It used to be a definite thing that people (by which I mean women) shouldn’t show their knees over the age of 30. This was, of course, when I was in my twenties. When 30 struck, I remember feeling quite daring when my knees occasionally peeped out. It was a bit of a trousery decade for me, as I had young children and was always rushing between playgrounds. At 40, I was resigned to knee length. But suddenly now I’m thinking – balderdash. My knees want some air, before it’s too late.
Should I let them out? Would they even know what to do with themselves, after all these years encased in denim or maximum denier hosiery? And what is the problem with old knees anyway? I’m not sure mine look any different now. Let’s face it, knees are not things of immense beauty at any point in life. They are just basically a bit knobbly, aren’t they? I remember once asking a friend why they should be covered up by older women, and she darkly muttered, ‘they go funny.’ Are mine funny? If you know me, and you’ve always wanted to have a word with me about my knees and their comic air, now is your chance.
In some ways, the long boot is the answer to this conundrum, filling up the space between ankle and skirt and making the odd exposed kneecap somehow less of an issue as a result. Unfortunately every boot I’ve seen this season looks like a welly, which isn’t really what I’m after. Skirt manufacturers don’t make things easy, either, by cutting things off in their prime, for the exclusive use of the young, or offering maxi versions, which are dowdy and downright dangerous on the old. I tried a maxi skirt this summer and got sick of catching my heels in the hem.
If only manufacturers would offer alternative skirt lengths, we could all find our happy medium. Until then, my knees will have to keep a low profile I suppose, until I decide whether they are comic or tragic.
