Mini Skirts

Sixties skirts became a symbol of women’s independence. One can only get a sense of the reaction of Victorians and Edwardians who would have come to see any form of skin showing as indecent and lewd. However, times had changed beginning in the 1920s and the fashion of women had become more liberal with the acceptability of skin growing with each decade. Sixties skirts saw the rise of the skirt above the knees and pantyhose became a nice accessory with skirts.

Like any other period, fashion is a reflection of societal views and like women of the early twenties who demanded better clothing for work, women from the sixties also demanded sexual freedom which meant that showing more skin became acceptable. While the older generation disapproved of showing so much leg, women came to view the skirts as comfortable and a far departure from their mother’s and grandmother’s fashions. The ushering in of sixties skirts symbolized a new form of freedom women had not seen since the 1920s. Sixties skirts and mini-skirts in general became not only a new fashion, but also was a symbol in a decade of change in sexual norms and gender roles.

Whereas the length of fifties skirts fell just below the knees, sixties skirts receded just above the knees which brought in the modern fashion as we know it today. It was not simply about fashion, but discarding the established male standards of what women should wear. As beautiful as the grand fashions of old were, much of those fashions were based on male standards and desires. The women’s liberation movement not only brought in new ways of thinking, but in apparel as well, and that is where sixties skirts became the norm.