The pencil skirt is the all-rounder of women business outfits. Close to the body, knee length, and often with a high waist cut, the pencil skirt fits business women of all ages. But where does this timeless piece come from and how to wear it the best?
Origin of the pencil skirt
The pencil skirt was invented 1954 in the “H-Line” collection by Christian Dior. H-line as following his A-line these designs have been in a straight cut, going down close to the body. Marilyn Monroe was fan of this shape of skirt as many women are. You can find many pictures of her wearing this iconic piece as for example 1959 in the film “some like it hot”.
In the 1950’s and 60’s the shirt often hat a slight cut in the backside to make moving easier. Meghan Markle and Michelle Obama, as other women in public office positions, like to wear this type of pencil skirts.
The next high in fashion got the pencil skirt in the 1970’s as ‘lycra’, a stretch material come on the market allowing the skirt to be tight to the body while still allowing space to move.
The name of the pencil skirt comes from its shape, fitting closely to the body and going slightly slim from the hips, the shape is similar to the shape of a pencil, long and slim.
But pencil skirts can also be worn in a sexy feminine way as Dita Von Teese shows regularly in latex or leather versions.
Across all seasons
You can wear your pencil skirt with nearly all types of tops. Most common for women in business outfits is a blouse, light for the summer, traditional cut in cotton for the winter.
A very delicate way is a peplum top. As a top or jacket, the peplum highlights your waist as it gives an hourglass shape thanks to its wider bottom. It can be perfectly worn to work or for an evening with a belt as accessory on your waist.
A nice pullover works as well as a light top with a jacket.
Versatile & feminine business outfit
For a casual outfit you can wear a nice t-shirt to it combined with a more formal blazer – always try to mix different styles and pieces you already have in your wardrobe and do not hesitate to try different versions to mix and match.
The pencil skirt is so versatile that actually most tops work with it. Of course chose fitting colours and look if it works with your morphology but a pencil skirt is a must-have in your business wardrobe.
Some more inspirations needed? – find 10 examples how to wear your pencil skirt here.
The pencil skirt needs to be part of travel and business trips, it is just such an easy piece to combine from classical to casual business outfits for every business women. And last but not least the pencil skirt goes super well to all of our Bag Affair bags from Classy to Bossy and Sassy.
