Skirting.the issue

The return-to-office era is officially here, bringing along with it an iconic workwear staple: The pencil skirt. LAUREN COCHRANE looks into its playful revival.

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Marilyn Monroe wiggling along a train platform in 1959's Some Like It Hot. Melanie Griffith commuting to Manhattan in 1988's Working Girl. A minimal Kate Moss on the red carpet in 1997. Michelle Obama in J Crew brights at the White House circa 2008. Pencil skirts are the stuff of fashion history, but with the dominance of the midi over the past decade—and the revival of mini styles such as the bubble—they have felt just that: A thing of the past.

This season, that has all changed. Pencil skirts are back: See a pregnant Rihanna striding in a Miu Miu version in the rain pre-Met Gala, or Daisy Edgar-Jones in a pearlescent pistachio number by Gucci at SXSW earlier this year. Thank the fall/ winter 2025 catwalks: A precise, tapered knee-length skirt with a strong-shouldered jacket was the silhouette at Saint Laurent, taking inspiration from the founder's trademark 1980s styles. Elsewhere, they were oversized and vintage-inspired at Prada, neat and impeccably tailored by Sarah Burton at Givenchy, paired with bras and 10-denier tights at Ludovic de Saint Sernin, and with mid-century charm at Emilia Wickstead. Meanwhile, New York brands Tory Burch and Calvin Klein Collection leant into the city's all-business heritage and styled them with matching jackets in a reimagining of the skirt suit. And just like that, the pencil skirt—once consigned to a retro-only pile—is part of the cultural conversation once again.