Creating a Puff

How does one go from frumpy boring A-line skirt to cute poofy skirt?  It seems the simplicity of this design has escaped a lot of people as I have never seen a skirt like this in Europe and it took a 12 hour flight to Hong Kong and a trip to a cheapie shopping mall in Mong Kok to discover such a stupendously simple idea. 

I bought this skirt for about HKD100 (about £7) and it's basically a circle skirt with pairs of ribbons attached to six radii of the skirt so that when you tie the two ribbons on each line together, it creates a layer of poofiness.  Doh - so simple!  I have drawn a doodle just to illustrate how the skirt works.  I reckon you could do this to any circle skirt as long as it's got a lot of material for it to really poof out.  I don't think it would work so well with a straight-forward A-line.

Honestly, I'm surprised Topshop hasn't cottoned onto the idea.  It would be ideal for those who like to sit on the fence about the puff. 

Comments

[fanfan]

what a great idea... one question though: are the ribbons attached on the inside or on the outside of the skirt?

[susie_bubble]

It's inside the skirt.

[CC]

mong kok stuff are hit or miss but the hits are so cool! like this one! :) cute idea!

[A]

If your current job doesn't work out you could always be a designer, you're really creative!

oh-em-gee! That's so brilliant through its simplicity.

Pleasepleaseplease write loads more (and post pics) from HK, I'm going there soon and need to know exactly where to shop. Please?

I hope that I'll find some nice cardigans, skirts etc. that don't look like all the 2934832082309832 other ones hanging around here for less than 200€.
Can you please tell me what the chances are susie??

[P.]

Haha, have one of 'em too, they're on market since I don't know when in Asia. In Tokyo, from where I got mine, you can find lots of 'em. mine is not with ribbons but buttons and several buttonholes with which you can vary the look of the skirt

[agent86]

i actually have a skirt from H&M that is made JUST LIKE THAT on the inside...so you can choose whether you want it poofy or plain. very clever and VERY cute ms. susie :)

[misshoax]

you're very clever. and staggeringly creative. that's all i wanted to say.

[Chloë]

This has been done, though a long time ago. I know my mother has a skirt that does this, I think it's Dries Van Noten...

[kokopuff]

Ah, yes! That's how Ann Dem usually creates poufiness, only instead of tying ribbons together, it's more like a strip of cloth with a button hole at the end of it, and buttons placed throughout the skirt/shirt/whatnot, so you can play around with the level of poufiness by matching the strips to the different buttons... if that makes any sense at all!

Ah, yes, an underbustle.

Believe it not, I picked up a skirt that does that at a Macy's here in New Jersey. Only $12 on the sale rack.

It's a long black gauzy skirt, so it doesn't quite become a bubble when I tie up the strings. Rather, it adds a kind of baroque look to what would otherwise be a plain, peasant style skirt.

[hoyan]

that's very clever. hooray for mongkok!

[sarah]

how do you feel about the fact that all those cheapie items were most likely made by children?

[susie_bubble]

^Well if we're going into that territory, then unfortunately that will be the case with a lot of big corporations, not just cheap clothes that you get in Mong Kok. I can't unfortunately seek out the factory origins of each and every garment I buy and who is to say that the person making a Marc Jacobs top and the person making the HKD50 top aren't one and the same. From what I've seen in Guangzhou and factories near Shanghai, it seems the difference is fast blurring. You can easily pick up designer 'cabbage' from factories and go next door and find the Mong Kok kinda stuff as well. I am mostly in the dark about the origins of most clothing I buy but I know it's not just the cheap HK clothing that is guilty and that encompasses big companies too, so unfortunately there is not a whole lot I can do. If I were to be 100% sure of every fashion item I bought - this blog probably would not even exist. Such is the harsh reality of fashion manufacture. I have made it very clear from the start that as a consumer I'm not 100% responsible though I try to be when presented with concrete facts and that is not always possible when making a purchase - designer, high street, cheap, vintage - whatever! I'm not ignorant just realistic.

Gosh...this is like the time when vegetarians used to come up to me at lunch and shout in my face 'DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S IN YOUR CHICKEN DRUMMERS?'. And I'd say 'Er... yes. But unfortunately I really like chicken drummers and I don't like veggi-burgers. There's not a whole lot I can do about it.'

[sarah]

very true. sorry for the tone of my comment. after publishing it i realized it came off a bit harsh. i just recently read a number of articles about China and child labor and got fired up. thanks for your response. it disgusts me that laborers work in horrible conditions for next to nothing all to fufill a woman's/man's vanity acrosst the world. ie. the diamond industry.

[ana]

great idea! I love the cat t shirt too. may i ask where the t shirt is from?

[chloe]

make a cool DIY project

[Therese]

Much worse than the child labor in China is the peasant labor -- but who actually cares for the peasants, right? A child looks much nicer on the poster.

That being said, I love MK (and Shanghai) for shopping, but hatehatehate the puff skirt and can't wait for it to go.

[cruststation]

This is really clever and the puffy look is so cool too!

[mary]

i love this idea so much. i've never seen it on clothes before, except on my cousin's wedding dress (the train tied up into a bustle) but i think i'm going to DIY it.

[thae alien/lloydy]

clever clever. :)

[...]

don't get it...

[Gabs]

Hey Susie!!

I'm from Mexico and was in Hong Kong like 3 weeks ago and bought a similar skirt u show in this post. I also bought it in Mong Kong. I'm really short and tiny, so Hong Kong was a heaven for me! When I bought the skirt I loved it... but then the girl gave me one neatly packed in a plastic bag, when I came to my hotel and unwrapped it I was horrified to find that the skirt was all FLAT I almost died and tought they gave me the wrong skirt until I saw the little strings inside!

A really cool and simple idea!
XOXO
Gabs

[Alicia]

I've have a black dress similar to this that I got in a sample sale in London.

It's just plain black cotton, and the skirt has lots of ties all over it- inside and out- so you can arrange it how you like, long or short or puffed or asymetric or whatever. The back is quite long so it could even have a train if untied!

I also made a wonderful puffball skirt out of a long cotton skirt I bought in a charity shop- just sewing the hem onto the waistband in pleats.

[-JesH-]

That looks so awesome..love it!!!

but if i was to make a skirt like that, how would i attach the ribbons in the inside so that you can't see the stitching through the front of the skirt???...

[Brazilian fan]

Girl... you're hot. Beautiful knees. ^_^ Got a boyfriend? Want one more? ;-)
Kisses from Brazil

[Punk_fasHion!]

WOAH MAN!
Awesome skirt! love the way it looks!
i was just looking around websites to see how to make a puffball skirt..its usually made so that the hem is sewn to lining fabric...but you skirt deesnt have a lining..SO
What did you sew the hem to!?
:D

[v]

while it is a really great idea...it's nothing new. this kind of "design" is quite common in the bridal department. My mum's wedding gown, from late 60's, had strings inside so she did not have to change from one gown to another. After the church, she just tied them and she was ready for the part-ey!

[yogalates]

Zara had something like that, & it was really pretty, because it was metallic. Too bad the last size did not fit me!

I miss Hong Kong like mad. I must go shopping big time next summer when I get the chance to go back. I love Sha Tin!

[vivilove]

After reading this, i actually went and did this to one of my skirts that had been sitting in the back of my closet for a few years, it turned out adorable
love you and your blog, keep on trucking (:

[Ryan]

i like this style of skirt.

[LuKaStOkA]

I think it would look great with leg warmers too I like the idea but it fits the girl she is so thin but it's a nice skirt enjoy it .... Have A nice skirt ;P