Initially, clothes were not divided into female and male. Both of them covered only the lower part of the body, using mainly animal skins or palm leaves for this.
At the dawn of civilizations, when mankind learned to make fabric, the skirt became not only a garment, but also an indicator of its owner’s social status:
- In ancient Egypt they wore a shenty - an apron skirt that was tied with a cord around the waist. The longer it was, the more noble and richer its owner was.
- The complex cut of the skirt begins to appear in the culture of the ancient Cretans. Excavations at the places of life of this civilization indicate that clothing begins to acquire elements of decoration - ruffles, frills, transverse stripes and fabric inserts.
- The ancient Greeks during the archaic period continued to wear a simple loincloth, unlike female models of costumes, which were divided into two parts, the lower of which was a straight-cut skirt.
In the Middle Ages, fashion was formed in Europe. During this period, the bodice separated from the main dress, which allowed tailors to experiment on the design of the skirt. The types, shape, volume, length and color of the skirts have changed. A special role was acquired by the train, which played the same role as the long bandage in ancient history - the longer, the more noble its owner. Immediately make a reservation that only ladies close to the Palace could wear it.
The Queen had the longest train with a length of 11 cubits, a little shorter - princesses wore 9 cubits, the rest of the royal family carried 7, and the duchess had 3 cubits of a train. In church circles, such innovations were not found by like-minded people: Catholic priests refused to profess the person who appeared to them with a train until they removed these “devilish tails”.
Finally, the skirt acquired a female face in Spain in the 16th century, and from that time it was the Spanish fashionistas who began to dictate fashion throughout Europe. During this period, lush multilayer skirts appeared, the basis of which was a rigid metal frame, consisting of several heavy hoops, called "buckets".
Independently court officials could not cope with such a design, they were helped by a servant. To get dressed, the woman had to “enter” into the circle of her skirt, and two maidservants lifted hoops and fastened them to the bodice. The top of such a skirt was strewn with precious stones and embroidered with gold, which gave it even more weight.
French women and Italians eagerly adopted a new fashion, adopting the basis of the vedrugos - a frame of hoops. They altered the shape of the skirt - it took the form of a cone, narrow at the top and expanding downward. A skirt was worn on top of the cone, and on it was a cover with an expanding cut through which it was possible to assess the material situation of the person - the skirts were also decorated with gold, brocade and precious stones.
From the 17th century to this day, France begins to dictate fashion to the world. Refined French women tried to change uncomfortable and heavy corsets to lighter dresses. Straight dresses come into fashion, the splendor of which was created only due to skirts dressed under the bottom. Each upper skirt was slightly shorter than the previous one. In winter, the number of skirts reached 15, and in the summer, 5 was enough.
By the end of the century, a straight cut goes out of fashion, chic and splendor returns. The metal in the frame is replaced by a much lighter whalebone. Layering remains, but new elements are added. The lower skirt is decorated with lace, which when walking, as if by chance, allowed to see the female ankle. The clergy extremely negatively related to such outfits, and they were not allowed into the church.
In the middle of the XIX century, skirts on a frame made of hard horsehair - crinoline - are used. It was a very dense matter, allowing you to keep the shape of the product. Subsequently, the word "crinoline" began to mean any lower skirts with frames, whether metal, wood, or a whalebone.
Toward the end of the 19th century, a very interesting element in clothing appears - a tournament. This is a kind of roller, which was placed under the upper part of the skirt in the lower part of the lower back, to give a particularly curvaceous back.
Some fashionistas have overdone the size so much that they became the object of ridicule of the cartoonists of that time, depicting courtiers in the form of centaurs.
In addition to stones and gold, lace and embroidery appeared in the decor of the upper skirt.
With the onset of the twentieth century, society undergoes significant changes, women achieve equality with men. Long trains and corsets go down in history. They are replaced by fashionable democratic skirts with a simple cut.
With the growing popularity of passionate Latin American dances - tango and charleston, so has the popularity of shortened skirts and skirts with open-toed legs.
With the onset of World War I, the skirt became even shorter, knees opened. True, with the onset of the difficult 30s, women returned to the models of skirts on the floor.
In the mid-60s, dramatic changes took place in the world in the views on how a woman should look - a mini-skirt comes into fashion. Even the first lady of America Jacqueline Kennedy began to allow herself to appear in public with open knees, which further contributed to the growth in popularity of the length of the mini. Mary Kuant, who gave women all over the world the opportunity to flaunt with open legs, received the Order of the British Empire for her product.
But, nevertheless, Soviet women also continued to wear skirts no shorter than the middle of the calf and longer; all other models were sharply criticized. The light industry of the Soviet Union, in principle, did not produce short skirts, so fashionistas had to sew with their own hands what they liked.
To date, there are no frames and restrictions in the length and style of skirts.Each woman chooses for herself exactly those models that she likes and suits her figure and style in clothes. Today you can wear a skirt in almost any situation and in any place - from the office and business lunch to an incendiary party on the beach. Even on the sports field, skirts are appropriate - remember how tennis players look on the court in short pleated tennis skirts.
The most famous fashion designers and haute couture houses do not ignore this piece of clothing. Designers come up with many options for the styles and colors of skirts, demonstrating their skills in each new season. The combination of an interesting cut and various ornaments, such as embroidery, appliques, beads and rhinestones, makes the choice of skirts so diverse that no woman can resist this type of clothing, choosing for herself what she needs.
Stories of the appearance of some types of skirts
Pencil skirt It was born thanks to the unrivaled Coco Chanel, who, after a small black dress, created a new masterpiece - a black skirt to the knee with a high waist, tight-fitting hips and tapering downwards. In the mid-40s, Christian Dior at his show diversified this model a bit, and soon the new style fell in love with the whole world. The famous Marilyn Monroe often pleased her fans, appearing in public in just such a skirt.
Tutu skirt was created at the end of the XIX century especially for the soloist of the ballet La Sylphide, Maria Taglioni.
For a certain period of time, tutus were only an attribute of the stage, but by the middle of the twentieth century, many haute couture houses were inspired by the splendor of this model, and not only dancers began to wear this skirt. And by the end of the century, thanks to the series “Sex and the City”, where the main character proudly flaunts around the city in a tutu, the most inveterate fashionistas began to appear in such skirts, boldly experimenting with the style, color and length of the models. So they became the main attribute in creating bold and bold images, but at the same time feminine and very sexy.
Tulip skirt appeared on the catwalks in the 70s of the last century, when the famous pencil skirt was already boring to designers. The tulip was a skirt, narrow at the waist, with an extension on the hips and tapering down.
This style has firmly taken root in women's wardrobes to this day, even despite the fact that the pencil model has regained its popularity.
