The miniskirt is back! In the summer of 2021 , the most transgressive myth in the history of fashion is dusted off in competition with hot pants, ripped jeans and bermuda shorts from the Eighties . That “indecent” skirt that opened the way to emancipation for an entire generation of women, who then passed on that same freedom to their daughters and granddaughters. A small piece of fabric, very feminine and very provocative – even in the combinations – that has always made people talk about itself and even allowed itself the luxury of being forgotten. So every time it comes back into fashion there is a new, small revolution, with a unique and irresistible flavor.
How the miniskirt was born
The miniskirt was officially born in the sixties of the twentieth century but it was long before, even from the 1800s, that women tried to shorten their clothes. Those cascades of skirts were heavy and bulky, making every gesture twice as tiring. Yet showing the lower parts of the body (even just the ankles!) Was “indecent” for the time, and therefore the revolution of the short hem went on gradually.
At the end of the 19th century, the feminist Hubertine Auclert even went so far as to claim the right to a short skirt and in general to more comfortable clothes for women, through the foundation of the “League for short skirts”.
In 1928 it was a Norwegian figure skater, Sonja Henie, who competed for the first time with a short skirt on the knee. A scandal forgiven because of the young age (15 years). Less forgivable were the short skirts that appeared in some films of the 1940s , but usually associated with women of easy virtue.
It was the British designer Mary Quant, in 1964, who proposed the miniskirt for the first time as a daily and taboo-free item of clothing. A gesture that caused a lot of uproar but which immediately conquered the young customers, thus determining their worldwide success in a few years.
Historical miniskirts
The first miniskirts, those conceived by Quant and then reworked by other designers, such as the American Helen Rose or the French Courrege, were 10 centimeters above the knee, usually tight-fitting and often with Scottish or geometric patterns. They were associated with blouses, on the other hand, very chaste and tightly closed and with boots. Sometimes they were part of a single short dress.
In the seventies, which have now become a symbol of rebellion, they defied all decency by rising to over 20 centimeters above the knee and assuming various shapes, wide and for example pleated, or band, which barely covered the groin!
In the eighties they were instead overshadowed by shorts but returned to fashion in the nineties, in a softer version and a little lower than the ancestors, but equally very provocative.
Miniskirts today
Between 2019 and 2021 , miniskirts have returned to undermine the primacy of hot pants and have extended to clothing for all. Not only the very young should wear them, even the over 35 can be more daring. Much more aggressive , the 2000s miniskirts are often made of translucent material, imitation leather, PVC or even metal .
They no longer serve to scandalize but in this case to get noticed, with something pompously vintage but still modern and light-hearted. They are a garment that invites today’s girls to express their femininity without shame, without hesitation and without fear of being judged or harassed for the sake of dressing.
Miniskirts have become part of our daily dress today and for this we have to thank the pioneers of this garment, who challenged the society of the time.
Our post dedicated to the miniskirt, its history and the most popular models today, ends here. See you next time with the insights dedicated to the world of fashion style, by our portal!
