User:Millieymy/sandbox

After designer Mary Quant introduced the mini skirt in 1964 (although André Courrèges also claimed that he had the credit of inventing the miniskirt), fashions of the 1960s were changed forever. The definition of A miniskirt is the hemline generally between 6 to 7 inches above the knees (earliest direct reference to the miniskirt came from Wyoming newspaper The Billings Gazette, describing the miniskirt as a controversial item in production in Mexico City). The earliest period appeared during ancient era, human beings only wrapped a short fabric around their hips for their daily business: hunting, building etc. Later on, after the hot fashions following WWII were people tended to wear the full skirt that hit below the knee, miniskirt began appearing in science fiction film like “ Flight to Mars” and “Forbidden Planet” during 1950s. Mary Quant and Andre Courreges both are well contributed to the invention of miniskirt during the 1960s. Mary Quant, A British designer, as one of the pioneers of miniskirt during 1960’s and she named the skirt after her favorite car, the Mini Cooper. She was one of the most business -savvy designers of a new generation. She introduced her design in the mid-60s at her London boutique, Bazaar—a boutique to offer cheap clothes designed specifically for young people. One of her concepts of this innovative idea is “ We wanted to increase the availability of fun for everyone. We felt that expensive things were almost immoral and the New Look was totally irrelevant to us.” Miniskirt became popular in London and Paris and created a term called “ Chelsea Look”. Andre Courreges, another French fashion designer who experimenting with hemlines as well in the early 1960s, and he began to show space-age dresses that hit above the knee in late 1964. His designs are more likely to be more structured and more sophisticated than Quant’s design. This made the miniskirt more acceptable to the French public, and became more popular as it was not a huge difference from the chic styles they were used to. His clothes represented a couture version of the “Youth-quake” -driven street style, and heralded the arrival of the “Moon girl” look. As the teen culture became stronger, “Youth-quake” appeared in describing the power of young people since it never happened before the 60s. Before WWII, teenagers were essentially mini adults. They dressed and acted like their parents and many settled down and began raising families when they were young, normally right after high school. Also, many were expected to work and assist their families financially. Therefore, youth culture only appears after WWII when the advancement of many technologies and stricter child labor laws became mainstream. Teenagers during that time gained more time to enjoy their youth. This created a climate where they had a freedom to create their own culture separate from their parents. Teens are soon beginning to establish their own identities and communities with their own views and ideas, breaking away from their parent’s traditions and beliefs. Baby boom is another factor to push the teen culture to a higher level, teens have more chances of influencing the fashion of the world. The teen fashion became the mainstream during the 1960s because of the fame of The Beatles and people became crazily obsessed with British fashion, culture, it included mini skirts and Mod style with a lot of bright colors. The fabulous “ little girl “ look was introduced to USA —styling with Bobbie Brooks, bows, patterned knee socks and mini skirts. The miniskirt and the "little girl" look that accompanied it reflect a revolutionary shift in the way people dress. Instead of younger generations dressing like adults, they became inspired by childlike dress. The women’s liberation movement, Second wave feminism makes the miniskirt became popular. Before 1960, female were used to working in factories during WWII, many women soon found they craved a career and life outside the home instead of taking care of kids, doing housework etc. They wanted the same choices, freedoms, and opportunities that were offered to men. Women realized that they wanted to be able to choose what they did with their bodies. Many women decided to postpone starting families in their young age because they wanted to explore the world. Getting married, became an option. The invention of the birth control pill makes the desire became stronger. There were many different examples to show that mini skirt was the hot item for the celebrity or publicity, it included: 1960, Twiggy, It girl; 1965, Model Jean Shrimpton, she was wearing mini skirt attended an event in the Melbourne Cup Carnival in Australia; 1967, Goldie Hawn, she appeared in “Laugh In” debuted on Tv with her mini skirt and, 1968, Jackie Kennedy, was wearing a short white pleated Valentino dress when she married Aristotle Onassis etc.