Y2K Grunge: Flared Utility Maxi Skirts
It’s been a minute! Things got kind of weird for a bit and the blog had to take a backseat. (The short version – over the past year or so, I left my software engineering job, worked as an event coordinator for several months, and am now once again in funemployment limbo.)
I’ve felt a surge of inspiration after finding an angle of the Y2K macro-trend that appealed to me in the form of “fairy grunge”: utilitarian, casual, slightly punk, slightly hippie, with a dose of florals, sparkles, aesthetic bugs, and general girly whimsy. Which is more or less one of the styles I was into already (previously discussed as “girly granola”), just invigorated by currently trending silhouettes. There’s a lot in there, but to kick things off, let us discuss: the flared utility maxi skirt!
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The last mental image I had of “maxi skirt” is of the circa 2014 jersey or chiffon skirts that fell straight down from the hip and most often presented as plain black, but also frequently came in tribal print or chevron stripe. Very clean cut, and usually paired with untucked or knotted tops in a thin fabric, with visual weight coming from chunky accessories (collar necklaces and heavy pendants, infinity scarves, voluminous messy buns, etc).
I remember these lightweight and often stretchy skirts being comfortable to wear, but because the styling was focused on creating a sleek, flowy silhouette, the resulting outfits didn’t easily lend themselves to projecting a more grounded, utilitarian, or crunchy vibe. These still being a pillar of my personal fashion preferences, maxi skirts hadn’t been in my list of pieces I’d be keen to see everywhere again.
(Google image search results for “maxi skirt 2014”)
As floor length skirts have crept back into trendy outfits across social media, a style that caught my eye is the flared utility maxi skirt. The similarity to the above mostly ends at it being casual and full length. In silhouette, these are fitted through the hip and thigh but flare out starting around the knee, and are made of a structured woven fabric like denim, twill/chino, or corduroy. In order to achieve the more complex shape, they’re usually constructed from several panels and may have godets or a flounce to enhance the flare.
Just an excellent combo of utilitarian punk and girly flair. Another style that’s been rather trendy, particularly in the fairycore aesthetic, is the asymmetrical handkerchief hem. I LOVE that cut, but skirts with that hem are usually made with chiffon or satin, and realistically, 9 days out of 10 I’m going to want a sturdier bottom weight fabric for practical reasons.
In most outfits where the flared utility maxi skirt works, a straight or just slightly A-line silhouette skirt of the same length and fabric would also be serviceable. But the ~drama~ of the flare can actually make an outfit feel more cohesive if the general effect you’re going for is feminine. A high-contrast top and bottom piece outfit can be fun, but especially if you’re not adding an outer layer or accessories, sometimes it just feels like an outfit mullet.
June 21, 2023 ✿ Free People (via Poshmark) “Wildflower Cardi” embroidered crochet crop top ✿ Baggu “Puffy Fanny Pack” in Dusty Lilac ✿ Aycan (via Poshmark) vintage corduroy flared utility maxi skirt ✿ Teva “Terra Fi 5” sun moon print hiking sandals.
In this first outfit, to cement the girly-granola-grunge aesthetic, since the crocheted floral crop top is pretty girly, I went for a sportier nylon belt bag worn as a sling instead of a regular purse for an additional crunchy element.
June 20, 2023 ✿ Unbranded (via Poshmark) hand screen printed forest mandala cropped short sleeve graphic tee ✿ Jeanology (via Poshmark) vintage flared stone washed denim maxi skirt ✿ Teva “Terra Fi 5” sun moon print hiking sandals ✿ Free People (via Poshmark) “Element Embroidered Tote” bag
When the top is a standard medium weight cotton t-shirt, a skirt in a casual woven fabric always feels sensible, whereas I always feel like a skirt in a dressier or fussier fabric needs more intense outfit styling to feel intentionally Fashion instead of slightly confused. But when the base outfit is so neutral, going more extra with head styling or accessories can sometimes feel incongruous. The flirty hem of the skirt is great for pulling that sort of outfit together.
June 19, 2023 ✿ Mighty Fine (via Poshmark) mushroom graphic tee ✿ Jeanology (via Poshmark) vintage flared stone washed denim maxi skirt ✿ Birkenstock “Arizona” sandals ✿ Unbranded (via Poshmark) forest animals needlepoint tapestry purse
It has been SO LONG since an untucked, non-cropped top in an outfit didn’t feel awkward, but the extra length and volume from a flared maxi skirt is enough to avoid the 50/50 proportion for top/bottom and let me tell you that unlocking the untucked top option has been FREEING. Yeah, the waist still isn’t exactly defined in this outfit, but overall it has a fluid look and some movement rather than feeling stodgy. The space buns and vampy lip color are pulling their weight here in making the whole thing read more grunge/alt rather than normcore.
June 11, 2023 ✿ Urban Outfitters (via Poshmark) mesh celestial print long sleeve mock neck top ✿ Aycan (via Poshmark) vintage corduroy flared utility maxi skirt ✿ Melissa x Lazy Oaf platform sandals ✿ Baggu (via Poshmark) “Horizontal Duck Bag” in Moss Trippy Checker
I just went ahead and piled on the trend items here with the celestial print mesh top and the psychedelic checker print bag. As far as outfits go, this didn’t feel particularly coordinated in terms of theming or color, but having the utility accents and more dramatic silhouette on the skirt at least makes the outfit feel consistently maximalist which sometimes is enough.
June 09, 2023 ✿ Ripple Junction (via Poshmark) Futurama Hypnotoad graphic tee ✿ Aycan (via Poshmark) vintage corduroy flared utility maxi skirt ✿ Baggu (via Poshmark) “Horizontal Duck Bag” in Moss Trippy Checker ✿ Melissa x Lazy Oaf platform sandals
On a more personal note, I also don’t recall ever wearing denim or corduroy maxi skirts during the actual Y2K years, so unlike flared jeans, an outfit that has the potential to cause traumatic flashbacks of middle school (pop culture graphic tee AND checkers??) feels fresh and not like I’m cosplaying as myself.
If you’re interested in getting a flared maxi skirt like this yourself, there is no shortage of them on eBay, Poshmark, and other resale platforms and it’s hard to beat that pre-recession quality for the price. I rounded up a selection of vintage skirts from eBay below, but regardless of where you are shopping from, some things I’d consider when evaluating specific skirts are:
Is the style intended to be worn high, low, or mid rise? Consider where pockets and embellishments will sit on you given the measurements in order to avoid back-pockets-for-ants hovering entirely above your bum.
What is the hip measurement? Being of the pre-jegging era, most of the denim, chino, and corduroy skirts don’t have much stretch. Since this style is slim-cut through the hips, make sure that you also check the hip measurement if you’re not in the habit of inquiring about that.
Is there a back slit for ease of movement? If it turns out you can’t take as large a step as you’d like, would you be able to add one?
Is it amenable to hemming? i.e. no critical design elements like embroidery would be awkwardly chopped off.
Some keywords you can use to find maxi skirts in this silhouette:
Fishtail
Flared
Fluted
Godet (triangular inserts to add volume)
Gore / Gored (this refers to the panels, e.g. you can have an 8-gore skirt or a 10-gore skirt)
Mermaid
Trumpet
Items in the gallery below are all from eBay listings (I realized that you aren’t limited to shilling newly minted clothes on LTK 🎉) in assorted sizes and brands in no particular order. I went overboard on this set, but in future posts I’ll limit it to around 25 items.
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What styles of skirt are you all into nowadays (~leave a comment below~)? Have you been excited to see the return of any facets of the behemoth that is Y2K fashion?
