WITH A SKIRT IT'S NICE

Since Martin Bril mentioned skirt day in his column in Het Parool in 1996, it became a concept. His own definition was: “skirt day is that one day in spring when all women suddenly wear a skirt, with bare legs underneath.” Searching for a fixed date is therefore cheating; it’s all about the spontaneity, the magic, according to Bril. Now, I absolutely do not want to go against Martin's will, but with the arrival of the brand new brand Happyskirtt, the urge to en masse agree to wear a skirt becomes much stronger.

Last night, the launch of Happyskirtt took place, a skirt line set up by Elisabeth Loesberg. I have actually known her my whole life, especially as Els. Els (and her husband Ton) are good friends of my parents and until recently, she was a magazine queen (she was CEO of Sanoma Eastern Europe, among other things), now it’s time for something new. “But I didn’t go into fashion; that sounds so strange for someone who is averse to trends and just makes beautiful skirts.” The skirts that Elisabeth found were always either too expensive, too short, or just not quite right, so she decided to design them herself. The concept is simple and effective, three different models (the Kelly, Hepburn, and Monroe), made from beautiful Italian fabrics, produced in Bulgaria (and thus not somewhere in a dubious factory in India) and all equipped with a black elastic band that makes the skirt both comfortable and beautifully flattering. The skirts feature cheerful prints like flowers, polka dots, Italian villages, graphic prints, or just plain beautiful.

Els did not give the opening speech alone; she was flanked by her 10 ambassadors, including our own Peggy. But also Makkie Mulder (editor-in-chief of Delicious), Els Rozenbroek (editor of LINDA magazine), and Adri Vlasblom (creative director of ELLE decorations), all iconic women in the magazine industry. The very first Happyskirt was for Hilmar Mulder, well known to you. She immediately put on the skirt, and I must say, it looked really, really beautiful. Now, with a body like Hilmar's, it is particularly difficult to find a piece of clothing that doesn’t suit you, but still.

Saturday is the day when you can all get your own skirt, because then it goes the site live. “We felt that the Netherlands needed another reason to celebrate besides King's Day.” And so it will go. Saturday is skirt day; we hereby agree on that, sorry Martin.