Dear Vicki: I need a pattern for my granddaughter for a skort (a uniform for her school). She will probably be a junior size 5. She's tall for her age and slender, and ready-made ones are in ...

These give you the best of both worlds. Asymmetrical skorts (like the one pictured above) are hard to style, especially because the imbalance in hem length makes them edgier than your average version.

Pleated skirts and skorts are big right now, but they can all too easily look veer into prep school uniform territory. The easiest way to make this silhouette look grown up and chic, rather than like ...