The Invention of Skirts
Skirts can be
flirty, sassy, professional, severe, elegant, or fun, but all of them
definitely emphasize one feature; and that is femininity and
confidence. European women's major outfits were the dresses
and skirts,
even to the point that the word "skirt" became slang for
"woman" in the English language. But skirts have evolved
and not as feminine as they are today.
History and
Evolution of Skirts
One of the
oldest styles of garment known to mankind, after the loincloth, it
was the skirt that clothed the human form. Once made from leaves
woven together or animal skin, Skirt is a rectangular piece of
material wrapped around the waist, and thus the essential skirt was created.
From History
it is said that men as well as women wore skirts, and ancient art
shows remarkably "manly" crude men in skirts. But as time
passed, it was women who wore skirts with few exceptions like
Scotsmen, who still wear their kilts on traditional occasions.
Before the
Industrial Revolution, fabric was expensive and most women wore their
skirts long as a mark of their modesty as well as their prestige.
Until the 19th century the skirts with dresses
emphasized the waist while enlarging the hip, and are evident from
the picture of the rich lady and the design sketches, skirts were
usually voluminous and long.
But things
began to change with skirts becoming more streamlined to the body. In
the 20th century, the requirements of hardships of war made women to
wear more work-friendly shorter clothing. The defining moment for the
modern new generation skirt
arrived in the 60s, when inspired by the 1965 short
skirts
by André Courrèges, Mary Quant, give women the new
length that was here to stay: the mini.
Mary Quant
gave women the freedom to really choose the length of their skirts,
which went to later become the micro-mini and can be commonly seen on
the three American cheerleaders.
The micro-mini
is now worn on its own, as a symbol of boldness and spirit with
stockings or with leggings. The fashions of the previous years with
low-waisted have affected the skirts as well, and skirts with
extremely high hemlines and low waists are now seen often on ramps,
as well as on young women at nightclubs or parties.
Skirts have
become a common outfit in any woman's
wardrobe:
skirts ability to match and mix with the same tops that are teamed
with trousers and jeans make them convenient and versatile. In the
decades of the 20th century, the hemlines have risen and fallen, and
as we step into a new millennium, we now have the legacy of all the
different skirt
lengths possible. |
