Although David Beckham prompted sensational headlines by wearing a skirt in 1998, the skirt is the epitome of female attire. In British slang, the word skirt is actually synonymous with the word woman, and ‘a nice bit of skirt’ can be translated as ‘a very attractive woman’.
After the loin cloth, the skirt is the second oldest garment in history, and the only thing that women wore up until the end of the 19th century, when the popularity of skirts declined and women began wearing trousers. The sight of women in skirts became even rarer during WWII, when many women had to undertake heavy industrial work in the absence of their men, or because fabric rationing forced them to wear the clothing left behind by men.
In contrast to dying out completely, the skirt blossomed in response. Hemlines rose and fell repeatedly hereafter, and styles morphed from one to the next, decade by decade. Today, the skirt seems just as popular as ever, and this is clearly reflected in this season’s fashion trends, which seem to be a glorious celebration of the skirt throughout the ages.
From mini to midi to maxi, every skirt length and style can be seen on the catwalk this fall.
Maxi Style
Until around 1920, skirts were mostly floor length, and the excess fabric required was deemed luxurious and gave the women in skirts a sense of prestige. Victorian women in skirts also wore layers of impenetrable petticoats to protect their modesty and dissuade prying eyes. The silhouette was all about accentuating the narrowness of the waist and hoops, bustles, and later the fishtail, created elegant hourglass figures.
Today, the maxi style is as popular as ever, taking on more of a 70’s feel of bohemian chic in tiered and handkerchief styles of floaty, floral silken print or vintage lace. Modesty, however, is not the purpose of this season’s maxi since high slits are giving women in skirts plenty of feminine attitude.
Midi Style
Because of fabric rationing in WWII, hemlines rose and the highly tailored uniform skirts, or straight skirts, appeared. After the war, the remaining austere economic climate kept hemlines shorter and this style naturally progressed to the tight fitting pencil skirt of the 1950s, worn with seamed stockings and high heels by many female office workers.
The pencil is still considered just as chic today, and collections are filled with smartly tailored pencil skirts in classic black, and for the full nostalgic experience, there are plenty of tweed pencil skirts around that can be teamed with fur trimmed knits ready for autumn.
Mini Style
Perhaps the most iconic of all skirts is the mini, which was effectively a measure of social temperature during the 60s. The rising hemlines indicated rising prosperity and sexual liberation. With the rise of youth culture and the help of Mary Quant, the mini skirt suddenly made it mandatory for women in skirts to show as much ‘leg’ as possible. In the 80s, the miniskirt enjoyed a resurrection, but in some startling styles like the rah-rah, puffball and tulip.
This fall women in skirts will have men rejoicing, as the miniskirt remains a permanent fixture on catwalks. However, these minis are not quite the micro minis of Quant’s era, with hemlines falling to about 3 or 4 inches above the knee and textured fabrics, such as plaid, leather and corduroy being most popular.
Throughout the ages, women in skirts have used hem length and style to demonstrate their, dignity, strength and sexuality, and this season’s designers seem to have united in a very fitting, all encompassing celebration of this.
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