I purchased an a-line skirt, and it is giving me nothing but grief. It keeps on riding up from off my waist, and turning around as I walk so that the slits are in all the wrong places. A friend suggested this is because a-line skirts aren't really made for people lucky enough to possess both a waist and a pair of hips. My question is: Is this easily fixable? I'm not really a sewer, so I can't trust myself to reconstruct my skirt to make it more hip-friendly; but is there an easy solution that anyone could suggest? Could I take the waist in? Is that an easy thing to do? Please help.

Um... return it and make your own.
I have hips and a waist and all skirts, not just a-line, have a habit of twisting around if I'm doing a lot of walking.

I think it's just something you live with. All skirts twist around (and ride up) on me, ones I've made and ones I've purchased. I just adjust when I get to my destination. It is a pain, though. I guess you could wear an uncomfortably tight skirt that couldn't move if it wanted to, but that seems like a poor solution. If it has hanger straps, you could try tying them to your underwear. ;}

ditto...like the rest of the girls who posted here... my skirts..all twist on me.

got one on right now as a matter of fact!!! so i can surely relate ;p

i seem to have struck a chord here. actually, i have used a binder clip (i'm at the office, you see) to take it in at the waste. this is proving to work pretty well. i guess i may take it to a tailor. there is afterall, no reason for your clothes to not conform to your body if you can somehow get them to!

Hmm, I thought I was the only one who had that skirt problem? :-)

me too! i never see any one else on the street with messed up skirts. the women i see in skirts always look really dainty and cute (which is what inspired me to buy one in the first place!)

i am that girl with the messed-up skirt you see on the street. i have tug marks on some of them, from constantly having to pull them around. i hate it, and consequently do not wear a number of items i paid lots of money for . . .

by the way, skirts in 'stiff' materials tend to be worse...the stretchy ones don't twist/ride up that much.

i found that when i wear a shoulder bag that is low enough to rub against my skirt it twists it around. i used to walk to work and by the time i got there my skirt had made two full trips around my waist. i can't help with the riding up issues, but i suggest carrying a smaller handbag when wearing a skirt that won't tug it in different directions when you walk. does that make sense?

I second the handbag issue. That's what does me in.

But what it really sounds like is that the skirt is basically two trapezoids slapped together without any kind of fitting mechanisim, like say, darts. It's too big for you.

Girls with hips and waists need darts in order to make their skirts fit. I don't care what kind of skirt it is (except ruffled). You need to somehow ease the excess fabric around your waist into the waistband. Which ideally, would also be shaped.

I say return it and make your own, or take off the waistband, add in a few darts where you put the binder clips, and put the waistband back on.

Is it a "bias" skirt? Those are the worst!!! I cannot wear them for that reason. I only wear a line skirts and dont seem to have that problem ( except with the bias ones)

Hi, bonnell99 has the right idea.

the reason why skirts "twist around" on your waist is that clothing manufacturers assume that your waist-to-hip ratio is "proportional" (I'm guesstimating kmartdollie knows the exact details on this...)

But, if you look at size charts for skirts for moi, my *waist* is a small-medium. My *hips* tend to be a medium-large. Sooo...by the time I can fit a skirt around my hips, the waist of the skirt is baggy and loose around my waist.

If you know someone who can "take in" a skirt (either a sewing friend, or find out which local dry cleaners do alterations), they can alter a skirt so it fits *you*. (And, yes, bonnell99's right, they'll probably take in two darts at the back of the skirt). If you're having a bias-cut skirt taken in, and it's made of rayon, be very careful who does the sewing -- rayon gets "pulls" in it very easily, and the fabric can get pulled threads -- it looks a lot like when you accidentally catch a fingernail on your stocking and get a snag. :P

One last thing: A-line skirts are quite flattering with chicks who have hips. It all depends on how full the A-line is cut.

Remember to walk around in the dressing room when you're trying on skirts! That way, you can avoid annoying "ride-up" issues, and not buy an ill-fitting skirt.

i bought the skirt online, so i didn't have a chance to try it on before i purchased it. i am going to bring it to the tailor for alterations as soon as i get paid again. thanks for all of your suggestions!

If it really bothers you that much (I know it bugs the fuckin' crap outta me), I would suggest maybe trying toupee glue; it's what celebs use to keep stuff in place...remember J-Lo's green Versace dress? Toupee glue kept her from being totally bared to the world. Weird, huh?