Skirt and dress
A
skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped
garment which hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the
legs. Unlike
trousers, a skirt is "
unbifurcated" — that is, not divided into separate legs. A
dress (also
frock,
gown) is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached
bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment.
In
Western culture, skirts and dresses are usually considered
women's clothing. However, there are exceptions. The
kilt is considered a traditional garment in
Scotland, and is growing in fashion in other parts of the world. Additionally, garments which are identified as skirts are being proposed as men's clothing by some of the trendier fashion houses such as
Jean-Paul Gaultier.
At its simplest, a skirt can be a
draped garment made out of a single piece of material (such as
sarongs or
pareos), but most skirts are fitted to the body at the waist and fuller below, with the fullness introduced by means of
darts, gores,
pleats, or panels. Modern skirts and dresses are usually made of light to mid-weight
fabrics, such as
denim, jersey, worsted, or poplin. Skirts and dresses of thin or clingy fabrics are worn with
slips to make the material of the skirt drape better.
The
hemline of skirts and dresses can be as high as the upper
thigh or as low as the ground, depending on the whims of
fashion and the
modesty or personal taste of the wearer.
Some medieval upper-class women wore skirts over 3 metres in diameter at the bottom. At the other extreme, the
miniskirts of the
1960s were minimal garments that may barely cover the underwear when seated.
During the
nineteenth century, the cut of women's dresses in western culture varied more widely than in any other century. Waistlines started just below the bust (the
Empire silhouette) and gradually sank to the natural waist. Skirts started fairly narrow andincreased dramatically to the
hoopskirt and
crinoline-supported styles of the
1860s; then fullness was draped and drawn to the back by means of
bustles. Dresses were generally one-piece garments from
1800 through the
1840s; after that it became common for a dress to be made as a separate skirt and bodice, and many dresses had a "day" bodice with a high
neckline and long sleeves, and an "evening" bodice with a low neckline (
decollete) and very short sleeves.
Throughout this period, the length of fashionable dresses varied only slightly, between ankle-length and floor-sweeping.
See also History of Western fashion:
1795-1820,
1820s,
1830s-40s,
1850s,
1860s,
1870s,
1880s,
1890s:
Victorian fashion,
Artistic Dress movement,
Victorian dress reform.
Beginning around
1915,
hemlines for daytime dresses left the floor for good. For the next fifty years, fashionable skirts became short (
1920s), then long (
1930s), then shorter (
the War Years with their restrictions on fabric), then long (the
New Look), then shortest of all during the
1960s, when skirts became as short as possible while avoiding exposure of
underwear, which is considered
taboo.
Since the
1970s and the rise of
pants as an option for all but the most formal of occasions, no one skirt length has dominated fashion for long, with short and ankle-length styles often appearing side-by-side in fashion magazines and catalogs.
Styles of dresses and skirts of the
twentieth and
twenty-first centuries include:
Dresses
Basic shapes:
Shirtwaist, a dress with a bodice (
waist) like a
tailored
shirt and an attached straight or full skirt
Sheath, a fitted, often sleeveless dress, sometimes without a waistseam (1960s)
Shift, a straight dress with no waist shaping or seam (1960s)
Sundress, a sleeveless dress of any shape, with a low neckline in a lightweight fabric, for summer wear
Tent, a dress flared from above the bust, sometimes with a yoke (1960s)
Fads and fashions:
*Chanel's
Little Black Dress (1920s and on)
*
Tea gown, a frothy, feminine semiformal dress
*
Dinner dress, a semiformal dress worn when fashionable people "dressed for dinner" (men in
tuxedos or dinner jackets, even at home)
*
Evening gown or
formal, a long dress for formal occasions
*
Ball gown, a long dress with a full, sweeping, or trained skirt for dancing
*
Kitty Foyle, a dark-colored dress with contrasting (usually white) collar and cuffs (1940s, after a dress worn by Ginger Rogers in the movie of the same name)
*
Cocktail dress, a semiformal party dress of the current street length (1950s and sporadically popular since)
*
Granny gown, an ankle-length, often ruffled, day dress of printed calico, cut like a Victorian nightgown, popularized by designer
Laura Ashley (late 1960s-1970s)
Skirts
Basic shapes:
Straight skirt, a tailored skirt hanging straight from the hips and fitted from the waist to the hips by means of darts or a yoke; may have a
kick-pleat for ease of walking
Full skirt, a skirt with fullness gathered into the waistband
A-line skirt, a skirt with a slight flare, roughly in the shape of a capital letter A
Pleated skirt, a skirt with fullness reduced to fit the waist by means of regular
pleats ('plaits') or folds, which can be stitched flat to hip-level or free-hanging
Circle skirt, a skirt cut in sections to make one or more circles with a hole for the waist, so the skirt is very full but hangs smoothly from the waist without darts, pleats, or gathers
Fads and fashions:
*
Hobble skirt, a fashion of the early 20th century, with fullness at the hips narrowing to the ankles
*
Poodle skirt, a circle or near-circle skirt with an
appliqued poodle or other decoration (1950s)
*
Dirndl, a skirt made of a straight length of fabric gathered at the waist
*
Prairie skirt, a flared skirt with one or more flounces or tiers (1970s and on)
*
Kilt-skirt, a wrap-around skirt with overlapping aprons in front and pleated around the back. Though traditionally designed as women's wear, it is fashioned to mimic somewhat closely the general appearance of a (man's) kilt, including the usage of a plaid pattern more or less closely resembling those of recognized tartan patterns of Scotland.
*
Miniskirt, a thigh-length skirt, and
micromini, an
extremely short version (1960s)
*Maxiskirt, a midcalf-length skirt (1970s)
*
Broomstick skirt, a skirt with many crumpled pleats formed by compressing and twisting the garment while wet (1980s and on)
*
Sarong, a square of fabric wrapped around the body and tied on one hip to make a skirt; worn as a skirt or as a cover-up over a bathing suit in tropical climates.
*
Trouser skirt, a straight skirt with the part above the hips tailored like men's
trousers, with belt loops, pockets, and fly front
*
Jean skirt, A trouser skirt made of denim designed like 5-pocket
jeansIn Europe and America skirts and dresses can be worn by females of all ages when they are not wearing
pants. A skirt may be worn as part of a
suit. Skirts or dresses are the garments of choice for many women in formal situations, such as
weddings and
geopolitical summits. In cold climates, girls and women may wear trousers or
long underwear for warmth and/or modesty, with a skirt or dress on top to mark their femininity or other reasons (for instance, since they happen to be "in-fashion" at the time). In traditional societies, such as in many countries in
Africa, the
Middle East and
Central and
South America, it is considered inappropriate for girls and women to wear trousers rather than a skirt or dress.
A disadvantage of skirts and dresses that contributes to many girls and women preferring trousers and
shorts is that they may be either too long and therefore limit freedom of movement such as when climbing ladders, or too short, in which case one, because of
modesty will need to take the trouble when sitting down, such as crossing legs, to avoid exposure of the
underwear. Dresses however can be cooler and less confining than many trouser styles, and they are still very popular for special occasions such as
proms or
weddings.
|
Greek Evzones wearing the Traditional Greek 'Foustanella' Kilt |
Skirts, dresses, and their like are still considered primarily women's garments in the West and some other parts of the world, and the wearing of them by men in these areas is generally considered
cross-dressing. In some countries and regions, though, the wearing of these garments is either normal or accepted as traditional costume. Examples include:
*The Scottish
kilt*Throughout most of
Southeast Asia and the
Pacific Islands,
sarongs are worn by both men and women.
*The
kaftan is worn by men in the eastern
Mediterranean.
*The
djellaba is worn by men in
Morocco and other parts of
Africa.
*The
thobe is commonly worn by men in
Arabia.
*The
foustanella, worn by men in
Greece and the Balkans up to the mid-20th century.
*The
pāreu, a dress worn by both men and women in
TahitiIn Western fashion, attempts are occasionally made by fashion designers such as
Jean-Paul Gaultier,
[Bravehearts: Men in Skirts exhibition (Nov 2003 to Feb 2004) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.[1]] or by the manufacturers of
contemporary kilts to promote the acceptance of skirts as everyday wear for men. Notable past and present wearers of these contemporary versions include
Samuel L. Jackson,
David Beckham and
Tom Cruise.
Skirts and dresses are, like other outer clothing, usually worn with
underwear. The
kilt, on the other hand, is often worn without underwear. Indeed the uniforms of several Scottish military regiments mandate wearing no underwear with the kilt except at specified occasions.
*
clothing*
clothing terminology*
blouse*
bustle*
crinoline*
gown*
miniskirt*
sarong*
qipao*
tunic*
jean skirt*
Oxford English Dictionary* Brockmamn, Helen L.:
The Theory of Fashion Design, Wiley, 1965.
* Picken, Mary Brooks:
The Fashion Dictionary, Funk and Wagnalls, 1957. (1973 edition ISBN 0308100522)
* Tozer, Jane, and Sarah Levitt:
Fabric of Society: A Century of People and Their Clothes 1770-1870, Laura Ashley Ltd., 1983; ISBN 0950891304
*
Stylopedia -- an online dictionary of fashion details*
ApparelSeach glossary of textile and apparel terms*
An international dress size converter
