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Last year, I bought a beige calf-length vintage Marni bubble skirt on a whim while thrift shopping in Berlin. When I got home and unpacked my suitcase, I hung it in the back of my closet to gather dust, finding new excuses not to wear it every weekend. I told myself it too closely resembled a balloon to wear to a birthday party (I feared I might be mistaken as a decoration). Or it was simply too big to pair with my flats without looking like a ballerina. I was left asking whether the vacation purchase was too puffy to be wearable. But, as it turns out, it was entirely on-memo for the upcoming season. Puffball, bubble, and balloon hems have blown up this year. And, with Kylie Jenner and Rosalía recently giving their stamp of approval on the Y2K-era trend, I’m now wondering if my new bubble hem is bubbling enough.
Bubble hems have been gradually inflating since the start of 2023. First, London Fashion Week’s AW23 runway was blowing bubbles. Christopher Kane brought out layered ruffled bubble skirts. Then we saw white fluffy bubble bloomers on the runway at Jacquemus’s fall 2023 show and wool puff miniskirts in Miu Miu’s spring 2024 collection. This year, almost every brand has brought out its own take on the silhouette. And considering the style was once worn by Princess Diana herself in Cannes in the ’80s and then by Paris Hilton and Mischa Barton on the red carpet in the noughties (and now hesitantly by me to the supermarket), there’s no denying that the trend has range. Like the bubble mix you blew in the park as a child, no two bubble hems are exactly the same.
Ahead, we round up the roundest and puffiest new bubble hems, ranking them on how likely they are to pop.
Puff factor: Baby’s first bubble
If it’s good enough for Rosalía, it’s good enough for the rest of us. Paloma Wool’s bubble dress and balloon skirts (there’s a mid-length and a mini) all have gateway bubble hems. The wide waistband keeps them from reaching the ultimate puffball level, and neutral colors closely resemble your favorite pleated skirt. Once on, you won’t feel like a balloon (a pro for some and a con for others).
Puff factor: Baby’s first bubble
Kim Shui’s puffy green miniskirt is a double-layered take on the trend. Like all of Shui’s designs, it’s perfectly wearable while partying with friends or on a cute date night. The silk piece is part bubble, part hot-girl attire.
Puff factor: A basic bubble
Open YY’s gathered polyester off-white bubble miniskirt delivers a stock-standard bubble skirt without breaking the bank. Is it the biggest or best bubble skirt you’ve ever seen? Probably not. But it is part of the current Ssense sale.
Puff factor: A basic bubble
Everyone will be so distracted by the crochet detailing and huge silk bows on either side of your hips on this Chopova Lowena number that it will be ten minutes before they realize there’s also a bubble hem. Chopova Lowena has perfected time and time again circus-style silhouettes, so it’s no surprise that this dress simultaneously channels boho, gothic, and puffball.
Puff factor: Practicing bubble-blowing
This bubble skirt has an ultramini cut, making it all the more round. You will initially feel like you’re wearing a diaper but then will get used to having the lower part of your butt out — and there are sewn-in lined shorts to help you along your journey.
Puff factor: Practicing bubble-blowing
This faux-leather dress by Fidan Novruzova has a classy, well-shaped, voluptuous bubble hem. The bustier and bow ties, combined with the nylon puff skirt, make it a harmonious bubble, and the V-shaped waist adds a point of interest.
Puff factor: A perfect bubble
South Korean brand Saengin Studios is bringing out some of the best bubble hybrid skirts in the business. If you feel like wearing sweatpants but also a ballet skirt, this is the bubble skirt for you (and the brand also has double-layered pinstripe bubble hems for the balloon enthusiast).
Puff factor: A BBL bubble
London-based Peachy Den has somehow managed to pull off the impossible: create a bubble-hem design that also snatches the waist. The fully lined skirt enters major puffball territory (the sleeves are even puffy), so this one isn’t for the faint of heart, but it does make a statement.
Puff factor: A floating bubble
There’s a certain elegance to All Is a Gentle Spring’s bubble skirts that will leave you feeling like a fairy running through the forest. After the success of the brand’s first bubble hem, you can now preorder its shiniest style yet, made from pure silk taffeta.
Puff factor: A floating bubble
Miu Miu knows how to create the miniskirt of the season, and this mohair number is no different. It’s barely there and tied together with a drawstring but still leaves a lasting impression (and most likely a glimpse of your Miu Miu underwear styled underneath).
Puff factor: About to pop
The ’80s influence in the bubble-hem trend is on full display for Nicklas Skovgaard’s silver sequined mesh bubble skirt. Love it or hate it, the entire skirt feels like ’80s prom, and the bubble hem is undeniably bubbly. For the full effect, pair with puff sleeves and a perm.
Puff factor: About to pop
There’s bubble hems, and then there’s just the fabricated embodiment of a bubble. Caspar the Label’s bubble dress is about one second from popping. For the ultimate puffball experts, this one gives you the most bang (and bows) for your bubble.
