What size clothes do you wear? I don’t mean the number in the label. I mean what size are they once they are on you? Are they big and oversized, or as small as you can wriggle into? Do you make a beeline for the smallest clothes, believing that the “right” size is the one that you can just about zip up if you breathe in? Or is your comfort zone big and baggy, so that your clothes take on their own shape, and the shape of actual you sits hidden underneath?
Many of us tend towards one or the other of these extremes. Which may be related to the fact that, if we’re honest, well, most of us are at least a tiny bit weird about our body size and how we feel about it. Or it may just be because fashion tends to ricochet between the two extremes, bouncing from sucky-sucky tight and help-I’m-under-this-tent.
But the middle ground is having a moment. Semi-skimmed dressing, I’m calling it. Like the milk. Not full-fat, not skinny, but skimming your outline. Not an X-ray of your body in the way of tight clothing, and not a disguise of it either. A breezy pencil sketch of you, if you like. Semi-skimmed dressing is a ribbed vest, rather than a stretch jersey cami or a boxy T-shirt. It is straight-leg trousers belted at the waist, rather than skinny jeans or voluminous cargos hanging off your hips. It is a slinky sweater dress that slips and slides as you move, rather than a tent – or something tiny.
Semi-skimmed is the most comfortable way to wear your clothes – physically, and mentally too. More physically comfortable than tight clothes, not just because nothing digs in after lunch but because you don’t have to calibrate your choice of knickers according to whether the seam will show. More physically comfortable than baggy clothes, because your sleeve doesn’t dip itself in your coffee. More mentally comfortable than tight clothes, because it can get kind of exhausting feeling so exposed all day, and because baggy clothes, which can make you almost invisible, are tiring in a different way.
Next time you are heading for a changing room, pick up what you want to try on in the size you think you are, and one size smaller, and one size bigger. Maybe one size bigger than that, too. Then go into the changing room and try one at random without looking at the size. The fabric should slide around smoothly as you move – without friction on your flesh, but not flapping around either. If blouse buttons gape when you move around, go for a size bigger. If trousers sag into wrinkles at the top of your thighs, go a size smaller. Keep the edges of the look crisp: your trousers should end cleanly, rather than puddling on your shoes or the floor. A turn-up might be necessary.
Still, semi-skimmed dressing can feel a little underpowered, when compared with the punchiness of body con or the caps-lock boldness of oversized. What you need is an extra touch of emphasis, here or there. The dark belt, in this outfit, is a good example: without it, the vest and trousers would read as a little underwear-ish. You need a polished, grown-up accessory to add definition: a belt or a shoe with a chiselled toe, a silky stocking or a colourful sock, a silk scarf or a chunky necklace.
You will find that semi-skimmed dressing is the easiest way to start your day. Just add a coffee, and you’re good to go.
Hair and make up: Sophie Higginson. Model: Priyanka at Milk Management. Vest and trousers: Reiss. Necklace: by Alona from Matches. Belt: Rokit. Boots: LK Bennett
