Last spring, we were all in miniskirts. But those miniscule bands of fabric have officially been replaced. This is the spring of the full skirt – also known as the circle skirt, sometimes called the prairie skirt or the gypsy skirt. Whatever you call it, these wide skirts, usually hitting below the knee, are a variation of an A-line cut and have plenty of feminine swish.

It’s a skirt shape that has been featured in magazines for months. And it has been dominating boutique windows – paired with tank tops and loose belts – ever since the spring shipments landed. The trend has been lying in wait for the sunny days when skirts and tanks make sense to wear. But how are women navigating among offerings that can make them look like prim housewives, hippie-dippie bohemians, urban cowgirls, or a bizarre combination of all of the above? Which look is the one for spring – and have fashion watchers already been so inundated by the look that the trend is over before it even began?

Like everything in fashion, there’s no one answer. At Intermix, head buyer Sari Sloane confirms that customers are snapping up the full skirts (as well as baby doll dresses and caftan-type tops). “It’s a major trend. Everything has volume,” she said. “There’s embroidery and a bohemian feeling, but there’s also just the hippie, full skirts.”

Ask a downtown denizen, on the other hand, and the answer is decidedly thumbs-down. “It’s great for editorial [photo shoots], but it’s not really feasible. It looks like you’re trying too hard. It’s too trendy,” said jewelry designer Zani Gugelmann.

In some cases, the skirts are barely wearable because designers and the knock-off artists who follow them have been too heavy-handed with decoration. Sequins and metallic applique are featured on some skirts. Others maintain the prairie look with small rows of ruffles or tiers. The gypsy-type skirts have everything from ethnic prints to tie-dyed swaths of color.

InStyle magazine’s fashion market editor, Toby Tucker Peters, notes that shoppers might be confused because the gypsy look – marked by fringe, strong colors, and maybe some leather – was in vogue not too long ago. “The gypsy skirt is back again. What’s different is that it’s not just a gypsy feel, it’s a global feel. It’s African. It’s Native American,” she said. “There are bright patterns, bright color.”

But Manhattan women – those who religiously read the glossies and have been watching the trend emerge – have figured out how to wear the skirts their own way. “Some of the ones that are in the magazines are really elaborate,” said Isabelle Levy, 22, who purchased a white, knee-length full skirt by Joie at Barney’s Co-Op. It’s plain, but she’s planning to wear it with cowboy boots until it’s warm enough for sandals. “The skirts we were seeing were really ornate,” said Melanie Charlton, 29, president of Clos-ette, a company that builds closets and organizational spaces. “The decoration is going to chill out a bit. I think it’s away from prairie or gypsy and toward a classic Parisian girl with ballet flats.”

Ms. Charlton has already bought three skirts for spring. Two of them are long (one by Sage, another by Miguelina), but the shorter one (from Anthropologie) is the sort that she’s expecting to see around town more often.

Indeed, a higher hemline is a must for shorter women, many of whom are skeptical about excess yards of fabric swirling around their knees. “I’d love to wear them, if I were 6 feet tall. Unfortunately, I’m 5 foot 2 inches, and they just totally drown you,” said Joanna Needham, 25, who is in marketing. “I’ve seen some that are on the knee.”

One clothing designer who understands the concern is Kimberly Newport-Mimran, whose sophisticated yet alluring line, Pink Tartan, has been going strong in Canada and was just launched in America (at Saks Fifth Avenue). “I design to flatter. Some of the full skirts make you look huge,” she said.

The tailoring on a navy knee-length full skirt in her spring collection, for example, was consciously designed for swing – at the right place. “I stitched it down just below the hip, so the fullness is at the knee, instead of accentuating fullness at the hip.”

But no matter how the skirts are designed, many women are just pleased to have an easy, go-to fit for spring. “Full skirts hide a multitude of sins. They’re much better than pencil skirts,” said Amara Wagner, 28, president of Amara Wellness Health Counseling. “This is my favorite trend, these full skirts. This is my moment to shine!”

Ms. Wagner, who describes herself as a “Banana Republic girl,” will be keeping to the “flirty, fun, and very feminine” variety. And she’s not alone. Sloane Crosley, 26, a publicity manager and writer, considers herself an early fan of the full skirt.

“Pencil anything is unflattering on me because I don’t have the streamlined derriere to match,” she said. “So far, I bought one skirt that’s poufy and has feathers all over it.”

“There are so many of them around in all the popular stores,” said Ms. Levy. “They’re really comfortable. That makes them appealing.”

Fashion industry types, for their part, are keeping a lookout for the next thing. “The more interesting news in shapes for this season is a great voluminous top, with lots of drapery, and then a slim bottom, usually in the form of shorts or cropped pants,” said Ms. Peters of InStyle.

An Vu, owner of the Nolita boutique Bio, didn’t stock any full skirts for sale at all. Initially, she put in an order for an unusual one, but the line didn’t make it to production.

“It was a really nice prairie skirt, a lot of tulle underneath,” she said. “I’m glad I don’t have them because every store has them. I do have a dress with a builtin necklace and full skirt. It’s a different take.”

For freelance fashion editor and stylist Phyllis Leibowitz, the real issue is not what’s of the moment but what has sex appeal. “It’s about what makes a woman look sexy, not ‘in fashion,'” she said, adding that the full skirts are a no-go for her. “I’m 5 feet 1 inch. I don’t think it’s flattering. I still want to wear what makes me look tall and skinny.”

But that’s nothing that a pair of three-inch wedge espadrilles won’t solve.