….wear a mini-skirt? They were the sartorial emblem of freedom for girls in the swinging Sixties and have been a fashion favourite of the young ever since. But now it seems women are happy to bare a lot of leg in a mini-skirt right up to the age of 40 and maybe older.

I remember my mother stealing my denim mini when I was 16 and she was in her late 40s. It scandalised my father when he heard about it (they were divorced) but it was just at the time when she started dating younger men. Is there a connection?

In general in 1980 ( my mother was an exception), few women older than 33 would dare to venture out in a short skirt for fear of being labelled ‘mutton dressed as lamb’.

But today they are being worn for almost a decade longer before being consigned to the back of the wardrobe, according to Debenhams.

‘It shows that women have an increasing confidence in their bodies and are happy to dress accordingly,’ says the store’s spokesman Ed Watson.

‘If the trend continues, there’s no doubt that, within a decade, women in their mid-40s and early 50s will rightly regard a mini-skirt as an essential part of their everyday wardrobe.’

Celebrities such as Victoria Beckham, 35, Danni Minogue, 38 next month, Elle Macpherson, 46, Cindy Crawford, 43, Jennifer Aniston, 40, and Courteney Cox, 45, are all fans of the mini.

They may come under fire for signs of ageing around the knees, but they do have generally flawless legs. The modern, image-obsessed culture means that women work hard to maintain a youthful appearance, spending hours in the gym and even undergoing plastic surgery.

It all bodes well for the future of the mini-skirt – but how old is too old to wear one? What do you think? As long as you have good pins go for it!

By Julia, TBW Founder

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