{"id":2893,"date":"2018-02-07T15:52:53","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T15:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2893"},"modified":"2021-09-24T10:50:47","modified_gmt":"2021-09-24T09:50:47","slug":"history-of-the-miniskirt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/","title":{"rendered":"History of the Miniskirt: 60s Hedonism & Youth Rebellion"},"content":{"rendered":"

A History of the Miniskirt\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The iconic history of the miniskirt is anything but short and sweet, with rebellion, sex and sixties hedonism at its core. Hitched-up hemlines can date back as far 4700BC, but the miniskirt we know and love today was born out of a youth culture movement that strived to\u00a0deviate from the repressed post-war 50s fashion. Here, we’ll explore the origins and\u00a0cultural representations of this worldwide\u00a0phenomenon that shook up the fashion world.<\/p>\n

\"history
Twiggy was the poster girl for the 1960s miniskirt<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Short Hemline, Long Timeline\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

5400 – 4700BC\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

As we all know,\u00a0trends fluctuate from era to era, but it’s not all down to whimsical decisions made by flamboyant designers.\u00a0Archaeologists\u00a0have uncovered\u00a0ancient figurines dating back to\u00a05400\u00a0\u2013 4700BC that depict females wearing skirts\u00a0like\u00a0the 60s mini, indicating\u00a0this was a common form of dress in early\u00a0civilisations.\u00a0However,\u00a0it’s impossible to say whether this was purely for practicality or other more liberating reasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1920s\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

What we do know though is that the roaring 20s and the emergence of the flapper girl saw hemlines\u00a0rise\u00a0up\u00a0to\u00a0the knee. A post-war escapism and progression with women’s rights and emancipation led to this more daring attire. However, after the more conservative calf-length hemline of the 1930s,\u00a0fabric rationing during WWII brought back a shorter skirt.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1960s\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s important to note that the\u00a0miniskirt had slowly began to creep into the mainstream via 1950s sci-fi movies such as Flight to Mars<\/em> and Forbidden Planet<\/em>. But it was the revolutionary swinging 60s\u00a0where the\u00a0miniskirt became the\u00a0cultural icon we recognise today. It signified a\u00a0political youth movement where teens no\u00a0longer wanted to dress like their parents. The miniskirt was a playful, rebellious garment, representing the shift in societal dynamics.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mary Quant & her London Legacy\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Despite there being disputes as to who\u00a0first hitched the hemline north,\u00a0it was Mary Quant who pioneered 60s fashion in London. Super short skirts and dresses became her\u00a0signature\u00a0look, helping to\u00a0popularise\u00a0the miniskirt on an international scale. Origins began with opening her\u00a0infamous shop, Bazaar, on Kings Road in 1955, where her simple shapes and strong\u00a0colours\u00a0challenged the conservative values still prevailing. The 50s was deemed an era\u00a0where ‘fashion was not for young people’, but Quant was a visionary,\u00a0and her\u00a0designs offered\u00a0locals\u00a0alternative,\u00a0bespoke clothes that were a far cry from what was available on\u00a0the mainstream\u00a0market.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Famed\u00a0for being the mother of the miniskirt, her love\u00a0of short\u00a0silhouettes\u00a0can\u00a0be pinpointed to a specific moment when spying on a dancer during a Chelsea ballet class.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

“She was wearing a\u00a0short, pleated\u00a0skirt about 10in long, with a skinny black sweater, black tights and a bob haircut. What struck me was how the whole outfit focused on what she had on her feet: a pair of white ankle socks, and a pair of patent tap shoes with ankle straps \u2026 From that day on I was struck with this lovely vision of legs and ankles.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Bazaar\u00a0became a ‘scene’ in itself;\u00a0a hedonistic hangout comprising of\u00a0music, drinks and a shopping experience like no other.\u00a0Quant’s style appealed to\u00a0young women\u00a0all over\u00a0seeking playful, coquettish fashion that aligned with\u00a0advancements of\u00a0sexual expression within society.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A History of the Miniskirt\u00a0 The iconic history of the miniskirt is anything but short and sweet, with rebellion, sex and sixties hedonism at its core. Hitched-up hemlines can date back as far 4700BC, but the miniskirt we know and love today was born out of a youth culture movement that strived to\u00a0deviate from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"History of the Miniskirt: 60s Hedonism & Youth Rebellion","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Discover the origins and controversial history of the miniskirt. From the 1960s and Mary Quant's pioneering fashion to famous miniskirt moments in history."},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHistory of the Miniskirt: 60s Hedonism & Youth Rebellion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the origins and controversial history of the miniskirt. From the 1960s and Mary Quant's pioneering fashion to famous miniskirt moments in history.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"History of the Miniskirt: 60s Hedonism & Youth Rebellion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover the origins and controversial history of the miniskirt. From the 1960s and Mary Quant's pioneering fashion to famous miniskirt moments in history.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Contrado Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-07T15:52:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-09-24T09:50:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/history-of-mini-skirt.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"825\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jonella\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Contrado Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/history-of-mini-skirt.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/history-of-mini-skirt.png\",\"width\":825,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"history of the miniskirt blog post 60s fashion\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/\",\"name\":\"History of the Miniskirt: 60s Hedonism & Youth Rebellion\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-07T15:52:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-24T09:50:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/28f95b7cee66a14937dbb468a941ed63\"},\"description\":\"Discover the origins and controversial history of the miniskirt. From the 1960s and Mary Quant's pioneering fashion to famous miniskirt moments in history.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"History of the Miniskirt: 60s Hedonism & Youth Rebellion\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/28f95b7cee66a14937dbb468a941ed63\",\"name\":\"Jonella\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9e00cfbfc4ff093746e4c5ff113d5f8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9e00cfbfc4ff093746e4c5ff113d5f8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jonella\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/author\/jonella\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"History of the Miniskirt: 60s Hedonism & Youth Rebellion","description":"Discover the origins and controversial history of the miniskirt. From the 1960s and Mary Quant's pioneering fashion to famous miniskirt moments in history.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"History of the Miniskirt: 60s Hedonism & Youth Rebellion","og_description":"Discover the origins and controversial history of the miniskirt. From the 1960s and Mary Quant's pioneering fashion to famous miniskirt moments in history.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/","og_site_name":"Contrado Blog","article_published_time":"2018-02-07T15:52:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-09-24T09:50:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":825,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/history-of-mini-skirt.png","path":"\/var\/www\/cdo\/uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/history-of-mini-skirt.png","size":"full","id":2896,"alt":"history of the miniskirt blog post 60s fashion","pixels":412500,"type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jonella","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/","name":"Contrado Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/history-of-mini-skirt.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/history-of-mini-skirt.png","width":825,"height":500,"caption":"history of the miniskirt blog post 60s fashion"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/","name":"History of the Miniskirt: 60s Hedonism & Youth Rebellion","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2018-02-07T15:52:53+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-24T09:50:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/28f95b7cee66a14937dbb468a941ed63"},"description":"Discover the origins and controversial history of the miniskirt. From the 1960s and Mary Quant's pioneering fashion to famous miniskirt moments in history.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/history-of-the-miniskirt\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"History of the Miniskirt: 60s Hedonism & Youth Rebellion"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/28f95b7cee66a14937dbb468a941ed63","name":"Jonella","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9e00cfbfc4ff093746e4c5ff113d5f8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9e00cfbfc4ff093746e4c5ff113d5f8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jonella"},"url":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/author\/jonella\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2893"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2893"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10130,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2893\/revisions\/10130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}