The mini skirt first gained popularity in the 1960s when designed by Mary Quant. It created cultural and political implications as a symbol of liberation but by the 1970s skirts grew longer again. The mini skirt reemerged in the 1980s and grew in acceptance through the 1990s in television and film. Into the 21st century, the mini skirt continued evolving in style while maintaining popularity among younger generations as a fashion staple.

1. Mini Skirt

2. A mini skirt is a skirt whose hemline is way above the knee,
The development of a mini skirt in the 1960s, is credited to
the fashion designer Mary Quant.

3. Although mini skirt is known to have existed for as
long as the civilization, it gained powerful political and
cultural implications only recently. In 1965, after the
introduction of mini skirt in the market, it spread beyond
a major international trend.

4. Andr Courrges further developed the mini skirts and
incorporated them into his mod look for Spring/
Summer Collection 1965. They were worn with white
“Courrges boots”, as they were less body hugging.
Soon, they became a trademark and gained a greater
degree of respectability from the usual street fashion.
In the late 1960s, the mini skirt further developed into
an even shorter micro skirt. Tights and panty hose
replaced stockings rapidly,, minis were seen on
whosoever could pull them off on their bodies. The
normal mini skirt was 4 to 5 inches above the knee in
New York; while in Swinging London, it could go 7 to 8
inches above knee.

5. The mid-1970s saw a drastic change in the fashion
industry, which returned to longer skirts, such as the
midi and the maxi. Two reasons were cited for the
same by journalist Christopher Booker: firstly, “there
was almost nowhere else to go...the mini-skirts could
go no higher” and secondly, “dressed up in mini-skirts
and shiny PVC macs, given such impersonal names as
'dolly birds', girls had been transformed into throwaway
plastic objects”. The mini skirt that was regarded as a
symbol of liberation in the 1960s was worn by some
women in the 1970s also, but they were not in a
majority. For instance, it was worn by Germaine Greer
and Gloria Steinem who thus, came to be known for
the promotion of women’s issues.

6. The mini skirts re-emerged in the 1980s, in the form of
“rah-rahs”. They were usually worn by female
cheerleaders at sporting and other events. The “puffball”
skirts gained short-term popularity in the mid-1980s.
They were sported by several women around that time,
not to forget, the Princess of Wales and singers Pepsi
and Shirlie. With time, the mini skirt was incorporated as
business attire and its popularity grew through the entire
century. The mid-1990s revealed how common the mini
skirt had become through the films and television series
that has been made around that time, some of the most
popular ones being ‘Friends’, ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘Ally
McBeal’.

7. Hipster trousers became highly fashionable around the
turn of the 21st century. With this, the mini skirt
developed further, into an even less substantial belt-skirt
that represented the idea of covering anything
substantial. However, the belt-skirt was rarely worn in
public, due to its highly revealing nature. With time, the
younger generation could be seen wearing mini skirts
over trousers or jeans or with leggings that provide
proper coverage to legs. In London, mini skirts became
more widespread during the hot summer in 2006 and
continued throughout the mild autumn and winter and
into the following summer as well. Today, the mini skirts
can be commonly seen worn by the younger
generations.