1. It got chilly enough for jeans, so I started putting on jeans, and my jeans are far more tattered and ill-fitting than I remember them being when I put them aside at the beginning of summer. I would say ONE of the pairs is acceptable to wear to work.
2. That one pair was in the laundry.
3. So today I wore a skirt to work. It is a long, tiered, dark-grey skirt, with a hot pink liner that shows under the bottom edge and also through the eyelet lace of the bottom tier of the skirt. I do not remember when/where I acquired this skirt but it was an amount of time ago that would be measured in decades rather than years. The last time I remember wearing it, Elizabeth was in kindergarten and the mothers were invited to a Mother’s Day event.
4. Anyway, I wore it (with a pink rose t-shirt and green Converse and one of these to prevent thigh-chafing), and it worked well even for the physical parts of my job, and it felt kind of cute and swishy to wear, and it seemed like the exact right amount of witchy for this time of year.
(image from Amazon.com)
5. But it does not have pockets, so it is dead to me. I came home from work and ordered new jeans from Maurices and from Old Navy. We’ll see if any of them fit at all. The jeans-fit problem feels like it has really leveled up in perimenopause.
6. Do you know of any long skirts with pockets?—ideally ones you yourself have tried and found good and lined and swishy and full of pocket? I looked briefly on Amazon but got overwhelmed—and also frustrated by the ones that looked good so I clicked through and oh actually they don’t have pockets.
7. Would you like to recommend good jeans for perimenopause and beyond? I wear a 16, and I am a fairly classic pear-shape.
Denim skirts often have pockets. That might be a place to start.
You might try bloomchic. They are not quick to ship, but pretty much everything has pockets, the prices are good, and they specialize in plus sizes.
I came to say BloomChic as well. Of note, their dresses fit really big — I normally wear size 14 and I had to go down to 10 in BloomChic.
My favorite skirts are from toad & co. The long tiered maxi-ish skirts (mine hit a few inches above my ankles and I’m 5’4”) have pockets and a super comfy waistband. They’re pricey but worth it.
Boden is my go-to for dresses and skirts with pockets!
This blue one I just got (Labor Day sale! It’ll go cheaper for Black Friday I bet) and it is what I would call swishy (as well as the long and with pockets bit :) https://www.bodenusa.com/en-us/vacation-midi-skirt-aegean-blue/sty-r0376-blu?cat=C1_S2_G13
I live in Boden dresses. They are soft, wash and pack well, last forever. The add a sweater and tights for winter. Fun patterns and pockets!
YES YES YES THIS IS MY THING!!!! Full skirts, big pockets. Son de Flor is expensive but TOTALLY PERFECT.
This outfit sounds ADORABLE! I have found that sleeveless jersey swing dresses are my ideal dress. Swishy but not too big, super comfy, pretty flattering. Only some brands have pockets, alas, but I usually wear a cardigan over with pockets.
I don’t know about skirts, but eshakti has dresses with pockets. I have several from them made out of cotton jersey material. They can make it specifically sized to you for not very much money
Seconding what Liz said:
I have placed two orders with eShakti for a total of 5 dresses and 1 top. I was pleasantly surprised! It seemed like it was going to be one of those cheap online places where you end up disappointed, but the quality was really good. The dresses I bought (mostly casual knit dresses that I would wear with sandals in the summer or leggings and boots in the winter) were made from good quality fabric and nicely finished with lining, and even had little details like snaps to hold a bra strap in place. I made some custom changes (length of sleeves, style of neckline, etc) but ordered my standard size from the chart, and it mostly worked out really well. They do all have pockets! If I needed a good skirt, I would definitely check them first!
The 1 top I ordered did not fit well, and I meant to return it but didn’t have time before the window closed. It’s fine, I can sew so I’ll fix it myself sometime. But that means I can’t say whether returns go smoothly or not. It’s a style that was gone from the website pretty soon after I ordered it, whereas most of the other designs I ordered still seem to be available, so I suspect I wasn’t the only one who had a problem with it.
One thing to note: do not pay full price. It’s one of those sites that always has sales. If you want something and it’s not on sale, check back next week, or just give them your email address and let them bombard you with coupons.
Their returns are super easy. I’ve done it and so has my mom.
Athleta reliably has pockets but very few long skirts right now. I do love their skorts though.
For geeky dresses and skirts with pockets, I love Svaha. http://www.svahausa.com
I’ve also had good luck with this longer skort from Amazon – comfortable, nice large pockets and hits below my knees. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BM7KH9NX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The best jeans are from Talbots. They’re expensive, but well worth the price. They look good forever. I’m also a classic pear shape and wear a size 14.
You might want to try NYDJ (not your daughter’s jeans) and Wit and Wisdom for jeans (at Nordstrom).
I’ve had good luck with the Simply Vera Vera Wang Jeans at Kohls. Also Levi’s has curvy jeans at Kohl’s that fit well and are comfortable, however the pockets are really shallow. Fixed this problem by swapping the pockets out with the pockets from some old jeans. I wait for both to go on sale.
Sonoma Curvy High-waisted (or high-rise, seems like they have both names) Skinny Jeans are my new favorite. They fit well and are comfy. I am roundish and tall.
Relatedly, Women’s Croft & Barrow® Effortless Stretch Pull-On Straight-Leg Pants are good and come in lots of colors, if that is your jam.
If you love the skirt (it sounds amazing!) you could have pockets added.
This. A tailor can often add pockets for you for way less money than a new skirt (depending on location/tailor/whether-the-new-skirt-is-on-sale-at-Old-Navy; if there is a side-seam already that just needs to be opened and have pockets sewn in, you could potentially even just do it yourself).
For some pocketless clothes I use a “festival pouch,” a flat purse worn around the waist. Being able to add pockets is convenient. I will also sometimes where leggings or bike shorts with pockets under a skirt.
Seconding this idea. I got a spi belt for running, but it works really well for skirts without pockets. It’s essentially a small narrow fanny pack with no bulk. It can hold my phone, keys, and a card wallet.
I really like these Ava and Viv flare jeans from Target. They change them a bit every year or so, and they used to be marked 16W, but now the W is gone so I’m not sure what that means.
https://www.target.com/p/women-s-high-rise-relaxed-flare-jeans-ava-viv/-/A-87279087?preselect=87069416#lnk=sametab
My daughter’s solution to the jeans problem was to buy men’s Levis or Wranglers at a big box store, and then get the waist taken in by a tailor. Then you have reasonably priced jeans that fit perfectly with GREAT pockets.
That is an excellent idea
I have never had a skirt with a pocket, what even is this magic that is the Swistle comment section! That outfit sounds so cute.
I haven’t tried their skirts, but I see Toad&Co has already been recommended. They have good dresses with deeper pockets, which I like. Their skirts likely follow suit.
I also wear a lot of Baleaf sports skorts that I get on Amazon. The ones with pockets on the thigh of the skort part do well, but those aren’t long and swishy. Plus you have to lift up the skort part to get your phone in/out. When I wear them at home, I don’t mind how I think that looks, but I tend to resist getting my phone out in public for that reason. (Baleaf also had some skorts with pockets on the skirt part and I tried one of them a couple of years ago. On the pair I owned, the phone fell out too easily. I don’t recommend that particular style.)
Svaha has great skirts and dresses with pockets!
I have Pact’s sunset light gauze tiered skirt and it might be the answer! Pockets and long and swishy.
If you like Old Navy may I humbly recommend their Pixie pants? They have a bunch of waists and leg widths and colors, all made of the same super stretchy smoothing cotton blend. Comfier than jeans imo, and more polished looking, but can still be worn with a graphic tee and sneakers. Of course they appear to be out of stock in your size. Sigh.
I bought a denim skirt from this designer. She makes each piece when you order so you can send your measurements to her and you can add pockets on too.
https://www.etsy.com/market/sue_bradbury
Not as cheap as Old Navy but really good quality and handmade!
Oops! This is her actual store – https://www.etsy.com/shop/ellainaboutique?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=97949591
Kut from the Kloth jeans are my favorites. But I am an apple so YMMV.
And, agree with the poster above – adding pockets to a skirt is super easy.
I just bought these jeans. I hate jeans but these are super comfortable, not too thin and they washed well.
Signature by Levi Strauss & Co. Gold Label Women’s Totally Shaping Pull-on Bootcut (Also Available in Plus Size) https://a.co/d/2weQPyg
I’m 5’7” and “curvy 12. My go to jeans & pants from Nordstrom or Rack are NYDJ, Kut from the Kloth & Madewell. Have a cream & denim knee length skirt with pockets from Kut with Kloth I also have jeans from Target with label Wild Fable & Universal Thread but sizing is not consistent. Luckily, Target has easy returns.
https://www.eshakti.com/
That is all:)