Since the 1960’s, when the miniskirt became all the rage, it has never gone completely out of style. And so, I began to wonder what is it that keeps the miniskirt still so en vogue?
The origins of the modern miniskirt can be traced to the 1920’s with the advent of the flapper dress, one of the most iconic images of this decade. With women finally winning the right to vote in 1920, this was also a time of sexual liberation and perhaps the shorter hemline was a reflection of that.
Moving ahead several decades, André Courrèges started designing miniskirts and made it a cornerstone of his collection. There is no doubt that one of the main reasons why the miniskirt was embraced by young women at this time is because it challenged the more conservative cultural norms of the 1950’s. As the look caught, celebrities and models such as Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton wore it to nightclubs as well as traditional, society events and it became more than a symbol of rebellion.
The mini-skirt was not as omnipresent in the 1970’s, in part because many feminists felt it promoted the sexual objectification of women. However, it had a presence in the punk scene, where the designer, Vivienne Westwood, championed it. No longer seen as anti-establishment or anti-feminist, the mini-skirt started to come back in the 80’s, sometimes as part of business attire for women where it was incorporated into two-piece suits.
Though no longer a showstopper, the miniskirt continued to be worn throughout the 1990’s. In shows such as Ally McBeal and Sex and the City, characters who wore the miniskirt were sexy and independent. They showed that sexuality could be used as part of their power but that they also had brains and would not allow themselves to be objectified just because they dared to show some skin.
I read a really interesting article by Keith Fitzgerald in Monkeymarket.com titled What Skirt Lenghts Tell You About The Economy. In it he mentioned how skirt length is correlated with fluctuations in the economy and cited academic research showing that when things are tough, hemlines are long. And au contraire, when things are on the upswing, the mini is all in.
So it seems the minis popularity is here to stay, and is in fact is tied into a number of things: economics, social reforms, and even women’s liberation.
