-by-the-yard bracelet in the box because they’re dated (actual citation of something said here a few months ago)?! Please.

          1. @Delta Sierra: I’m probably “mumblemumble minus 10” — and I’m here for essentially the same reason. I’m in SmallLaw so everything is just more casual — I find that I have “lost” a lot of the impetus to stay right on top of things to look super-current — but then part of me doesn’t really worry about it b/c I’m not trying to make a name for myself (now it’s just reputation “maintenance”!) But even then, I don’t think that, just because this is where I am in my life, I have to wear the Chico’s Uniform. Ugh. BTW, nice business/web site — looks fun!

             1. @DeltaSierra – I’m mumblemumble too and hear what you’re saying. It’s funny b/c sometimes on this site, I feel like I’m way dated. and then sometimes I feel like everyone dresses so much more conservatively than I do (I wear – gasp – dangly earrings/hoops to work – and rarely ever wear slips any more!). I would have to try this skirt on b/c I have the same issue w/ A-lines – some look ok; some not. I’m kind of an hourglass but more of a pear, and what I call “straight-line” skirts seem to look better on me, which seems contradictory.

                & @K – please don’t knock Chico’s too much. I know some of their stuff is god-awful. but they have some basics – like shells/turtlenecks that travel well and look dressy under suits/cardigans – that are fine.

             2. @MelM: I’m thinking of “Chico’s” as a certain shorthand for a particular look — I know they have some good basics. I’m the K who keeps sticking up for Talbots’s too..so consider the source. :) Now all we need is for LPC to chime in …

             3. K, thank you about my website, always nice to get feedback. Any time I get to play with books, I’m a happy girl.

    2. Interesting theory — my mother who is in her fifties (I think) has been 25 for as long as I can remember. Her theory is that you’re only as old as you want to be, so she has strived to maintain a stylish look, and succeeded — No embroidered sweatshirts or tacky jumpers, elastic waisted pants, etc. She has spent the past 30 or so years watching what is shown in tv shows, in magazines, and on other women she sees.

       That said, she also has taken great care to not wear anything that is too young for her.

    3. Does that mean that skinny jeans will look dated? I cannot imagine wearing flared pants again.

       1. yes, it does mean that. from someone who has been through a few cycles of each :)

          1. MelM: I remember reading a while back, some famous famous hairdresser, saying, “I can look at a grown woman and 95% of the time tell you the exact year she graduated from high school”. Now and then I notice a haircut/do and think, hm, I bet he can.

             1. Oh Lord, sounds like a trip for a new ‘do is in order b/c I’m sure that’s true!

16. I also think that there are many times at work when I prefer to look older, less girly, and less shapely in order to be taken seriously. As a young, tall, skinny, big boobed, blonde lady, the A-line does the trick. It is good to know when “frump” can work in your favor.

    1. Blonde Lawyer – I’m glad I am not the only one who does this! I call it de-prettying. On court days, for instance, I often de-pretty by wearing little make-up, pants, nothing too colorful or form-fitting, and putting my hair in a tight, neat bun… I think looking too pretty can be a bad thing sometimes. I want attention for my meritorious arguments, not because I am young and pretty. Is that wrong?

       1. ERP and Blonde Lawyer — You are on the right track. I don’t know if you can be “too pretty” in court, but I’m sure you can be too sexy or too girly-girl feminine. There is a time and place to be a babe, but court isn’t it.

17. This skirt will match with the jacket they have available under the “Suits & Separates” section. I verified with the online customer service. Not sure if the suit and skirt would actually *look* good together (still deciding) but they would match.

18. I find that A line is actually more flattering for me. I am hour glass shaped and the pencil skin makes me look heavier b/c it clings to my rump. Love this skirt.

    1. Rump-clinging: exactly. For pencil skirts, I find that unless you hunt diligently and try everything on (ergo, no internet shopping) there’s too much chance of that. I bulge a wee tad bit in the front these days, and have no desire to bulge in the back, too.

19. excellent! A-line is much more flattering for me as well.

    Do you really have to dry-clean a “polyester/rayon/spandex” blend? I get away with a lot using my “delicates” selection on my washer, but I don’t want to ruin what (for me) would be an investment piece.

    1. Rayon is a natural fiber and can shrink quite easily, easier than cotton really. I don’t dryclean much, but you do want to be careful with rayon. A rayon/polyester blend is less likely to shrink than a rayon/natural fiber blend, so I’d feel comfortable handwashing it in cold water and Woolite and hanging it to dry.

20. So is an A-line a good skirt for an “apple” or “block” shape person? Hard to describe but I have a boyish shape, some people say I look like a former swimmer w/ my broad shoulders/chest. So what sort of skirts should I wear? I’ve tried pencil, slight flare, bubble, etc, and still don’t know what looks best.

21. wow cool info bro.

22. The skirt isn’t A-lined – it’s gored.
    It’s got 6-8 different panels so it has more shape than a traditional A-line.
    I think the gores at the bottom produce a flattering flare. An A-line skirt increases like a triangle. A gored skirt curves in, and then flares out lower so I think it is flattering to pear shapes.

    I bought a similar CK skirt in dark denim at Lord & Taylor. It’s good with shorter jackets/sweaters and makes a good looking business casual Friday when I’m not feeling like pants.

    1. Good point. And, agreed.

23. I found this skirt at TJ Maxx a few weeks ago, in beige, for $29. So far, I love it: flattering, comfortable.

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