I Waited 5 Months for This Always-Sold-Out Sheer Skirt — and It Was Worth It
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There’s an appeal to sheer clothing that I can’t deny — I’m intoxicated by the subtle subversion of pieces that leavejust enoughto the imagination. And while I have myriad crewnecks and boatnecks of varying transparencies in my collection, I’d yet to satisfy my craving for a sheer but not entirely naked bottom.
In my mind’s eye was a particular piece: a skirt, ideally midi length, straight cut, loose fitting, and with an opacity that didn’t require special undergarments. I wanted it dark enough to reveal the outline of my legs and not much else. Bonus points if it had a lining or panel built in that provided coverage where needed and didn’t compromise the loose fit or create an unintended drop-waist effect. (The fewer additional garments needed, the better.)
No matter my search term, theFrankie Shopwas a top result. I’d never closely perused its trendy — and oft synthetic — clothing, but the breadth of its sheer pieces forced me to consider the brand on my skirt search. (Its sheer offerings are so robust that it has an entire landing page dedicated to them — calledSheer Thrill, of course.) I looked at several strong contenders: the partially silk but oddly paneledPeri, the adorably lace trimmed though too-nakedGirone, and the see-through but too mesh-ySuva. But the out-of-stockLenorevery quickly rose above the rest as my favorite.
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Based on the images alone, the Lenore was pretty much everything I wanted from a sheer skirt: structured but loose and just the right length and opacity, with a perfectly sized built-in lining. But it was hardly ever in stock, and, at almost $150, more expensive than I’d have liked for 100 percent polyester. Its qualifications made it unbeatable, though, despite my continued hunting, and it became an open tab I refreshed on and off. (Even though I signed up for restock notifications, I found them largely useless; I only received a single email over the course of several months.) Sometimes, briefly, a random size or two would restock, but it disappeared before I could muster up the rationale to click “buy.”
I checked back at least twice a week and, finally, was able to get one last month. I bought a size small, and from my first time trying it on, I was certain the Lenore wasthe one. I felt no need to shop any further. It fits exceptionally well. The back slit makes it comfortable enough to walk miles in, draping like a column and never verging into constrictive pencil-skirt territory. There’s handsome tailoring details, like darting in the front and back, plus a thinly cuffed hem. The miniskirt-length slip modestly covers my upper thighs while still allowing for enough leg to shine through. And the opacity is dreamy — in the right light, there’s a subtle sheen to the fabric, making the skirt a magically transparent halo around my legs.
Every aspect of it is so spot-on that I’m willing to look past its polyester makeup, the one thing about it I’m not fond of. And perhaps there’s a silver lining there, too, since I’m able to gently hand-wash and steam the piece at home without worrying about a dry cleaning bill.
In the past month, the Lenore has continued to flit in and out of stock, but, by some grace, the skirt is fully in stock now in every size — though likely not for very long.
Should you not be ready to buy right now — or don’t have the patience for the Lenore bait-and-switch game — I recently found a strong runner-up. Cos just released itsSheer Column Skirtin a previously unavailable black, and it’s the only other skirt I’ve found that’s just about perfect. There’s a straight-fitting top layer with a similar shine to the Lenore, as well as an equally sized coverage panel. The darting in the front, cuffed hem, and sheer but not too risqué shade of black are almost identical too. It fits ever so slightly narrower, even after sizing up, and has a thicker hem, but it still offers the best parts of the Lenore at just about the same price — and you canactuallybuy it.
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