# Women - Short skirts and dresses **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-short-skirts-and-dresses/598633 "2011-10-04T23:35:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-short-skirts-and-dresses/598633/21 "2011-10-14T16:56:32Z")
I for one had no idea that human men could use decide to use testosterone as a neurotransmitter if they so preferred. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-short-skirts-and-dresses/598633/22 "2011-10-14T17:22:35Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > How the fuck did we go from prom dresses to the Columbine shooting in less than twenty posts? Yeah, is that a spin-off of Godwin’s Law? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-short-skirts-and-dresses/598633/23 "2011-10-14T17:24:57Z")
I think this is better suited to IMHO than GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-short-skirts-and-dresses/598633/24 "2011-10-15T13:04:03Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > How the fuck did we go from prom dresses to the Columbine shooting in less than twenty posts? Because: it’s the weekend coming up, and we have other things on our minds, so, of course, we’ll be a little slow! BTW, am I the dull one here? I thought Fall had Homecoming dances, and Spring had Proms… hh ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-short-skirts-and-dresses/598633/25 "2011-10-15T13:49:34Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I haven’t worn a miniskirt for nearly 30 years, and I don’t know if I’d ever have attempted to go out the door in the sort of ultrashort and ultratight ones that the girls are rocking nowadays, but I think I remember enough of the mechanics of it to be fairly sure that miniskirt + thong != planting your bare behind right on the chair seat. There’s **some** kind of minimal fabric barrier. I grew up in South Florida, and my teenage years were through most of the 1990s; down here, short shorts (known then as “coochie cutters” for a reason) and impossibly short and tight skirts are the norm and worn regularly. I learned a few things when looking for short and not-so-short skirts after experimentation and error: [ol] [li]Test out sitting in the skirt when you’re trying it on in the store.[/li][li]If you can’t sit in a ladylike manner without flashing someone your panties, the skirt is too short.[/li][li]Learn how far you can lean forward, backward and to the side without flashing someone.[/li][li]Brushing the skirt underneath you prevents having as much butt/thigh on the chair than if you didn’t do it while attempting to sit.[/li][li]If it’s a knee-length skirt with some body (i.e. a-line or wider), and the wind kicks up, grab as much of the excess skirt with one hand as you can until the wind dies down. Less room for the wind to get under the skirt = less chance of having your skirt blown up over your head.[/li][li]If the skirt is snug, make sure you can sit in it comfortably without feeling like you’re going to be strangled or split the skirt before you buy it or go out in it.[/li][li]Look at how high the split goes in the rear/side/front and make sure that your regular movements won’t leave you indecent.[/li][li]Be aware that folks can look up your skirt when walking upstairs behind you. If that concerns you, wear some boy shorts or Spanx underneath. Please wear underwear with anything shorter than an ankle-length skirt.[/li][li]If you are looking at skirts for work, knee length or longer is good. If your work requires physical movements like squatting, ankle length or longer… or just wear pants. [/li][/ol] > [@kayaker](#): > > A short skirt should be accompanied by a loooong jacket. I saw what you did there. I also like Cake. For those who mentioned super-short shorts and the risk of butt hanging out when sitting, my experience is that it’s far more likely that the opposite will happen: if the rise on the shorts are too low, they’ll get pulled down so that whoever’s sitting behind me will get an awesome view of my buttcrack and/or underwear. This is especially true if I’m squatting to get something from a low shelf. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-short-skirts-and-dresses/598633/26 "2011-10-15T14:32:30Z")
[quote=“nashiitashii, post:25, topic:598633”] [li]If you are looking at skirts for work, knee length or longer is good. If your work requires physical movements like squatting, ankle length or longer… or just wear pants. [/li][/QUOTE] I’d find ankle length (or LONGER?!) way more difficult to work in than knee or shorter. It’s so constricting and you’d be tripping over the fabric. ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-short-skirts-and-dresses/598633/27 "2011-10-15T15:01:09Z")
My kid is headed to Homecoming tonight. She is wearing a sheath dress, which is pretty short. It completely covers her rear when sitting, and even if it did not the body girdle (lol) she wears underneath hides absolutely everything. Not [this exact dress](http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=588535&CategoryID=39656#fn=sp%3D1%26spc%3D145), but similar in style and length. It looks very nice. Now, let’s talk about the horrible tacky whore shoes she picked out to go with it…ugh. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-short-skirts-and-dresses/598633/28 "2011-10-15T17:52:34Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I’d find ankle length (or LONGER?!) way more difficult to work in than knee or shorter. It’s so constricting and you’d be tripping over the fabric. I work as a librarian, and have worked in libraries since 2007. I have found that, while shelving or shelf reading, it is best to either wear pants or something that I don’t have to worry about being overly prim and proper in while squatting in front of the shelves. A skirt that hits mid-calf or lower will generally cover my girly bits when squatted down as low as I can go without my butt touching the floor, and by “ankle length”, I meant a dress that stops just above the ankle. I don’t know about you, but on me, that leaves 2-3" of room between the tops of my ankles and the floor if I’m wearing flats. If I wear skirts at work that are below the knee, they generally are either a-line or circle skirt fullness, so that there’s little restriction going on beyond the “swoosh” noise that a heavier skirt fabric makes when I’m walking rapidly through the building. I will, however, alter the “ankle length” comment and say that mid-shin/tea length or longer is closer to what I meant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-short-skirts-and-dresses/598633.md?page=1)