Skirts, an essential part of today’s wardrobe

RU too old to wear a skirt? Think again.....Certainly u r not.... a high per cent of Indian women are happy to bare a lot of leg in skirt right up to the age of 40, writes Mandeep Puri.
Back in 1980s, a woman older than 30 would dare to venture out in a skirt for fear of being labelled 'mutton dressed as lamb'. But today they are being worn for almost a decade longer before being consigned to the back of the wardrobe.
From Hollywood Celebrities such as Victoria Beckham (35), Danni Minogue (38), Elle Macpherson (46), Jennifer Aniston (40) to the Indian News Makers like Priyanka Chopra, Riya Sen, Katrina Kaif are all fans of the skirts.
They may come under fire for signs of ageing around the knees, but they do have generally flawless legs. The modern, image-obsessed culture means that women work hard to maintain a youthful appearance, spending hours in the gym and even undergoing plastic surgery.
It all bodes well for the future of the skirt - but how old is too old to wear one? We asked female for their opinion... Some women should never start wearing skirts. It's not always about age - skirts never did anything for the heavy-hipped and overweight.
The shorter the skirt, the more it accentuates the hips. The more it shows off bad legs. Yes, all legs are good, but some are more perfect than others. Let's face it -skirts are for slender, stylish women, under 35 (or looking 35) and little girls. Little girls look very sweet in short skirts. So do hot skinny teenagers and women in their ragingly sexual come-and-get-me twenties. Legs are sexy. Legs are sporty, young, and innocent. Legs lead up to private territory. Good legs make men look twice. Especially bare legs. It's why women in their 40s and, gulp, 50s with half-way decent legs think they project a youthful kickiness when they wear a skirt.
'It shows that women have an increasing confidence in their bodies and are happy to dress accordingly,' says Disha, a city based model. 'If the trend continues there's no doubt that, within a decade, women in their mid-40s and early 50s will rightly regard a skirt as an essential part of their everyday wardrobe. Skirts are the best for it and it gives a girl the appealing looks”, she adds. 'I'm a girl,' and it’s a message.
A 40-plus woman who wears a skirt knows she's running out of time. Also, wearing a when you're over 40 - unless four inches above the knee and with opaque tights - shows you haven't a clue about fashion. There is nothing more ageing than a long skirt on women of a certain age. You can get away with lovely white hair and lots of wrinkles, but long skirts are the precursor to the shroud.
“Girls in their 20s and 30s can waft around looking charmingly, hippy-dippy in mid-calf or long skirts. But this same length can make most women a decade or too later in life look older than our chronological age. We do not want to embrace our inner grandmother”, sense Mehak, a model.
“There is, however, an important difference between short and mini; it is one that older women need to discover fast if they do not want to walk around to the sound of bleating mutton”, she adds. “I think most sensible and stylish women have an innate sense of what works and what doesn't without any need for dogma or rules, because dressing is more about context than convention. I wear skirts and will continue to wear them until my knees no longer pass muster, because it's fun, because knee-length is too Carla Bruni, mid-calf is disastrous, and full-length maxi is - paradoxically - a look only the very young can carry off”, opines Rohini Chhabra, a professional.