The midi skirt - the one that ends somewhere between the knee and the ankle - is the only thing in an autumn wardrobe that works with trainers and with heels, without changing anything except the top.

Monday and Tuesday: lace and florals

A black lace midi with a simple white knitted vest. The combination works because the lace is enough on its own - all it needs above it is something that stays quiet. With heels it goes to dinner, with flats it goes to work.

With a patterned floral midi the rule is the same, only reversed: a white shirt or T-shirt tucked in, a cardigan over the shoulders when it cools down. That is a look every one of our grandmothers had in some version, except back then it was not called vintage, it was called clothes.

Wednesday and Thursday: check and A-line

A checked midi - tartan, Vichy or Prince of Wales - with a knitted jacket is what fashion calls preppy. Here it is the uniform half the population wore at school, and that is exactly why it looks natural rather than like a costume.

An A-line midi in an all-black outfit, or with a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves and a scarf at the neck. This is the only one of the seven that requires no thought - if there is no time in the morning, there is no way to get it wrong.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

A white midi with a basic knitted vest, drawing on the fifties and Grace Kelly. With bows and ballet flats, it is an outfit that looks calmer than it is.

A khaki denim midi is the weekend version - with a band T-shirt or a white shirt, depending on whether the day is heading to the market or to dinner. The nineties are back and nobody apologised for it.

And finally: a white midi with hand embroidery and ruffles, a linen top and a leather or suede jacket over it. That is the piece you pay most for and wear least - but when it comes out, nothing else at the table gets looked at.

None of these combinations requires buying anything new to work - everything needed is already hanging in the wardrobe. That is rare news in an industry that lives off the opposite.