The Beige Mini Skirts We Keep Coming Back To

For years I considered beige to be the clothing equivalent of cutting your train journey short at the first stop. Bland, dull, the uncomfortable middle ground you wear when you can’t decide what you feel like wearing. It turns out I was wrong about that. Very wrong. And a beige midi skirt is the reason I had to finally admit it.

Firstly, let me tell you about how beige doesn’t actually exist. It’s like taupe and camel and biscuit. The trick is finding one that sits squarely between biscuit and stone without dipping into “office carpet” territory. That’s really the name of the game. Nail that beige and no other colour can match it. Clothes you’d never dream of wearing with bright colours look expensive and totally wearable with the right beige. Pick an orangey-beige by mistake and yes, you’ll look like you’re off to set up a floral stall at the village fete.
And picking the right one is difficult. There’s only about a shade and a half difference between winning and resigning yourself to never wearing bright trousers again.
The fit of a beige skirt is what really matters. There’s no funny print or busy details to distract you if it isn’t quite right, because trust me, when you put it on you will know straight away. It needs some sort of weight or structure to it. Look for a skirt with a bit of body to the material, a good waistband and a hem that falls just above the knee.

Anything shorter and you’re asking for trouble, anything longer and it swamps your figure.
On with the styling suggestions. Beige is magic when it comes to getting along with other things. It goes with literally anything without fighting it. Throw a crisp white shirt on, tuck it in and you’re ready for the kind of office wear that gets you mistaken for someone who actually knows what they’re doing. Black knit, boots and you’re looking at dinner and drinks. The kind of evening where eight o’clock comes and you never want to think about what you’re wearing again. Thrown together with something bold; a rust jumper, a bottle green blazer it just makes space for whatever you throw at it.

It’s time accolades where beige really shines. Sit-down meetings. Lunches you can’t afford to be late for. That wedding guest dilemma where you just won’t wear a floral again after what happened to you last year in the marquee. Beige is your new BFF. It doesn’t scream Look at me! It just whispers I think you look nice, wear me.