3.19.2015

1965: The miniskirt


Sensitive to the youthful revolt against established values, two designers in particular produced clothes which epitomized the 1960s look for women: Courreges in France and Mary Quant in Britain. Both expressed the spirit of the age and its desire for physical and social freedom in deceptively simple, pared-down garments with abbreviated skirts (christened by the British press "the mini") and, in Courreges' case, pants suits. Both created a complete look, with tights (essential with the mini), shoes, boots, hairstyles and even sunglasses and make-up. Quant appealed directly to the very young; Courreges, possibly because he was in essence a couture designer (having worked with Balenciega for eleven years before opening his own house in 1961), to a slightly more mature woman.
     -- From "Fashion in Costume, 1200-2000" (Joan Nunn, 2000): @
     -- Image from an advertisement for an Indiana department store in August 1965, showing just how quickly the look took hold throughout the United States

* Mary Quant page (Victoria and Albert Museum): @
* "Why Mary Quant's Swinging Sixties London Look Still Holds Sway" (Vogue, 2015): @
* Andre Courreges article (Victoria and Albert Museum): @
* "Andre Courreges: The Couture's Space Captain" (House of Retro): @
* Jacques Tiffeau article (Fashion Designer Encyclopedia): @
* "Skirts for Fall To Be Shorter" (United Press International, July 1964): @
* "Up, Up, Up Go the Skirts: The new look is the knee look -- but there's controversy" (Life magazine, December 18, 1964): @
* "The Lord of the Space Ladies: Andres Courreges is the new powerhouse of Paris Fashion" (Life magazine, May 21, 1965): @
* "Negro Women have the prettiest knees" (Jet magazine, July 8, 1965): @
* "The man who launched the miniskirt remains aloof" (Sydney Morning Herald, August 1969): @
* "On June 4, 1965, Puritan Fashion Co. launched Youthquake" (On This Day in Fashion): @
* "On September 1, 1965, Mary Quant introduced the miniskirt" (On This Day in Fashion): @
* Excerpt from "Fifty Years of Fashion: New Look to Now" (Valerie Steele, 1997): @
* Excerpt from "Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible" (2012): @ 

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