How To Wear a Pencil Skirt If You Have a Midlife Middle

Nothing is sexier than a shapely pencil skirt that hugs your hips and bottom and says, “Yes, I’m a woman.” A pencil skirt can be your secret weapon if you want to walk into a room and look and feel powerful. Now, before you start moaning and groaning that it is impossible to wear a pencil skirt unless you are as skinny as a pencil, listen up!

There are ways to wear a pencil skirt even if you have a softer, rounder, more mature body. Start With Shapewear

Whether you are 1) fairly slim but have a bit of a midlife middle or 2) you are a round and curvy gal, a little shapewear goes a long way. If you want to wear a top tucked into your pencil skirt, buy yourself some Spanx. Shapewear works like a girdle but is light as pantyhose. It firms your tummy, but it’s very comfortable. It will make a huge difference.

Try a Wrap Top

If you prefer to tuck out, a wrap top or a fitted top with some stretch and ruching works well to camouflage the tummy.

A Sweater Can Help

If you’ve tried Spanx, but there’s still a bit of belly bulge than you’d like, try wearing a vest or sweater tucked out. Then add an oversized scarf, necklace, or earrings up top to draw attention up to your face. Make sure your shirt has a shape. If it is just big and baggy, you will look sloppy. It should narrow in a bit to give you that waist definition that is so important when you wear a pencil skirt.

A Cute Jacket Will Camouflage

If you are top-heavy in the chest and tummy, try tucking out and wearing a cute jacket over the top.

Other Ways to Look Slim in a Pencil Skirt…

• Make sure your skirt doesn’t pull or pucker. Buy a dress that fits your hips, then take it at the waist to get the perfect fit.
• If you are a curvy hourglass, just ensure that your pencil skirt doesn’t taper too much towards the knees once past your hips. This can make you look off balance. If you are top
• Avoid pencil skirts with details at the waist, such as buttons, pockets, gathering, and trim. If you are a midlife mama with a jelly belly, these things will add bulk and make you look heavy.

• A dark pencil skirt is always more slimming than a light, bright or patterned one.
• Pencil skirts with vertical lines like stripes, a slit, or a long zipper draw the eye up and down and make you look long and lean.

• A pencil skirts with dark color-blocked panels at the side shaves off inches.

• A pencil skirt with a flared bottom or pleated bottom works wonders to draw eyes down to your pretty hemline and legs, which means you don’t have to feel self-conscious about your not-so-perfect middle.

Petites and the Pencil Skirt

What if you are short? Most pencil skirts end at the knee. You will want to show a little more leg to make your legs look longer so you can go a couple of inches above the knee.

Do you wear pencil skirts? What are your tricks for getting a great look?