(by "short" they mean "invisible")

[deird1]

People have the strangest ideas about what a "long skirt" is.


What I want is a skirt that is mid-shin length or longer. In other words... a long skirt.

I tried explaining this to multiple sales people today. Typical conversation went like this:

"I'm looking for a skirt. A long one."

"Sure! We have those! How long?"

"Really long. A bit longer than the one I'm wearing now."

"Absolutely! No problem!" *looks down at the skirt I'm wearing* "...oh."


The skirt I'm currently wearing reaches to my knees. Apparently this is so incredibly long that it would be unthinkable for them to stock anything longer.

And yet, they all kept assuring me that they stocked long skirts, really they did. I just had to... change my definition of "long".

Comments

[zeborah]

I favour ankle length, if I can get it, but definitely mid-shin. I get most of my skirts these days from thrift stores and church sales, though occasionally I find one in a colour I like at ordinary stores. Very occasionally. Mostly I deal with the issue by keeping the ones I like forever (or until the hot pepper paste stains can no longer be ignored - typically 5-10 years).

[velvetwhip]

I love long skirts!

Your experience reminded me of when I called a store to find out if they stocked a variety of hat styles. Upon being assured they did, and despite having two broken toes, I drove to the mall and hobbled to the store... Only to discover that they felt different colours and team logos on baseball caps constituted a variety of styles. I actually called the store's corporate office and complained quite vociferously.


Gabrielle

[heygirlie]

I sympathize. There's always that patronizing attitude of, "Oh, you don't want to wear a skirt at a length where should you merely reach for something the hemline rises half a centimeter and you flash your (only possibly underwear-covered) crotch to everyone? Clearly you're repressed/hiding/ashamed/a prude." SMH.

There are a lot of pretty long length skirts at modcloth.com.

[snickfic]

*splutters*

'Really long'? As far as I'm concerned, 'really long' means it doesn't matter what shoes you wear because no one can see them beneath the skirt. 'Long' means ankle-length. 'Mid-length' means somewhere between mid-calf and knee.

Silly fashion.

[curiouswombat]

I am with you on this - except for me 'really long' means 'can only be work with non-flatties or I'll trip over it' - I'm short in the legs!

[cereta]

See, at 5'1", this is not a problem I ever have ;). I'm more likely to have to hike skirts up to my waist under my shirt to avoid dragging it through the mud. That said, I'm really surprised that in the era of the maxi dress and ankle-length denim skirts, that this would be hard for them to understand.

[immer_am_lesen]

...I still can't believe what passes for 'winter uniform' at all schools here...when I was growing up, Winter Skirts were affairs made of pleated wool, and reached the ankles. Any shorter would be silly, as you'd get cold legs!
Now, winter skirts are the same length as summer uniform, and wow, that ain't long at all. (The Summer uniforms barely cover the girl's bum these days it seems.) How is that supposed to keep you warm??
At least at our school they brought in the option of pants for girls. Not very comfy, woollen, nothing like the trendy dungaree-type pants the boys got....but hey, they were pants.
Maybe if more schools had pants for girls, there'd be less stupidly cold legs around...

So yes, I feel your pain.
I hope you find a decently long skirt soon!
Op shops are definitely worth browsing through. :-)