Moderately Modest Fashion: How To Be A ‘Long Skirt Girly’

The fashion industry wants us to be as naked as is socially acceptable whenever we leave the house. Walking through high street stores, price tags boasting triple figures are stapled to clothing made of such little fabric the cost is near unjustifiable. Showing off a wardrobe full of trendy items often means showing off a bit of skin. The Miu Miu mini skirt, jeans so low rise it’s a miracle we’re not privy to flashes of underwear, and so much mesh we’re walking around more flammable than ever. 

The truth is, being scantily clad isn’t for everyone. While many are more than happy to flash the cash, for others, the thought of donning something made of such little fabric is their worst nightmare. These nightmares don’t have to stem from a place of insecurity. Many people enjoy the way more modest clothes flatter their bodies or feel more comfortable when covered up. Perhaps the desire stems from religious belief – whatever the justification, it’s valid as long as the wearer is comfortable and happy. 

Modesty and fashion have long seemed an unattainable pairing. But a growing modesty movement, largely championed by Muslim women, has encouraged brands to embrace more covered styles and work on making them interesting, trendy pieces rather than shapeless pieces of fabric. 

With the modesty movement picking up tenfold over the previous decade, more and more people have incorporated it into their style with their personal take on modest fashion. The term modest encompasses a wide variety of clothing, allowing each person to find what they love wearing.

The popularisation and acceptance of modest fashion has welcomed bundles of layers and a new take on night-life fashion, which previously was dominated by less than inspired looks deemed ‘cool’ simply because they were as short as possible. An ideal heavily popularised in the previous two decades that anything was fashionable if it was short enough no longer holds true. Fashion TikTokers especially are embracing the layers and focusing more on building interesting, out-there fits and worrying less about showing off skin to focus more on what’s covering it. 

Australian TikToker Sarah Bada has brought a new take on modest fashion into the spotlight – one many didn’t realise they subscribed to. Coining the term ‘moderately modest’, Bada explains, “it’s basically a made-up term I accidentally blurted out when I was describing my own style, and the rest is history! It’s definitely just a reflection of what I feel most confident and comfortable in. I personally feel so empowered when I feel like I can still serve looks without having to show a lot of skin.”

Bada was shocked by the reaction she received online, not realising her style choices were so universal:

 “I was so surprised by how many people related, but I guess at some point everyone needs to be moderately modest, whether that be for work or job interviews.”

With her following growing, she started to build an inclusive community, offering advice and asking questions to an audience trying to navigate the world of fashion. “I made a conscious choice to be as inclusive and open with the definition as possible, as I felt like I wasn’t accepted into the modest fashion community because I wasn’t modest enough. I wanted my moderately modest fashion community to be as welcoming as possible through stimulating conversations.” Bada said.

Participating in moderately modest fashion is more of a subconscious choice than you may think. The movement generally describes wearing what you’re comfortable in. It champions showing off the skin you want to show off and encourages covering the rest with the cutest clothes you can find. Bada told us, “the thing that I absolutely love about the term moderately modest is that everyone can twist the definition to their own style and level of modesty. For me, the moderately modest ideals reflect in my wardrobe mostly through owning way too many pants (trousers) and maxi dresses.” 

A general guideline to follow when adopting moderately modest fashion is to ask yourself whether the typical, tightly wound sitcom mother would allow their child to leave the house wearing what you’re wearing. If the answer is yes, you’ve nailed it. Sarah’s official guidelines include; nothing that’s overly cropped, but a bit of mid-drift is more than okay as long as you’re wearing high waisted bottoms, nothing that shows off much cleavage, and nothing shorter than mid-thigh. She emphasises,” these are just fun guidelines that shouldn’t be taken too seriously”.

Looking through Sarah’s TikTok illustrates how personal, moderately modest fashion is and how welcoming the creator is to all people, no matter their comfort zones. The lax rules leave not just Sarah’s followers asking questions but also Sarah herself. For example, she shared the conundrum of knee-high boots on her TikTok, wondering if she could get away with a shorter-than-normal skirt because she’s covered up the bottom of her legs.

Despite the work to keep her channel inclusive, some still direct less than polite commentary her way, “it’s quite difficult when people comment that the clothes I wear aren’t modest or even moderately modest. The reason I created this community was for people to be accepted no matter what level of modesty they’re at. I might be okay with wearing a backless clothing item, but someone else may not, and that should be okay.”

Moderately modest fashion has picked up on TikTok, not just thanks to Sarah, but because the idea is playing into a few trends going around at the moment, one of them being midi and maxi skirts. You’ve probably heard the TikTok audio, “I wanna be a long skirt girly”, enough now that it induces an exaggerated eye roll whenever you hear it. However, the original creator brings up some good points. It’s hard to know how to style a midi skirt! When we think of midi skirt outfits, an image of a 2010s, preppy, Zoella-esque YouTuber may come to mind, posing in a floaty midi skirt, a t-shirt with crisp, cuffed sleeves, and a cropped denim jacket from Topshop. But this decade, midi skirt fits have moved on.

We’ve bought together three different looks, explaining how to pull them together so that you can find your long skirt girly vibe. 

Looking to Y2K and 90’s inspired fashion will give you a myriad of midi skirt fitspo. These looks lean more casual and focus on your midi skirt of choice as the focal point for your outfit. For this reason, you want to opt for a striking print; tartan, large floral patterns, and animal prints are particularly popular as they allow you to easily pick out colours highlighted in the skirt’s print to build up the rest of your look. If pattern and print aren’t your cup of tea, denim pieces are a great option to emulate that nineties/noughties look.

When recreating this look, you want to look for a straight, a-line silhouette and opt for a length that falls past the halfway point on your calf. If you want something more figure-hugging, look for simple tube styles, but the key to getting this look right is finding a length that fits closer to the ankles. Pair your skirt with either a baby tee, oversized graphic t-shirt, or a chunky knit. If you’re in the mood for layering or need warmth in the unpredictable English weather, longer hemlines for whatever you’re wearing on your top half will complement the skirt’s silhouette best; experiment with oversized shirts, sweater vests, and structured blazers. Finishing your nostalgic look, throw on some chunky boots or shoes, paired with patterned tights and pulled up socks. 

Changing the silhouette of your midi skirt will give you a completely different look. It seems like a simple change, but it can give you a completely different aesthetic. Opting for tiered midi skirts that float down gently to pool on the ground, or effortlessly hang at the ankles, will emulate a vastly less structured, picnic-ready, cottage/fairycore look. 

With the last look, it was about big, bold prints. For this one, you want either plain pieces in neutral, earthy tones or pieces sporting small, daintier patterns, perhaps with blocked out sections of more busy patterns. Pair these skirts with either relaxed crops, floaty sleeved shirts, or, like before, oversized graphic tees. Pick out colours in your skirt’s pattern to find a top that works, or go for louder prints on your upper half and match with your skirt of choice. 

Cargo midi skirts, once a Y2K staple sported by the likes of Destiny’s Child, have finally made their comeback, bringing a sports meets grunge take on the midi skirt. Where all things Y2K have taken noughties staples and paired them with corsets and kidcore jewellery, styling the cargo midi skirt presents more of a challenge. 

To ease the process of imagining what to pair this item with, imagine the skirt is simply a pair of cargos. Put on a ribbed tank, white football socks, and your favourite beat-up sneakers, add some sporty sunnies and a bum bag for that ultimate cool dad vibe, and voila! It’s not so intimidating, right? 

You do have other options to try out through. Pair your cargo skirt with an oversized shirt, pop the collar and accessorise with a tie, throw on a waistcoat or blazer, matrix-esque sunnies, and some chunky brogues for an elevated school uniform, PE inspired fit. You’ve also got the classic oversized tee which, as we’ve established, always works with a midi-skirt. With a cargo style skirt, you can push into the sportier theme with oversized, graphic sweatshirts and hoodies, perhaps again throwing a blazer over the top.

Suppose you’ve taken the midi skirt for a test drive only to find it’s really not for you, and you’re at a loss trying to find moderately modest pieces. In that case, Sarah’s wardrobe staple are trousers, or pants as she calls them, “Pants are my absolute go-to, especially when they are a fun colour or have a funky pattern. I absolutely love them because I can pair them with more basic tops that I feel confident in, but also dress them up and maybe show off some more skin while still feeling comfortable.”

The whole point of this movement is to ensure everyone is comfortable in and celebrated for what they’re wearing. It’s not a trend encouraging people to cover up or shaming people for showing off skin; it’s simply an ideal showing people they can be modest and still be just as fashionable as those who are not. 

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