The last time long skirts were in vogue, Conrad Black, proprietor of the Daily Telegraph, wrote a feature in his own newspaper decrying the fashion and insisting he did not want to see the legs of his wife, columnist Barbara Amiel, buried under yards of fabric. Amiel sensibly opted for silence on the subject. However, this season, Black has found an ally in another English paper, the Daily Mail, which recently featured a double-page denunciation headlined "We Declare War on Frump". Once again, the principal offence is long skirts - plus flat shoes and loose sweaters. Gratifying as it may be to write (and read) such exclamations of outrage, they really are quite unnecessary. As a rule, fashion is not a dictator and the consumer not an idiot. Trends come and go with varying degrees of public approval. Some, such as trouser suits, catch on immediately while others - sheer fabrics, pink, kitten heels - are adopted by only a handful of enthusiasts. Where any woman stands on fashion is entirely her own choice. The fashion police are not hovering to arrest everyone who fails to conform to this season's trends.
However, if you want to look au courant, a long skirt will be an essential element in your wardrobe over the coming months. It will sit on the hips and sweep down to the ankle with a gentle flare, possibly aided by a single slit at the rear. It will almost certainly be grey, which is set to be one of autumn/ winter's choicest colours.
Again, grey is not the only option but it is the one most in fashion right now; any other shade, while no doubt perfectly fine, will not capture the present spirit in the same way as grey. Both colour and length imply a certain degree of sobriety and it is true that the mood of the moment is towards the sombre. Fashion has a habit of reflecting economics; throughout this century, skirt lengths tend to have gone up and done according to financial circumstances. They rose during the buoyancy of the 1920s and dropped for the following decade's depression. Minis are synonymous with the 1960s, just as maxis are with the oil-crisis era which came next.
The last time long skirts swept into favour was in the early years of the present decade, coinciding with a worldwide recession. Might not this autumn/winter's long skirt be an accurate reflection of the economic problems hitting so much of the world right now? As if to underline just how powerful is the authority of this length right now, it has turned up not just among designers such as Gucci, Jil Sander, Sonia Rykiel and Nicole Farhi, but also at all the major chainstores. This style is comfortable, easy to wear and undemanding. It works best when worn with the season's favourite footwear, which has heels so flat as to be barely visible. The plain, mannish lace-up brogue looks wonderful with long skirts, as do Mary Janes and very flat boots.
The less adornment the better; this is not dressing for women who love the elaborate. There is an element of the puritanical in its character, as the body is covered from neck to ankle with no exposure permitted. As provocative allure is played down, fashion now best suit members of the Amish community. Expect more protests from the likes of Conrad Black.
