Usually it makes me laugh when an item of clothing is described as a game changer. A piece of fabric that’s going to ‘effect a significant shift in the current way of doing or thinking about something.’ That’s the Oxford Dictionary definition of game changer btw. Really?!

But the latest addition to my wardrobe, a figure-hugging below-the-knee skirt that looks like a Persian rug (it’s actually called the Persian rug skirt on the Topshop website) has, well, totally changed the getting-dressed-in-the-morning game for me. I can’t stop wearing it.

With a couple of meetings in the diary I’d been looking for something a little smarter than my usual uniform of yoga pants and denim shorts, but nothing had caught my eye. That is until I spotted Jasmine Hemsley, one half of the healthy foodie sister duo Hemsley and Hemsley, wearing the aforementioned skirt in Vogue’s totally addictive Today I’m Wearing… feature.

Fearing a designer piece that would be way out my price range I hesitated to look at the credit. I looked anyway. It was from Topshop. OK, but it would probably be from earlier in the season and no longer available. I checked online. It was there.

Unsure of my size in a skirt that’s a long way from my usual style and, already running late, I resisted the temptation to order it online in multiple sizes, deciding to go to an actual bricks and mortar shop and try it on there instead. Stopping by Topshop Oxford Circus I spotted half a rail of what I already thought of as my skirt. It was attracting a lot of attention.

Running even later than I was before and with long queues for the changing rooms I did what any sensible person does in these circumstances and hid a couple in various sizes on a nearby rail. Or is that just me?! They were still there when I got back.

Slipping it on the changing room I was sold immediately. As Jasmine Hemsley says, it’s super easy and comfortable but it’s also feminine and flattering and, at least compared to my usual wardrobe of denim shorts and yoga pants, a little bit sexy as well. I’ve already worn it dressed down with a t-shirt and flip-flops to a sunny weekend lunch and dressed up with a scoop neck vest and heels for a night out.

The only thing it hasn’t worked for yet is cycling. Have you ever tried getting on and off a bicycle or actually cycling in a tube skirt? I don’t advise it. The potential for knicker-flashing is huge.

You too can look like you’re wearing a Perisan rug by clicking here.

Got a game changing item of clothing that you always reach for in specific (or multiple) situations? A power dress you always reach for when you have to have a difficult conversation with a team member at work? A first date outfit that always scores you a second date? A jacket you can throw on over ANYTHING? As ever do share below!