The Towel Test

I have a growing collection of style books. At Christmas I received Garance Dore's book, "Love Style Life" as well as the the Fluevog celebration coffee table book "Fluevog - 50 Years of Unique Soles for Unique Souls". Both fabulous reads. The latest (which I also really enjoyed) was "How to Not Wear Black" - a guide full of tips and tricks by Anna Murphy (a Fashion Editor at the Times in London).

In this book, Murphy shares a quick and easy at home trick for determining ideal skirt lengths.

While it's true that a large part of figuring out our style is connected to our personalities AND, of course, what makes us happy (have you given the February style prompts a whirl?); another major factor is understanding our bodies and what works best for us.

I love it when a fashion trend becomes so widespread that those pieces just become a staple of a well-functioning wardrobe. We've seen it recently with animal prints (leopard in particular, now being considered a neutral as opposed to a trend print). This is also the case for two silhouette pieces that I am loving - the midi skirt and the ankle cropped pant.

Murphy's test will help you become familiar with the best spots for either your skirts or cropped pants to end. This has been the key problem with capri pants - they usually stop at the widest part of the calf, therefore, generally tend to be a very unflattering pant. Hopefully, this test and these more modern silhouettes will remedy that problem...

Here's the test:

Stand in front of a full length mirror and hold a regular towel by the two top corners of one of the shorter sides, the opposite side lightly touching the floor. Slowly lift the towel upwards, looking at your lower legs as they are revealed. There will be at least two points of elevations at which your legs look their best. Those are the most flattering skirt lengths for you (this can also work for a cropped pant). You'll most likely find it is slightly above the ankle, or the thinnest spot where ankle moves into the calf. There will be another place around or below the knee that is ideal for shorter skirt lengths.

Note: I've noticed that Bermuda style shorts with suiting is an upcoming trend - this will also apply for that silhouette.

If you find something you love that doesn't hit you at the right spot, be sure to get it altered. Our eye is always drawn to where a garment ends, so we want to make sure we are always drawing attention to our best zones! Once you find these areas, you'll see what a difference it makes.

Done the test, but still struggling to figure out your most flattering silhouettes? I am happy to help. My style services focus on both the science (fit) and art (how we put it all together) of style.

Give this test a whirl? I would love to hear about it!

Lori