Are Super-Short Mini Skirts Really Possible to Wear?

The little things that I used to take as a given have become the greatest thrills. An in-person consultation at a cranky librarian clerk. Being dragged along by boring conversationalists at a party. I felt my spring awakening when I was walking up the stairs of my local subway station wearing a denim miniskirt. This is what it feels like! What was the longest time it had been since I worried about the decorum of subway stairs?

Miniskirts are making a comeback. The hemlines are rising with our steadily increasing spirits. Our lower bodies are finally getting some sun after two years of dressing above the waist. Spring runways were crowded with micro-minis, some as thin as sashes. The trend also has legs in real life. Jana Hofheimer is a Moda Operandi buyer and said that minis have been selling at a 10% faster rate than other categories. She added that “because of that, we are increasing miniskirt supplies for the rest of this year by approximately 20%.” Paul Jarrod Frank, a New York dermatologist, said that his clientele is going “leg-crazy”. His office has seen a 50% increase in bookings this year for treatments to treat sun damage, spider veins, and brown spots that the minis may reveal.

The 1960s saw the first appearance of Minis. They were a symbol of youth culture and sexual liberation through their sartorial designs. Mary Quant’s London store Bazaar and French designer Andre Courreges were the first to make minis famous. According to Valerie Steele (fashion historian and director of the Museum at FIT in New York), minis have been back in fashion for the past few years. This abbreviated style saw another boom around the turn of millennium. (image search Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton for proof). It’s no surprise that it’s back, just in time to enjoy the hot-girl summer promised last year. Dr. Steele stated that it is a dopamine dressing.

I prefer modest clothing, but as a teenager I wore minis a lot. The sound of dopamine boosting was appealing to me, and the mini is more appealing than any other trend at the moment – the cutouts that I don’t like, or the crop tops that I can’t eat. The mini, unlike its more eccentric counterparts, can be associated with a variety of things: mod, preppy, and jaded Bret Ellis hero. Could I look more like a Brooklyn soccer mom at 44 than a big mistake? I borrowed some styles, refilled my razor cartridges, and set out to discover the answer.

I started with an indigo Max Mara dress with apron pockets. This conservative option summons Jackie O’s white “mini”, which was scandalized by the rest of the world in the 1960s. It almost reached her knees. I paired the skirt and Adidas low-tops with a cashmere sweater and headed to school drop off. Although I was the only one with skin, nobody noticed–except one dad I had never spoken to. I was greeted by a warm smile and “Hello!” I knew he was also feeling the dopamine effects.

Before I went any further, I called some mini muses to get their advice. First, Jenny Walton, a fashion blogger based in New York and Milan who posted photos of herself wearing tiny skirts by Miu Miu and Prada. She said, “Coming out Covid, of course all of us want to be slightly scandalous.” I was encouraged by her to see the mini as a layering piece, that can be worn with colorful tights – a horizontal strip running across my mid-body and not an arrow pointing at me bare feet.

Alissa Zigarry, designer of High Sport, suggested that you pair it with something large on top to give the garment some modesty. A cool day saw me slip into a Max Mara mini in striped cotton and pair it with a chunky sweater, and knee-high clogs. It was very comfortable, with only a few inches of skin exposed. There were no car accidents or cat calls when I went for a walk. This outfit was more about proportion than provocation.

On Day 3, I discovered that there is another way to pair a mini with maximum propriety. Find one that’s part a suit set. Tod’s mini in A-line viscose/polyester is available in a trippy-preppy orange and turquoise pattern. It is longer than the other minis and would pass any exam they might still give at an all-girls conservative school. I quickly slipped into a pair of Birkenstocks lined in shearling and ran out the door. A block away, a friend started laughing when I went for a mid-day walk with her. She looked at the length of the skirt and asked “Do you call it a mini?” The next hour was spent running errands. I was sweaty by the end and ready to wear a more visible, shorter mini.

It’s time for the tiniest among the bunch, also from Tod’s: a linen flax-colored blouse that would certainly violate a few school dress code. I was about to leave my front door when I saw a man looking at me smugly as I reached for the newspaper. This would require some delicateness. I got up and sloughed my large white button-down before heading to a protest with my family. As I marched alongside my fellow protesters, the sun was strong. A group of women ran to the sidelines, and they began to dance. All but one of the dancer activists were wearing red and black and were dressed in miniskirts. That’s right. You’re the radical dresser.