If one piece of clothing has gone through a total fashion revolution, it’s the mini skirt. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit the iconic piece of clothing and how it has changed over the years. Mary Quant, a British designer, experimented with shorter hemlines throughout the 1950s and, in 1964, created the mini skirt, named after her favourite car.
MORE: Trend Talk: First Class Fur
Us Australians, classically behind, did not experience the fashion revolution until 1965 when British supermodel Jean Shrimpton wore a mini dress 5 inches above her knees with no hat, gloves or stockings to the Melbourne Cup. In this era, an outfit such as this was simply scandalous and designers scrambled to modernise their lines with the mini skirt.
The creation of the mini skirt was a time when boundaries were being pushed and women were able to reject the formality that they had be confined to for many years. Some of the most influential celebrities such as Twiggy and Audrey Hepburn embraced the mini skirt. The movement a shorter skirt allowed empowered women all over the world.
While hemlines are constantly fluid in fashion, the mini skirt will always have a place on the runway and in our wardrobes.
Images via dailymail.co.uk, styleldn.com and harpersbazaar.com
