When I was 8 I was subjected to what I considered torture for 2 months. Under Doctor’s orders I had to wear knee pads to school. Not the potentially cool, “I just parked my skateboard” type, the surgical type, to protect clumsy fools like me. That summer I had fallen over many times – not during a spate of extreme sporting activity, just while walking along. Convinced my sight was impeded my parents dragged me several times to the optician, who confirmed their worst fears, I was just a bumbling idiot! As a consequence of inability to remain vertical & mobile, my knees never got a chance to heal, hence the aforementioned addition of the pads.

Where is this story going you may ask? Is there a fashion twist to this tale? Well, there is. As an adult, I’m now left with some strangely scared knee caps. If the summer sun is kind & offers my pallored pins a hint of brown (most likely red,) they look slightly better. Spring is their worst moment. So when I see midi skirts that do not require a war-wound-hiding denier opacity in order to be worn, my excitement reaches fever pitch. The image above by The Sartorialist gave me hope & Vogue furthered it with a feature on midi skirts in Milan. The Sartorialist shot also opened my eyes to the potential of navy & bubblegum pink as a colour combination; not one I’d ever venture to mix ordinarily.

Now, I can feel your concern about my current stability. Plus enfant, I’m sturdy as a, well, whatever creature you’d describe as sturdy…an elephant maybe? As soon as he leaves my side, the vertically challenged Rachel returns. I had a suitably embarrassing fall before Christmas in front of enough people to redden the old cheeks. My knees split open immediately in a show of surrender against the inherent clumsiness that has scourged their existence. Post accident, I didn’t have to wear knee pads but even 120 denier couldn’t hide the plasters.

Anyone with actual serious injuries please ignore my trivial fashionista moans, the post hopefully offers some jest coupled with a trend. If it brings none of the above, enjoy the beautifully shot image courtesy of The Sartorialist.