The Timeless Skirt Trend Making Flip-Flops and Ballet Flats Look More Elegant This Summer

As soon as the weather hits above 20ºC, there’s one thing you can count on seeing, and that’s the presence of linen. More specifically, linen skirts. In outdoor parks like Hampstead Heath, they sit pretty over gingham print picnic blankets. At rooftop bars, they’re clothing chic women sipping an Aperol Spritz. In the sandy alcoves across the Mediterranean, these breezy styles are slipped over the latest bikini styles and provide elegant relief from scorching temperatures.

Indeed, the best linen skirts are synonymous with hot weather days. A stylish summer staple that’s bound to help you keep cool amid scorching temperatures, there’s truly nothing quite like the wafty flax fabric to achieve the effortless and unbothered look that underscores the season.

While there are always plenty of sophisticated skirt silhouettes to choose from—lace-trimmed slips and mesh pieces are amongst the top contenders in 2025—linen skirts provide a calming dressing solution like no other. And this all comes down to the fabric itself.

For the uninitiated, linen is a durable natural fibre that derives from plants, meaning it’s intrinsically breathable, moisture-wicking and designed to withstand rising mercury levels. Whether it's cut into mini, midi or maxi shapes, the best linen skirts imbue an outfit with a beachy sensibility that’s so desirable this time of year.

In London, especially, achieving that coastal-meets-city ease requires a little more exertion than in other parts of the world. (Blame that on the capital’s lack of seafront.) That’s where the best linen skirts come in to do all the heavy lifting, making it feel like you’ve just come back from the Greek Islands, Amalfi Coast or, if we’re being realistic, a day trip to Cornwall. Because of this, stylish people are relying on the best linen skirts to make their ballet flats and flip flops look more expensive this summer.

Where summer shoes can often feel a little lacklustre in comparison to the skin-baring shapes and colourful prints we adorn ourselves with, the best linen skirts can be relied upon to elevate these strappy footwear choices. Always romantic but still put together nonetheless, this outfit template has become a true wardrobe staple in recent years.

Endorsements from the celebrity style set aside, luxurious linen skirts could be spotted all over the spring/summer 2025 runways. At Miu Miu, they were paired with technical jackets, tied-up knits that doubled as bustiers and fiery red neoprene sets. At Jacquemus, they took a more refined turn, even when layered under funnel neck jackets or with waisted coats.

How to Style the Best Linen Skirts?

As these moments proved, the best linen skirts truly act like a blank canvas for you to build so many different looks. A proverbial fashion foundation, the stark garment is at its best when left alone to shine.

Rather than overcomplicating matters with intricate accessories or constricting garments, lean into the floaty feeling with an oversized vintage t-shirt—which you can pick up at Worn Free or your favourite charity shop— or another neutral top.

I adore how California-based content creator, Marina Torres, styles her Doên lace-trimmed linen skirt with a plaid top, straw handbag and butter yellow heels, two styles that feel very on trend for this season.

Or for a more timeless take, reach for a simple button-down shirt as British fashion influencer, Brittany Bathgate has. See what we mean about making simple strappy ballet flats look designer?

Whatever way the wind takes you, the best linen skirts can always guide you to a graceful ensemble. Airy, light, breezy and bright, uncover the best linen skirts to shop in 2025 ahead.

Shop the Best Linen Skirts of 2025

Linen Skirts on the Runway

Style Notes: Simone Porte Jacquemus—known for sculpting pieces inspired by the skin-baring region of the South of France—presented Jacquemus's spring/summer 2025 collection with linen skirts that felt more mature and reminiscent of Upper East Side ladies who lunch.

Style Notes: For autumn/winter 2023, Prada explored the concept of a 'uniform'. Here, the Italian designer's linen skirts took cues from the attire hospital nurses wore in the 1950s.

Style Notes: On the final day of Paris Fashion Week spring/summer 2025, Miu Miu brought a Californian ease to the City of Lights. Linen skirts skimmed the model's knees and were styled with clogs and barn jackets.

Linen Skirts on Celebrities

Style Notes: "Gone full LA" is how Laura Harrier described this look, which comprised of flip-flops, a white skirt and a bandeau top.

Style Notes: Taking after her mother Kate Moss, Lila Moss has also made a white maxi skirt a crucial part of her model off-duty wardrobe, as seen here while out in New York in 2024.

Style Notes: Like London, Manhattan is another location that's disadvantaged by its proximity to open water. Fear not, as Kaia Gerber proves in this SoHo sighting that balmy linen skirts don't always have to equate with beach days. (Though they certainly give off that energy.)