Summer Skirt Primer

A coworker complimenting me on my vintage skirt–cotton with scencs of Morocco in shades of burnt orange, brown, and yellow on a mustard-yellow background–mentioned that there was a French term for these: Toile de Jouy. I call them “picture skirts.” According to wikipedia, “Toile de Jouy originated in France in the 1800s. In the French language, the phrase literally means “cloth from Jouy-en-Josas”, a town of north-central France. Although it has been continuously produced since then, it experienced a marked upsurge in popularity around the year 2000. Previously only a decorating design, designers have been recently experimenting with toile-patterned apparel as well.” I see these skirts mostly in the summer, and I think they are great. They seem to be more popular than ever this summer in New York, when the heat and humidity can skyrocket. You can wear these elegant little numbers with a blouse or camisole and feel cool and breezy without sacrificing modesty. (Mine comes down almost to my ankles.)

Another great summer skirt in my collection is this brilliant invention I snapped up at some off-brand boutique on lower Broadway last year. It’s simply two long layers of very light, black cotton (voile, I think) with a stretchy wide waistband of spandex. I can pull this on, on even my most bloated days and still feel elegant. And it goes with absolutely everything. Plus, with the two layers of fabric–no slip required!

My new gored ivory linen number, I’m wearing not so much.