Thread in skirt hem entangles (5)
I believe the answer is:
theme
'thread' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'in skirt hem entangles' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'THEME' is hidden within 'skirt hem entangles'.
(Other definitions for theme that I've seen before include "Topic, leitmotif" , "idea of the work" , "(Writer's) topic" , "thing under discussion" , "Melody on which variations are constructed" .)