The Mini skirt may only be a little piece of clothing worn just over the thigh, but it certainly speaks volumes to the fashion world.
Exploding on to the fashion scene in the 'Swinging Sixties' under the creative hands of Mary Quant (or Andre Courreges if your French), the Mini soon became iconic. Worn by practically everyone under the age of 50 - including Jackie Kennedy at her wedding to Aristotle Onassis in 1968, the skirt quickly earned its place in fashion history. When the skirt first appeared, sexual freedom was evolving (namely down to the pill) and for the first time pubescent teenagers were influencing fashion from the streets. Together this revolutionized Dior’s New Look of the previous decade. Perhaps, foolishly women lost the conservative silky elegance of the 50s and embraced fun, sexy, mass produced skirts made from Cotton Gabardine to PVC. Available to those neither rich nor grand, youth culture propelled this trend not just across Britain but internationally, changing the face of fashion forever. Just think of Twiggy’s 1960s boyish frame and mod style, in comparison to the 40s and 50s curvaceous Hollywood sirens Jane Russell or Lana Turner.
From this point on, Minis became a wardrobe staple swinging in and out of the closet; Blondie pranced around in hers towards the end of the 70s during the ‘new wave’. Whilst the 80s saw a number of Mini variations spring up from ra-ra styles to puff balls. Even the Princess of Wales could have been seen sporting a puff ball. Knowing no bounds the ubiquitous trend grew; even business attire was not left untouched by the craze. In the mid 1990s Minis were walking into offices across the world, with a little help from TV stars such as ‘Rachel’ from Friends. Availability and popular culture had at first made the Mini classless (taking the limelight off couture trends) and so this may have remained had the late 20th century craze for Spandex Micro Minis, not created snobbery amongst the tightly clad clan. Just think of Geri Halliwell as 'Ginger Spice' revealing her knickers to the world.
Yes, there is a tarty stigma that surrounds the modern bum cheek showing Mini, (need the Bratz doll Mini skirt for pre-teens be mentioned.) However, worn properly the Mini can not only cover a multiply of sins, but to date it looks set to be one of the hottest trends of the year. A refreshing new twist to the Mini is emerging- think double layered. An illusion created by the likes of Prada and Louis Vuitton, where a layer of white underskirt pokes out from beneath the top Mini skirt. Certainly there is no shortage of style variations to choose from – ruffled, draped or frilled the marvellous Mini seems to adapt to every situation.
Ok, so some of the daring catwalk styles popping up this season may not be hitting the shops in such short proportions, but nevertheless the Mini is here to stay. The best advice is to choose wisely, don’t ignore the trend but find something that works for you.
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