Pants are dead… or so it seems if you look at Prada’s S/S 27 collection. Accurately titled The Skirt, the show featured 63 looks with pretty much every variation of the staple possible: pencil, pleated, and so on. Of course, we should note that it’s not the first time in fashion history we’ve seen pants being pushed aside for a more stylish default. Beyond Miuccia Prada’s personal penchant for skirts, we’ve seen this piece amass its own cultural cachet. Who, after all, could forget the famous monologue from The Devil Wears Prada? The moment Miranda Priestly announced “I need 10 or 15 skirts from Calvin Klein” had an indelible impact on the psyche of fashion people, inadvertently cementing skirts’ place in culture and everyone’s closets.

Over the years, we’ve seen different skirt styles trend, but one silhouette is sure to be big this fall: the pencil skirt. Groundbreaking? Hardly. However, few other silhouettes have managed to outlast the trend cycle. That phenomenon continues today. The spring/summer 2026, fall/winter 2026, and even spring/summer 2027 collections have reinvented the classic staple in new ways, giving a whole new generation the chance to finally lay their pants to rest (at least for a little bit). If you can’t imagine a world in which pencil skirts are your default piece, keep reading. Ahead, we’re sharing examples of the trend on the runway and in real life to guide you on how to wear skirts. Plus, we’ve rounded up the 33 best pencil skirts to buy at every price point. Pant people, start grieving because you’re about to become a skirt person.

About the Skirt Trend