History and Timeline
5400 - 4700 B.C
early twentieth century
The 1960’s…and the politics of the miniskirt
in the mid 1800s
in ancient times, mini skirt
was condemned and loved
exhibited liberation and exploitation
suggested both empowerment and vulnerability
showed independence and a desire to please
expressed maturity and playfulness
archaeologists have recently unearthed ancient figurines dating between 5400-4700 B.C
mini skirts were common in ancient civilisations
female figurines appear to be beautifully dressed in miniskirts
were made out of cotton
showed off both hips and legs.
roaring 1920s
in 1907 important changes began to take place in feminine attire
The French couturier Paul Poiret designed an exotic range of glamorous creations
However, his skirts were restrictive
His hobble skirt, in which the material was very narrow at the ankle, was particularly aptly named
Working women tended to wear a blouse and skirt
Shorter skirts also appeared by 1915
The skirt hemline rose steadily at its shortest in the years 1925–27, knee-length
With the short skirts, flesh-coloured stockings were introduced
led to the “flapper” style, an androgynous style with hemlines up to a woman’s knee
made from expensive silk or more practical lisle or wool
also, fabric rationing of ww2 brought shorter skirts
in 1926, Josephine Baker wore a miniskirt with waves made of bananas during performances of the “Folies Bergère” in Paris.
evoked powerful political and cultural implications
women in Europe and America were believed as weaker and more vulnerable sex
Politics, business, and physical activity was dangerous for women
tight corsets with long, restrictive skirts generally reflected these beliefs
The bias cut of material, a mode introduced in the 1920s by the French couturiere Madeleine Vionnet
was widely adopted in the 1930s and was very effective with the longer skirts
creating a figure-hugging style which then flared out at the hemline
post world war 2, after 1940s
technological advance in the production of synthetic textile fibres
made it possible to manufacture skirts more quickly and less expensively
Permanent pleating, colour-fast dyes, crease resistance, preshrinking
Soon after the war the French designer Christian Dior introduced his 1947 “Corolle” collection
was a return to femininity
long, full skirt with a bouffant ruffled petticoat beneath
a slender waist
sloping shoulders
The first appearances of the skirt date back to 2130 BC
with the Egyptians who spread the shendit,
initially created as a purely male garment
a short skirt wrapped around the hips and initially created as a purely male garment.
started a whole new era for women
freeing their legs of cumbersome dresses and skirts
women were gaining a self-conscious awareness
Miniskirt as an Expression of 1960s Feminism
paved the way for a different fashion for women
laws passed that helped protect and empower both married and divorced women
The miniskirt would express, and serve as a tool for, this growing woman’s movement
Upstart designers and boutiques began to cater to a new youth market
older women who began to scramble to look like their daughters
Youngsters felt they no longer needed to follow the rules of bourgeois morality and manners
The shortened garment emerged in the 1960s as a symbol of rebellious youth culture
“The Mother of the Miniskirt” : Mary Quant
began to sell clothes that reflected the ideas of the day’s youth
young upstart British designer, opened her boutique Bazaar in 1955 on King’s Road, she was poised to spearhead a fashion revolution
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raised the hemline of her skirts in 1965 to several inches above the knee, the iconic miniskirt was born
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Named after her favorite car, the Mini
John Bates and Andre Courrèges: Fathers of the Miniskirts
While Mary Quant is often credited as the inventor of the miniskirt, both André Courrèges and John Bates can be thanked for the revolution of the rising hemline.
in 1959 ,John Bates started pushing the envelope with unconventionally sexy styles as worn by Diana Rigg on ’60s television class The Avengers
Experimented with shorter hemlines, exposing the midriff and bralessness began in the early ’60s
in 1964, André Courrèges who introduced the idea of the mini to the world with his above-the-knee futuristic Space Age styles from his “Moon Girl” collection
The Feminine Mystique was published in 1963, inspiring women to define their own professional roles and to gain income equivalent to that of their male co-workers
Note how the picture depicts a miniskirt wearing woman to stand as tall as sky high buildings, as if she were a glamazon slamming her feet onto the streets and metaphorically speaking, taking giant leaps as her masculine-matching role in society grew
showcased his futuristic, space-age minimalistic dresses which scandalously fell above the knee
helped make the miniskirt acceptable to French haute couture
design his skirts with more sophistication and maturity
launched her 'London Look' for youth culture emerging in the capital
created unique deigns for teenage market
including micro mini
style was soon popularised and became mass produced
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Youth styles of the early ’60s were dramatically different when compared to that of the mid and later ’60s
compared to another ad depicting teens in 1967, and we see young girls wearing mini skirts and tights while doing “The Skate” up close and personal with their beau —
The vintage advertisement on the left is from 1960 and shows sweet girls innocently eating watermelon while wearing floral prints
The 1960s Lolita Look
resembled the styles a child would wear.
girl was expected to dress like a girl — not a woman.
also played on a “school-girl” image
ashionable woman of the 1950s, was replaced by a London girl with a childish shape and a “great deal of long legs”.
Twiggy (Leslie Hornby)
When young girls mimicked Twiggy’s fashionably gawky “broken limb” look, they were said to resemble little shop dolls or mannequins
most famous model of the era
had a short boyish hairstyle, pale lips, and skinny figure (she was 5′ 7″ and weighed 99 pounds)
Decline of the mini in the late 1960s
The miniskirt of the “swinging 60s” lasted until the end of the decade
fashion designers created some new and extreme variations in order to keep the excitement alive
For example, Paco Rabanne launched his plastic chain-mail miniskirt in 1966 and then the throw-away minidress
Despite this creativity, the mini eventually fell out of fashion
disillusionment about Vietnam became more widespread
the future looked less positive
fashion became a little more nostalgic
in 1969, hemlines fell back down to the ankle
"maxi" came back to the style which was the longest hemline since 1914
the development of terms such as “dolly birds” tended to objectify women
feminists realized that the miniskirt had great potential to be more exploitive than liberating
With the feminist movement in full swing by the early 1970s, minis fell into disfavor.
Goldie Hawn’s “Laugh In” debuted on TV, inspiring girls around the U.S. to don miniskirts and minidresses copying her signature mod style
in 1968, Jackie Kennedy wore a short white pleated Valentino dress when she married Aristotle Onassis
The late 1970s punk revival of the mini
the punk movement at the end of the decade helped revive the miniskirt
Debbie Harry, who began fronting Blondie in 1974, helped to revive the miniskirt, regularly wearing it on stage
reinvented in black leather and PVC
punks were motivated by anti-fashion and tried to avoid mainstream trends
influenced by punk designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren
the mini was reincarnated in black leather and PVC in every fashion store
mini was also now often worn with ripped fishnet tights
to look on a slightly “trashy” overtone
that reflected the “whatever” attitude
McLaren launched the ‘Sex Pistols‘ Punk music group
The punk group wore clothes from a shop called ‘Sex‘ that Vivienne Westwood and her partner Malcolm McLaren opened on the Kings Road, London.
credited with introducing “underwear as outerwear,” reviving the corset, and inventing the “mini-crini,”
Mini Skirt in 1980s
he miniskirt made a comeback
linked again with the power of music and the rise of MTV
short skirts began to re-emerge, notably in the form of "rah-rahs"
worn by female cheerleaders at sporting and other events
In the mid-1980s the "puffball" skirt enjoyed short term popularity
being worn by the Princess of Wales and singers Pepsi and Shirlie
return to a more womanly figure in contrast to the adolescent androgyny of the 1960s
in traditional pinstripe, jewel-colored wools
characters in TV sitcoms such as Carrie in Sex in the City helped the miniskirt appear sexy, and smart
mini became a power statement for sophisticated, long-legged, thirty-something career women
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in 1984 Madonna wowed the crowd at the MTV Video Music Awards
in a white tulle minidress resembling a wedding dress
in 1990s, Julia Roberts set a fashion trend wearing a shorter than short skirt and thigh high boots in “Pretty Woman.”
The He-skirt
Skirts have been worn since prehistoric times
were the standard dressing for men
in the Near East and Egypt
attire for men was a fur skirt tied to a belt called Kaunakes
originally referred to a sheep's fleece
Kaunakes cloth also served as a symbol in religious iconography
Ancient Egyptian garments were mainly made of white linen
This unisex fashion movement aimed to eliminate the sartorial differences between men and women
In the 1970s, David Hall, a former research engineer at the Stanford Research Institute, actively promoted the use of skirts for men
he was featured in many articles at the time
said that men should wear skirts for both symbolic and practical reasons
In 1985 the French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier created his first skirt for a men
Introduced the skirt into his men's wear collections as a means of injecting novelty into male attire
most famously the sarong seen on David Beckham.
famous designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Giorgio Armani, John Galliano, Kenzo, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto also created men's skirts
In the US Marc Jacobs became the most prominent supporter of the skirt for men
The Milan men's fashion shows and the New York fashion shows frequently show skirts for men
Axl Rose, was known to wear men's skirts during the Use Your Illusion period
Robbie Williams and Martin Gore from Depeche Mode also performed on stage in skirts
During his Berlin time (1984–1985) Martin Gore was often seen in public wearing skirts
In 2008 in France, an association was created to help spur the revival of the skirt for men
Hot weather has also encouraged use
In June 2013, Swedish train drivers won the right to wear skirts in the summer when their cabins can reach 35 °C
in July 2013, parents supported boys wearing skirts at Gowerton Comprehensive School in Wales
Statue of Ramaat, an official from Gizeh wearing a pleated Egyptian kilt, ca. 2.250 BC
Sumerian men′s skirt (Kaunakes), ca. 3.000 BC
An illustration from between 1325 and 1335 showing an English man in a skirted garment
The miniskirt was all the rage in the ’90s, with icons like Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and the Spice Girls
keeping the powerful piece hip, trendy, and never really leaving the public sphere
Suggesting both empowerment and vulnerability, liberation and exploitation
miniskirt was a controversial item of clothing shifting the dynamics and allowing women to take charge of their own sexualities
The Spice Girls at the Brit Awards 1995
Kate Moss at a fashion shoot in 1995 in New York City