The Dressy Sweatskirt

This skirt is without a doubt incredibly comfortable. I was excited to hear that the skirt was a little less clingy of a fit and a bit longer than the previous Reversible pencil skirt Encircled made. Sounded perfect!

Looking at the fit chart my waist/hip measurements put me at a Small or Medium. The model in the photo shared my general sizing and was wearing a Small so I bought a size small which was a good choice for fit and length. A medium would have been too large, so I am glad to have had that visual to make a better choice.

What i love about the design of the skirt is definitely the pleats. They are becoming an encircled trademark which flatters and classes up the design of this skirt along with the all day work dress and the dressy sweatpants. But unlike those two, this skirt does not have pockets. I don’t always need pockets in a skirt, but I find myself trying to find the pockets when I’m wearing this! I think it’s because of owning the other two items and seeing the pleats which seem to resemble a subtle pocket opening at first glance.

The skirt has the little zipper pocket at the back which is a nice feature, but I’m not sure when I personally will need that. For me, I would rather have traditional pockets than the back pocket. Because the skirt fit is looser, it seems that pockets should fit in it better than they would in a more snug pencil skirt, but I’m sure it’s still a challenge to design them in a flattering way. Also I wish the skirt was a bit thicker to hide any VPL etc like the all day work dress. I currently wear it with leggings or slip shorts and that works out well for me. I got a lot of compliments when I wore it recently :-)

Hope this helps!

I hate giving a negative review, because I support Encircled’s values and I love my other Encircled pieces. But this skirt is disappointing. The good things about it: it’s beautifully soft and cozy; and it’s a flattering below-knee length for work (I’m 5’5). The neutral: based on the similarities to the Dressy Sweatpants I expected it to have pockets; it does not (but this is my mistake); also it is annoyingly a completely different black from the Evolve top and the (old) Long Sleeved Tee, meaning it doesn’t mix and match well with those pieces. The bad (and this is the real deal breaker): the fabric is MUCH lighter weight than the Dressy Sweatpants. Unlike them, it shows every undergarment line, it creases badly, and if held up to the light it’s actually see-through. It’s not an appropriate bottom weight garment for business or travel. Won’t be returning as the postage is over AUD$40 each way; but I regret buying it. Wish I’d bought another Chrysalis Cardi instead.