document: How to dress : The return of the calf-length skirt We should be careful what we wish for - this latest revival is hard to pull off , unless you 're a Shoreditch hipster The trouble with progress is , you end up going round in circles . Miniskirts were all about liberation in the beginning , but around their fourth decade they became a tyranny . By 2009 , the mini had such a hold over fashion that if you wanted a smart dress that fell knee-length or longer you had to choose between Surrey Housewife Goes to Glyndebourne -LRB- shiny , rustly burgundy -RRB- or Sunday School Teacher with Body Image Issues -LRB- cheap black wool-mix -RRB- . So then we were all like , excuse me , but we are the net-a-porter generation and we demand longer skirts , there 's nothing out there for normal women , bleat bleat . Well , be careful what you wish for , because the calf-length skirt is back , and it turns out that it is not remotely easy to wear , for us norms . In fact , it 's hard to wear without looking dowdy . The calf-length skirt looks brilliant on Shoreditch hipsters who get captured looking hung over and sheepishly fabulous on too-cool-for-school blogs . And because these people are n't models , seeing clothes look good on them tricks us into thinking the same clothes will work on us . But this is n't always the case . Luckily , there 's a simple test to see if you can pull off ny street-style look . Put on wellies and look in the mirror . If you see louche backstage chic , bingo , you 've hit street-style gold . If you look as if you 're off to the allotment , it 's back to the drawing board . But what the blog-fodder kids wear today , us norms wear tomorrow . So the calf-length skirt will be coming back to your wardrobe . It 's called progress . • Jess wears blouse # 85 , by Jaeger . Skirt # 40 , by Topshop . Shoes # 165 , by Russell & Bromley . Photograph : David Newby for the Guardian . Stylist : Aradia Crockett . Hair and make-up : Nikki Palmer at Mandy Coakley
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