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As we breezed through the stark white office's of One World Trade Center for our Monday morning team meeting, my co-worker glanced down at my outfit, then back up at me. "You never wear pants!" she exclaimed. I thought about it for a moment. Once upon a time, my closet was overflowing with high-rise denim, bootcut trousers, and pleated, baggy pants that pooled around my kitten heels. I quickly flipped through the images of the outfits I wore over the past few months in my mind like a cinematic film. I hadn't put on pants in a long time: "Oh, wow. You're right!" I have been pants-free since starting this job at Vogue in September, and although I kept acquiring new trousers -- I never wore them.

According to Capsule Wardrobe Data, a fashion site that uses shopping data to assist people with their wardrobes, the average person owns seven skirts. I, however, counted mine and had to sit on the floor to contemplate my entire life. Once I hit 31, I gave up and shut my closet door. My accidental pants-less endeavors are not something I set out to achieve. As I scrolled through outfit photos I'd taken over the years, it became clear that after the pandemic, my mind went to comfort and ease. My pants were thrown out the window (donated), and instead, replaced with leather midiskirts, pleated maxi lengths and sweater dresses. Similarly to the fool-proof ease of wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, a skirt or dress represents effortlessness without sacrificing polish -- and that's a wardrobe ethos I've come to embrace as I've moved into my thirties. Hard pants are my hard line, for now -- they represent personal style boxes I previously tried to squeeze myself into; regardless of size or silhouette, fitted and uncomfortable, and something I'm not willing to do at this moment. Skirts feel freeing.