Is Mini Skirt Still in Fashion

Before the 1920’s, women’s attire was considered fairly modern. Women would have worn clothing with more of a silhouette than clothing that was loose and flowy. The length of their dresses never revealed more of their leg than just their ankle. Women received bad reputations when showing their knees or even their calfs. Women in the 1920’s also had a different ideal figure than most women do today. The body types women wanted to achieve also transformed into a more feminine look. This look consisted of low bust lines, higher hems lines, and showing off more curves than ever before. These women became unapologetically fearless.

Women everywhere used household items, including cellophane and pipe cleaners, to create shoe decorations. Everything was recycled, giving rise to such advertising, Vogue’s “Make Do & Mend” campaign. (Keogh). Shoe factories were told to limit the height of shoe heels to one inch and allowed for only six color choices. For women, nylons stocking were banned. Magazines and beauty salons helped out by offering tips on how to paint legs with back seams and tan using makeup. (Keogh). Clothing was also made to be comfortable. Since women were replacing jobs for men in factories there clothing had to be loose fitting and comfortable. In 1947, Dior introduced the “New Look”, featuring longer lengths and fuller skirts, they were being to look more like women again.Women’s fashion changed to a soft, feminine and romantic image, this set the stage for fashion of women in the next decade.

The 1920’s fashion was a period of liberation, change, and even more importantly a movement towards the modern era. Fashion in the 1920’s varied throughout the decade but one could see the noticeable change from the previous fashion statements and eras. At the start of the decade, women began emancipating themselves from the constricting fashions by wearing more comfortable apparel. As women gained more rights and World War I forced them to become more independent, flappers came to be, mass-produced garments became available, and artistic movements increased in popularity, one can see how the fashions from the roaring twenties characterized the time and redefined womanhood. (1920s clothing 1)

Let’s take a look at the women’s of the 1920’s, the changes that took place in fashion and the roles of women in society. Women’s fashion will be compared from early days up until the 1930’s, with a brief comparison of the roles of women before and after the 1920’s. A discussion of the different avenues that opened up for women after 1920 and the impact that it has had on modern day women will also be covered within this paper. you need a stronger introduction

The Great Depression caused woman to want to save money and not spend much on clothing. All over people were struggling to keep money in their pockets, so no one would spend big bucks on designer outfits. Women tended to make their own new clothes from other clothes they already had. “The life motto of many was to ‘Repair, reuse, make do, and don’t waste anything’; therefore, any creativity was apparently confined to those boundaries.(The Vintage News, 2016)” During this time no one wanted to out shine others so they dressed very conservative. Shoulder pads and butterfly sleeves were coming into trend.

In Australia, the fashion of the 1960s emulated the political and cultural changes at the time. This fashion revolution was youth driven and showed their rejection of social standards. For women, the mini skirt came into trend, introduced by fashion icon Twiggy (Leslie Hornby). This above-the-knee skirt came into fashion in a revolt against people telling women how to express themselves and their bodies that came with the womens rights movement and the introduction of the pill. Men wore tunics, capes and more feminine clothing as pants became tighter and they dawned silk scarfs. This shift from masculine clothing to dabbling in the side of feminine, was because of the changing idea of gender and sexuality. Men also tried to recreate the look of the Beatles; in sharp and clean suits due the bands popularity at the time. Nearing the end of the 1960s, hippie fashion came into style. This era of fashion was dominated by bright, swirling colours, tie-dye, paisley prints, loose fitting clothing, flowers, peace signs, etc. This change in fashion was in response to the Vietnam war. People wore their clothes as a political statement, showing their embracement towards love and freedom.

Most women in the 1950’s and 1960’s never wore pants, unless they were cleaning or not going out of the house. It was deemed unprofessional to wear pants at a formal event. The public opinion of women’s pants was that they were not dressy enough for more sophisticated occasion. Women’s pants were for working in factories or cleaning the house. Wearing pants outside of the house during this time is comparable to wearing exercise clothes or pajamas to a fancy party.

Flappers did not emerge until 1926 (“Skirts only revealed the knee briefly between 1926 and 1928, and this was the only period when evening dresses were short in line with day dress lengths. This was the flapper fashion era.”)

During ww2 there was a shortage of cloth because it was required to make solders uniforms. the length of women’s skirts and dresses were shortened and vest , pockets and cuffs were eliminated from men suits in order to help the war efforts

Throughout the 1920s through the 1950s Women’s clothing in America was affected by World War II, which lead to the exploration of different styles, the encounter of new trends and the exchange of ideas and new styles.

Technology has had a major impact on the progress of fashion between the 1945’s and 1960’s and beyond. People used to have busy lifestyles before the growth of technology to help them. During WW2, there was a shortage of fabrics and people needed to preserve them. However, once the world got into a stable post-war time which were the 50s, there were more intricate outfits which used large amounts of fabric. Technology also allowed more different varieties of dyes and fibers to be made which added more of a personal touch to fashion and gave a feeling of wellbeing and comfort.

I would have never guessed that this trend of bell bottoms that is so relevant today, started with men’s pants in the early 19th century.

To accentuate the hips even more, slit side pockets were present (Payne, 256-257). Subsequently, the 1960’s brought the emergence of miniskirts, which was then a public shock for it was not considered tamed. Minis were pioneered by Mary Quant and made trendy by Andre Courreges (Murray, 112-113). Meanwhile, pants suits for women were popularized in the 70’s. They were first introduced as skinny and tailored, leaving little space for legs. Then they evolved into a flared leg style, with a wide opening at the bottom, or bell bottoms (Payne, 261). “Pants appeared in every form imaginable, from divided skirts and culottes to the classic, pleated-front tailored pant and the baggy ‘Fred Astaire’ version.” (Murray, 116)

Is it back? Or did it ever really go away? This summer is all about gingham, so why not opt for a graphic print dress!

A lot has changed and evolved in the history of fashion since the 1900s. As the century dawned, fashion was an exclusive enterprise, the pursuit of wealth. The average person in society settled for garments that were usually stitched at home. With time, however, networks of neighborhood tailors began to evolve into a retail history and the boom was followed by boutique selling.