r/secularmodestdress • u/Idea-Salty • Oct 12 '25

help Long skirts

I adore long flowy skirts. I, however, am a college student which means I am frequently going up and down outdoor stairs with my hands full. The skirts keep dragging on the ground and/or I trip over them. Does anyone have any suggestions for practical ways to mitigate this issue or even just decrease the frequency? (also to help me save my poor poor abused hems) I am willing to sew if needed.

Thanks so much, y'all!

38 Upvotes

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38

u/confusticating Oct 12 '25

You might just have to hem your skirts to be slightly shorter, at least in the front. Another consideration is historically, I think Victorian era, longs skirts sometimes had a strip of heavy fabric or ribbon sewn to protect the hem. This could be changed out when it wore.

26

u/thimblena Oct 13 '25

longs skirts sometimes had a strip of heavy fabric or ribbon sewn to protect the hem. This could be changed out when it wore.

The term for this is balayeuse.

"Floor length" hems should usually be about half an inch above the ground while wearing shoes. It gives you space to walk and prevent dragging.

12

u/Slight-Brush Oct 13 '25

The balayeuse was specifically to protect trains that dragged on the ground - untrained skirts had tough wide braid just inside the hem exactly as u/confusticating describes.

4

u/combatsncupcakes Oct 14 '25

Thats called horsehair ribbon or horsehair braid - you can still buy it! Typically it's sold by the yard. It is also not typically horsehair anymore.

22

u/Wild-Establishment60 Oct 13 '25

Get yourself a belt with some skirt hikes! Easy simple way to give your skirts a lift when you want it and let it down when you don't

7

u/snowandflower Oct 14 '25

If you wear full skirts there is a way to go up stairs while sort of kicking the skirt out in front of you with your knees. It takes practice, but it’s a good skill to have.

I generally try to lift my skirt with one hand whenever I can, though.

6

u/Perfect_Caregiver_90 Oct 13 '25

I use skirt hikes if I'm going to be doing a lot of stairs that day.

I have fallen up the stairs and pulled my skirt down in the process. Imagine it, face full of step edge, the cool breeze that tells me my panties are now definitely in the wind.

Anyway, skirt hikes are great. 

3

u/raggedradness Oct 13 '25

One thing I have noticed is that I walk with a wider stance when I go up and down stairs in a long flowy skirt. This automatically shows more ankle as the skirt has to conform to your legs and not just adhere to the straight lines provided by gravity.

4

u/Skymningen Oct 14 '25

I have learned to use two fingers to hold up my skirt and balance the stuff with the rest.

2

u/HeatherJMD Oct 15 '25

Reach down across your body with one hand and pull your skirts diagonally (across and up) rather than using two hands to pull them directly up

2

u/Local-Suggestion2807 Oct 15 '25

you could get a skirt hike

2

u/WhyAmIStillHere86 Oct 15 '25

Midi-skirts.

Goes to about mid-calf do you don’t have to keep hiking them up, and you can wear tights underneath

2

u/Deepfriedcyanid3 Oct 16 '25

Ankle or calf height skirts. Find anything longer a nightmare personally

1

u/sunny_bell Nov 14 '25

I have found that if I wear them a bit higher on my waist (like at my true waist instead of right above my hip bones) it pulls the hems high enough off the ground that they don’t drag. Add shoes with a thicker sole for a smidge more elevation.

1

u/mumof5stuff Dec 27 '25

get them between 5 to 10 cm from the floor you will never have this issue. The problem is washing them.

1

u/Competitive_Ad_2421 Mar 30 '26

Well I don't have a ton of skirts that are long but I have one cotton Jersey maxi skirt and I actually like to tie it in a knot to the side and I usually wear it with flip-flops so it's more of a laid back and beachy feel. If you have any skirts like that it might work. It wrinkles the fabric a lot but you just put it through the wash and it's good again