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The Rise of the Mini Skirt

The mini skirt is a skirt with a short hemline that rose to prominence in the 1960s. A number of designers have been credited with the invention of the mini skirt during and after the 1960s, but the garment had existed for centuries prior - one of the oldest was discovered to date from 1390-1370 BCE. However, the mini skirt as we know it today only rose to prominence in the modern era, and the trend is most commonly attributed to British designer Mary Quant, the “mother of the mini skirt”, who introduced the style in her London boutique and gave it its name, as well as its “fathers” Andre Courreges, and John Bates. The mini skirt became associated with girls and young women who didn't want their fashion to resemble their mothers'. It became a symbol of freedom, youth, and femininity. At this time, it was uncommon for women to wear such revealing clothes; during the early 20th century, women were still expected to dress modestly and a lot of trends didn’t have a large impact. but as the mini skirt's hemline rose higher, so did the acceptance. it became a staple for many women, predominantly in the 'swinging London scene'. While Mary Quant introduced the ‘mini’ skirt to trendy young women of mod fashion culture in 1964, it wasn’t until the mini skirt hit the runway that fashion media and various people worldwide took an interest in the trend.

The mini skirt is an important garment because liberated women's fashion; It isn’t just beloved for its functionality, but also because of the meaning it carries. It broke the expectations of what women were ‘supposed’ to wear and allowed for more freedom of movement, showing more skin and enabling women to dress more fun and youthful. It represents a movement towards the modern era and enabled fashion to be so much more self-expression than it once was. It represented the emerging youth culture, and women having more authority over their bodies due to the invention of the birth control pill. At the beginning of the 1960s, young women's fashion still reflected the trends of the 50s; cinched waists, petticoats and circle skirts. But by the end of the decade, women were so much more free with their fashion as a form of self expression, with bright colours, short hemlines, and geometric prints, and teens were able to rebel against the more sophisticated styles of their parents.

Mini skirts were never going to be a fleeting trend, or just a part of fashion history. They're an enduring icon of 60's life, and helped turn women’s fashion into something more vibrant and expressive than it was before. Today, mini skirts are still worn by millions of people worldwide and they’re a staple piece for many, yet women are still often judged for wearing short hemlines due to being seen as provocative, which has been a continuous perception throughout the decades since the 60s, when "campaigners later associated [the mini skirt] with an over-sexualised stereotype" [V&A, 2019]. Slut shaming and assumptions based on clothing are still rife in this century, but people are becoming more confident lashing back at critics, such as Billie Eilish dismissing the controversy regarding her new style. Eilish is becoming more confident and wearing more revealing clothes, and along with other body positive, confident figure such as Lizzo and Megan Thee Stallion, she's becoming an inspiration to people who want to dress freely. As we can see from the Miu Miu micro skirt, inspired by 2000s fashion, hemline lengths differ from trend to trend, however the effect of the mini skirt on fashion is permanent.

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Romance, Regency and Revolution: the timelessness of 19th century fashion

In 1795-1820 Europe, fashion began to move away from the more formal embellished styles such as lace and brocades, favouring a more simple, casual look. Just as with modern fashion, trends were influenced by art and culture, namely the romantic movement, which relied on references to emotion, nature, and the past. Combined with the distaste for aristocracy due to the French Revolution, fashion became more natural, less extravagant, and mostly focused on simplicity.

I was inspired by a rose pink evening dress in the v&a collection, from 1815-1820. The material is silk gauze, and it features a scalloped hem and puffed sleeves. the shine and the saccharine colour evoke sweetness and romanticism, which is a common theme from fashion of this era. Just like the romantic literary movement, regency era fashion valued natural characteristics. The shape of the dress has a more natural and elongated look as opposed to the extravagant petticoats, mantuas, and stiff corsets notable to previous periods. The lines are classical, drawing attention to the bust and straightening the lower body. It emulated columns and the chiton, which was seen on ancient Greek statues. Ancient Greece was a huge inspiration to the arts at the time, with Gods often alluded to in literature, poetry, art, and of course fashion. Dresses like this allowed for more freedom of movement, and gave a more free, light, youthful look which slimmed the body. More traditional women would dress in a manner that represents her social status, as a responsibility to her family, whereas “New forms of fashionable consumption appeared to draw women's focus toward egocentric individual desires” [Aaslestad, 2006.]. After the French Revolution, it became less desirable for upper classes to dress vastly different than the lower classes, the dresses’ “neo-classical style also distinguished them from more elaborate pre-revolutionary sartorial excesses” [Borrelli-Persson, 2016] While still having richer materials and more embellishments on formal and upper class clothing, the silhouettes and general style was similar for the masses. 

In the modern era, regency inspired fashion is still popular, for similar reasons as it was during the turn of the 19th century. The light materials and youthful feel are favoured in the summer, with puff sleeves and milkmaid tops gaining popularity several years ago. Recently, babydoll style dresses have become a favourite. Similar to regency era dresses, they accentuate the bust and the skirt is straighter. The brand Selkie is rising in popularity, their dresses are heavily inspired by the 18th century; Utilising this classical empire silhouette, along with square necklines, puffed sleeves, dainty details and pastel colours to achieve youthful, hyper-feminine looks. Due to the romantic connotations of this era of dress, it's frequently replicated in bridal wear for a more subtle style. In 2020, the series Bridgerton were released and highly acclaimed, gaining millions of viewers in weeks. Many were inspired by the costumes, and took to replicating the styles; Lyst reported that since Bridgerton’s release searches for corsets had gone up by 123%, with searches for empire line dresses increasing by 93% [Lyst, 2021]. After the stagnancy and misery of 2020, it's likely that people wanted a fresh, fun, happy style with which to reintroduce to the world.

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Power dressing: fashion as a representation of individuality 

Fashion is a diverse concept, not only a practical asset, but also a form of communication. Information is conveyed nonverbally through the clothes we wear which represent personality, background, emotion. It can be used to conform or rebel, to show our inner selves and who we’d like to be. Not only do clothes reflect meanings outwardly, but psychologists have concluded that wearing certain clothes can alter our perceptions of ourselves and our behaviour (Hannover and Kühnen, 2002). Uniformity can be comfortable and safe, but individuality is, in itself, often an act of rebellion against conventional style.

One of my favourite instances of using fashion to rebel is Lady Diana Spencer’s ‘revenge dress’. Diana feared that the black off-the-shoulder Christina Stambolian dress was too daring, so she hadn’t previously worn it during the 3 years she owned it. However, in 1994, Diana made the last minute decision to attend a fundraising dinner on the same night of a public broadcast detailing Prince Charles’ infidelity, showing up at the event in this stunning black dress, pearls around her neck, and a radiant smile. The dress has been interpreted as being worn in revenge against her husband, and to show her comfort in independence. Of course Diana made headlines, earning the dress nicknames such as the ‘vengeance dress’, ‘up yours dress’, and most commonly; the ‘revenge dress’. This was an act of dominance and confidence from Diana, not allowing her husband’s affair define her or make her seem weak or miserable. The Princess “played the press and was victorious, she was a vision of strength and independence in the face of adversity” (Design Museum, 2010) With this dress, she told the world that she didn’t care and that she’s happy without Charles.

Another example of fashion as rebellion is Lady Gaga’s iconic meat dress, an ensemble completely made from raw meat which she wore to the 2010 VMAs. The outfit was met with criticism from the press, public, and animal rights organisations. Suitably, the singer described the dress as representing the importance of fighting for what you believe in, or you’ll be nothing but “meat on your bones”, as well as a secondary use of criticising the United States Military. Gaga is known for provocative and unconventional performances and fashion choices, “making fashion statements is [her] primary raison d’être” (Luscombe, 2010), and the dress was awarded number 1 in Time magazine’s ‘Top 10 Fashion Statements of 2010’.

Fashion isn’t just used to rebel individually. Subcultures rebel against mainstream behaviour, but in a way that members conform and find community with one another. They don’t follow mainstream trends, and many subcultures use DIY methods to create styles that represent the group they belong to while still retaining a strong sense of individuality. The issue with trends is that while they can be easy money for businesses, the increase of consumerism has negative environmental effects and, especially in the age of social media, promote negative self image. Since the 90s ‘heroin chic’ look became popularised, body types are increasingly coming and going in and out of style. Its important that people in this generation learn that trends are fleeting and it’s important to dress in a way that represents the individual.

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Pretty in Pink: Colour and Stereotypes

The colour pink has many different connotations, and is most commonly associated with femininity. But before pink became the girly symbol we know it as today, pink was popular for both girls and boys. It wasn’t until the 20th century that pink began to be more commonly associated with femininity. The spread of pink into western women’s fashion was primarily a result of 20th century pop culture and public figures. Housewives of the 1950s took what they saw on the screen and in magazines to embrace a new era of traditional feminine pride. Mamie Eisenhower wore a pink dress to the presidential inauguration of her husband, and with her traditional ideals of women’s roles, many women in America thought it appropriate to wear pink. Additionally, Jaqueline Kennedy was said to have a “profound influence” and “set the standards that American women strove to follow” [Museum, M. and F., J., 2001.] Kennedy also helped to cement this perception of pink as a fashionable colour, one of her most iconic outfits arguably being a pink Chanel suit.

The vibrant hue of hot pink is emblematic of 2000s fashion. While the association of pink and vacuity developed heavily in the 2000s, it began decades before. For example Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, who wore a hot pink dress for a musical number. She wears diamonds, and is surrounded by men. Pink, black, and red are said to be linked with seduction. Marilyn is in the centre, framed by adoring men, emphasising her desirable femininity. Monroe’s public persona is arguably the most famous ‘dumb blonde’ character, and her gold-digging character in the film helped to cement that persona. While in the 20th century being feminine was linked with tenderness and romance, in the later decades it started to become synonymous with naivety and shallowness, and its presentations in pop culture often mocked or vilified feminine girls. In the movie Mean Girls, pink was seen as a power symbol and something to separate the petty feminine queen bees from the normal girls. Despite the negative perceptions, however, this portrayal of women allowed them to be seen as more domineering than subservient and shine a new light on pink after second wave feminists’ views of pink as immature and conformist.

The bold, hyper-feminine trends of y2k fashion have recently come back in style, but this isn’t the only reason for a revival of pink. Third wave feminist groups have taken to reclaiming the meaning of pink and femininity, while it was once seen as a symbol of weakness, women are using it to feel empowered and show that femininity isn’t synonymous with fragility and shouldn’t be mocked or condescended as if its an uncommon and bad quality to have. As Yael Cohen wrote for The Cut: “what’s wrong with girly, anyway? Rolling our eyes at pink feels like another way of treating female culture on the whole as a niche interest, somehow secondary to male culture — a.k.a. the mainstream.” [Cohen, 2014] Feminists wore the hot pink “pussy hats” at women’s marches in 2016, as an answer to Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again Hats”. They marched on the White House and around the world, creating an overwhelming sea of pink showing that femininity does not equal weakness.