How to get the look: The flippy skirt

This Jaeger dogtooth number is made from lovely light silk for the kind of featherweight flippiness that will put a guaranteed spring in your step

Flippy? Well this all sounds very technical.

I think you'll find flippy is accepted terminology – this is fashion not astrophysics, after all, so there's room for the impressionistic. Flippiness is a broad church, no strict criteria, but you know what flippy feels like! Basically a garment, probably a skirt or dress, that has a nice bit of swing to it as you move.

You mean something that is likely to reveal your Spanx if you turn too fast?

Yes, exactly. So choose your underwear wisely, especially if there's a breeze – respectable coverage without being industrial-sized is a good choice.

Does flippy equal short and girly?

Not necessarily. This Jaeger dogtooth number is made from lovely light silk for the kind of featherweight flippiness that will put a guaranteed spring in your step, but it's of demure enough length for work (£150, jaeger.co.uk, pictured above). The pleats have a bit of vintage to them, but I'd probably pair it with a nice pop neon tee.

And how about something for out-of-office?

Monki has a cute spotted skater skirt that's cheap and cheerful and sits sweetly on the waist (£20, asos.com). Naturally you don't get a lot of material for that price, so if you've knees like Cornish pasties, avoid.