circle skirts and double circles

[timemeddler]

Anyone have any experience with these, I don't see them much outside of dances and wondered if anyone could comment on them. I'm wondering if the extra fabric would be prone to getting hung up or something.

[Coder]

I contemplated making a circle skirt in the past, but after trying one from some online retailer (probably Amazon) I decided they were too much for me - too much fabric more or less - and making one would be a waste of time.

[Seb]

My wife made a dress with a full circle skirt. They twirl really good, almost at a 90° angle. Unless you have a pettycoat under it will still fall pretty straight down in a A-line.

It gives less gathers/pleats than a rectangle skirt of the same hem length, and less fabric at the waist because of that.

I quite like them, i like the extra fabric.

[STEVIE]

I have several, love em!
Only thing I have yet to do is dance in one.
Steve.

[denimini]

Yes, I have had experience with a circle skirt, luckily during a photo shoot and not down the street. It was the slightest breeze.
They are extremely comfortable, feel nice when walking with no restriction of leg movement and plenty of drape when seated.
I have many skirts but this is the only true circle skirt I own.

circle_P1077212_0052952-00008.jpg

[Mouse]

I Love circle skirts since they are so easy to make, especially if the material is stretchy.

[mishawakaskirt]

I have a red felt poodle skirt that is a circle skirt.
I don't think I have any other skirts that would be considered circle skirts, other than the felt poodle skirt.

[Spirou003]

Yes, I have made two circle skirts myself (midi skirts), and love to wear them. To me, they are very particular in comparison to other skirts in lots of aspects. It's very different from wearing an A-line skirt. I will repeat a bit what others already have said about it but adding some other things in the way.
They are... windy. They take any wind that passes around, even the one that don't exist. Going downstairs too fast makes it lift up (I already almost encountered it). Speaking of Marylin Monroe's effect, when it comes to happen you don't have enough with your two hands to keep it in place, there's always some free textile in move. I still have to experience running in a skirt (running fast, I mean). I'm a bit worried that the textile could slow me down in various ways, or even become restrictive.
Speaking about the shape, they very look like A-line skirt. It takes good observation to distinguish them, I'm pretty sure most of the time I don't even realize when a woman wears a circle skirt and takes it as an A-line.
When you're moving, the skirt "takes" a lot of space around you. If you're not careful, it will bang on everything or everyone around you. Tables with cluttered edges become your enemies, and depending on the skirt's length also cluttered floor. I took as an habit to hold it with one hand when I'm close to something or someone, because sometimes there are some sharp things that easily hang on textile and if your skirt touches it, it "sticks" on it and textile can be damaged (think about raw wood for example).
The most embarrassing place (not in terms of embarrassed about wearing a skirt) I've ever encountered, is in public transportation like bus or metro. When sitting people don't leave lot of free space for you to walk (not their fault, narrow by design) and you need to pass by them. Then you need to hold yourself which often requires one hand, you eventually carry on a bag that needs one hand, and the skirt needs one or two hands to be held in order to not bang on people. I believe this can explain why sometimes a woman don't come to sit even if standing is difficult for her... since it already happened that I preferred to keep standing at the entrance for that reason!
The amount of textile that spins around you makes it sometimes move the way it want. I think it is one of the reasons why you see circle skirts so much in dancing, they're adding effects in the dance and are very enjoyable (yet I've never danced at all, this is what I feel). I think actually if I would follow dance class, I would probably ask for being skirted, unless the exercises makes it inadequate. I'm thinking about situations where seeing your whole shape is needed for the teacher to tell you what you're doing wrong.
Back to amount of textile, I like to make it twirl, often without reason. In various situations, it provides enough drape that you don't need to worry about exposure (unless the skirt is short), that includes spreading the legs when sitting. But the lot of textile has disavantages when it comes to long skirt and office: you can easily roll with your desk chair on your skirt. And it becomes even worse when the textile is stuck in the caster! If the skirt is long enough and you're having a fun chat wherein the other person teases you, you can reply by slapping them with your skirt.

All in all, I would say that they are fun to wear but require adaptations in your demeanour to avoid problems (this includes avoiding situations where such a skirt is not the best choice). But when you're done with the adaptation phase, then you can fully enjoy all the fun such skirt can provide.

[Barleymower]

I have one, it's nice and hangs well. It has a habit of catching things

Here it is:

Screenshot_20240216_221411_eBay.jpg

[Warren]

I have three skirts that are not quite full circle skirts but close, they are made/sold by 'Hell Bunny', the great thing is they have pockets if you choose the right style. I wear an old one for garage work and gardening as it allows full movement and isn't too long, falling to just below the knees. Very comfortable.