History of the Mini Skirt

Though the miniskirt revolution took place during the 1960s, they have been around for much longer than one might think. In some of Europe’s oldest known villages, archaeologists have discovered ancient females (dating between 5400-4700 B.C.) in miniskirts similar to those of the 60s. Another civilization where the miniskirt was not an uncommon article of clothing was ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptian frescos have been found showing female dancers wearing short skirts showing off the woman’s hips and legs.

In contrast to the corsets and long, restrictive skirts of the 1800s, advances in women’s emancipation following WWI led to the knew-high “flapper” style of the 1920s. After the drop in skirt lengths in the 30’s, hemlines rose once again to the knee during WWII due in part to fabric rationing. By the 1960’s youth protests for individual expression revealed that young adults no longer wanted to be identified in the same group as their parents, and wanted to form together into a unified group. Up until then, young women had been expected to dress in the same style as their mothers, and did not have a style for their own generation. Young women began to feel more and more empowered and when British designer, Mary Quant, launched her iconic and youthful miniskirt, girls everywhere went crazy over it. This skirt, which she named after her favorite car, the Mini, was the epitome of youthfulness and freedom, and became and instant success.

Sources:

http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/05/25_miniskirt.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniskirt