skirt
{{Short description|Clothing worn from the waist or hips}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox clothing item
| image_file = Skirt.jpg
| type = Clothing worn from the waist or hips.
| material = fabric
}}
A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards.{{Cite OED | Skirt }}
At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are fitted to the body at the waist or hips and fuller below, with the fullness introduced by means of darts, gores, pleats, or panels. Modern skirts are usually made of light to mid-weight fabrics, such as denim, jersey, worsted, or poplin. Skirts of thin or clingy fabrics are often worn with slips to make the material of the skirt drape better and for modesty.
In modern times, skirts are very commonly worn by women and girls. Some exceptions include the izaar, worn by many Muslim cultures, and the kilt, a traditional men's garment in Scotland, Ireland, and sometimes England.
The hemline of skirts can vary from micro to floor-length and can vary according to cultural conceptions of modesty and aesthetics as well as the wearer's personal taste, which can be influenced by such factors as fashion and social context. Most skirts are complete garments, but some skirt-looking panels may be part of another garment such as leggings, shorts, and swimsuits.
History
= Prehistory and ancient history =
File:BronzeAge01.jpg tomb in Borum Eshøj, Denmark]]
Skirts have been worn since prehistoric times as the simplest way to cover the lower body. Figurines produced by the Vinča culture ({{Circa|5700}}–4500 BC) located on the territory of present-day Serbia and neighboring Balkans from the start of the Copper Age show women in skirt-like garments.{{cite news |last1=Cvekic |first1=Ljilja |title=Prehistoric women had passion for fashion |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/us-archaeology-balkans-idUSL0782181520071112 |access-date=19 September 2016 |work=Reuters |date=12 November 2007 |archive-date=19 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919225918/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-archaeology-balkans-idUSL0782181520071112 |url-status=live }}
A straw-woven skirt dating to 3900 BC was discovered in Armenia at the Areni-1 cave.{{cite web |url=http://news.am/eng/news/73915.html |title=5,900-year-old women's skirt discovered in Armenian cave |work=News Armenia |date=September 13, 2011 |access-date=September 14, 2011 |archive-date=October 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010142655/https://news.am/eng/news/73915.html |url-status=live}} Skirts were the standard attire for men and women in all ancient cultures in the Near East and Egypt. The Sumerians in Mesopotamia wore kaunakes ({{langx|grc|καυνάκης|translit=kaunákēs}}, ultimately from {{langx|sux|{{cuneiform|𒌆𒄖𒅘𒆪}} TÚGGU-NAK-KU}}),[http://translate.enacademic.com/γαυνάκης/el/ Unknown]{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{Cite book |url=https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/cad_g.pdf |title=Chicago Assyrian Dictionary, Volume 5|pages=134|access-date=2023-04-06|archive-date=2022-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922111212/https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/cad_g.pdf|url-status=live}} a type of fur skirt tied to a belt. The term originally referred to a sheep's fleece, but eventually came to be applied to the garment itself. Eventually, the animal pelts were replaced by "kaunakes cloth", a textile that imitated fleecy sheepskin.Boucher, Francois (1987): 20.000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment. New York: Harry N. Abrams Kaunakes cloth also served as a symbol in religious iconography, such as in the fleecy cloak of John the Baptist.The Bible: Genesis 12:4-5Roberts, J.M. (1998): The Illustrated History of the World. Time-Life Books. Volume 1. p. 84
File:Vincha 066.jpg|Vinča figurine depicting a skirt
File:Fur skirt.jpg|Sumerian man wearing a kaunakes, {{Circa|3000 BC}}
File:Egyptian kilt.jpg|Statue of Ramaat, an official from Giza wearing a pleated Egyptian kilt, {{Circa|2250 BC}}
Ancient Egyptian garments were mainly made of linen. For the upper classes, they were beautifully woven and intricately pleated.Barber, Elisabeth J.W. (1991): Prehistoric Textiles: The Development of Cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages with Special Reference to the Aegean. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p.12 Around 2130 BC, during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, men wore wraparound skirts (kilts) known as the shendyt. They were made of a rectangular piece of cloth wrapped around the lower body and tied in front. By the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, longer skirts, reaching from the waist to ankles and sometimes hanging from the armpits, became fashionable. During the New Kingdom of Egypt, kilts with a pleated triangular section became fashionable for men.Rief Anawalt, Patricia (2007): The Worldwide History of Dress. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 25 Beneath these, a shente, or triangular loincloth whose ends were fastened with cord ties, were worn.Rief Anawalt, Patricia (2007): The Worldwide History of Dress. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 24
During the Bronze Age, in the Southern parts of Western and Central Europe, wraparound dress-like garments were preferred. However, in Northern Europe, people also wore skirts and blouses.Koch-Mertens, Wiebke (2000): Der Mensch und seine Kleider: Die Kulturgeschichte der Mode bis 1900. Artemis & Winkler: Düsseldorf Zürich. pp. 49-51
= Early modern history =
File:Duan Qun Miao women from a One Hundred Miao Pictures album, pre-1912.gif
In the Middle Ages, men and women preferred dress-like garments. The lower part of men's dresses were much shorter in length compared to those for women. They were wide cut and often pleated or gored so that horse riding was more comfortable. Even a knight's armor had a short metal skirt below the breastplate. It covered the straps attaching the upper legs iron cuisse to the breastplate. Technological advances in weaving in the 13th–15th century, like foot-treadle floor looms and scissors with pivoted blades and handles, improved tailoring trousers and tights. They became fashionable for men and henceforth became standard male attire whilst becoming taboo for women.Tortora, Phyllis G. et al. (2014): Dictionary of Fashion. New York: Fairchild Books. p. 11Koch-Mertens, Wiebke (2000): Der Mensch und seine Kleider: Die Kulturgeschichte der Mode bis 1900. Artemis & Winkler: Düsseldorf Zürich. pp. 156-162
One of the earliest known cultures to have females wear clothing resembling miniskirts were the Duan Qun Miao ({{lang-zh|短裙苗}}), which literally means "Short Skirt Miao". This was in reference to the short miniskirts "that barely cover the buttocks" worn by women of the tribe, and which were probably shocking to observers in premodern and early modern times.{{cite book|title=Cultural Encounters on China's Ethnic Frontiers|first=Stevan|last=Harrell|year=1995|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=0-295-97528-8|pages=98 & 103}}
In the Middle Ages, some upper-class women wore skirts over three meters in diameter at the bottom.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} At the other extreme, the miniskirts of the 1960s were minimal garments that may have barely covered the underwear when the woman was seated. Costume historians{{Who|date=August 2011}} typically use the word "petticoat" to describe skirt-like garments of the 18th century or earlier.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}
= 19th century =
File:The Evolution of the Skirt (1916).webm
During the 19th 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 and increased dramatically to the hoopskirt and crinoline-supported styles of the 1860s; then fullness was draped and drawn to the back by means of bustles. In the 1890s, the rainy daisy skirt was introduced for walking or sportswear. It had a significantly shorter hemline measuring as much as six inches off the ground and would eventually influence the wider introduction of shorter hemlines in the early 20th century.{{cite book|last1=Hill|first1=Daniel Delis|title=As seen in Vogue : a century of American fashion in advertising|date=2007|publisher=Texas Tech University Press|location=Lubbock, Tex. |isbn=978-0-89672-616-1 |pages=23–25|edition=1. pbk. print.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MvilOZhaRkAC&pg=PR35}}
In the 19th century, in the United States and United Kingdom, there was a movement against skirts as part of the Victorian dress reform movement, and in the United States, the National Dress Reform Association.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} There was also the invention of different ways to wear skirts. For example, in 1851, early women's rights advocate Elizabeth Smith Miller introduced Amelia Bloomer to a garment initially known as the "Turkish dress", which featured a knee-length skirt over Turkish-style pantaloons.{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/wori/learn/historyculture/elizabeth-smith-miller.htm |title=Elizabeth Smith Miller - Women's Rights National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) |publisher=Nps.gov |access-date=2018-12-23 |archive-date=2014-02-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203155942/http://www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/elizabeth-smith-miller.htm |url-status=live }} Bloomer came to advocate and promote the dress, including instructions for making it, in The Lily, a newspaper dedicated to the "Emancipation of Woman from Intemperance, Injustice, Prejudice, and Bigotry". This inspired a craze for the dress, which came to be known as bloomers.{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/wori/learn/historyculture/amelia-bloomer.htm |title=Amelia Bloomer - Women's Rights National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) |publisher=Nps.gov |access-date=2018-12-23 |archive-date=2022-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202164131/https://www.nps.gov/wori/learn/historyculture/amelia-bloomer.htm |url-status=live }} Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucy Stone, other early advocates for women's rights, also adopted this style of dress in the 1850s, referring to it as the "freedom dress".{{Cite journal |last=Kesselman |first=Amy |date=1991 |title=The "Freedom Suit": Feminism and Dress Reform in the United States, 1848-1875 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/190097 |journal=Gender and Society |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=495–510 |doi=10.1177/089124391005004004 |jstor=190097 |s2cid=143461978 |issn=0891-2432 |access-date=2022-06-19 |archive-date=2022-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505202946/https://www.jstor.org/stable/190097 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} Concurrently, some female labourers, notably the pit brow women working at coal pits in the Wigan area, began wearing trousers beneath a short skirt as a practical component of their uniform. This attracted the attention of the public, and various photographers produced records of the women's unconventional manner of dress through the mid to late 19th century.{{Cite web |last=Frost |first=Natasha |date=2017-09-21 |title=The Women Miners in Pants Who Shocked Victorian Britain |url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/pit-brow-lasses-women-miners-victorian-britain-pants |access-date=2024-07-20 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}
= 20th and 21st centuries =
File:Tuska 20130630 - Amaranthe - 25.jpg
{{Citation needed span|After 1915, ankle-length skirts were not generally worn in the daytime. For the next fifty years fashionable skirts became short (1920s), then long (1930s), then shorter (in the War Years with their restrictions on fabric), then long (the "New Look"), then shortest of all from 1967 to 1970, when skirts became as short as possible while avoiding exposure of underwear, which was considered taboo.|date=September 2024}}
{{Citation needed span|Since the 1970s and the rise of pants/trousers for women 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.|date=September 2024}}
Fashion designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, Kenzo and Marc Jacobs have also shown men's skirts. Transgressing social codes, Gaultier frequently introduces the skirt into his men's wear collections as a means of injecting novelty into male attire, most famously the sarong seen on David Beckham.Fogg, Marnie (2011) The Fashion Design Directory. London: Thames & Hudson. p.165,316
Styles
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2024}}
= Lengths =
= Basic types =
| class="wikitable"
|+ | ||
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 100px | A-line skirt | A skirt that is fitted at the hips and gradually widens towards the hem, giving the impression of the shape of a capital letter A.[http://www.wwd.com/fashion-resources/fashion-dictionary Women's Wear Daily: Glossary] |
| Bell-shaped skirt | A bell-shaped skirt, flared noticeably from the waist but then, unlike a church bell, cylindrical for much of its length. | |
| 100px | 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. |
| 100px | Culottes | A form of divided skirt, split skirt, or pantskirt constructed like a pair of shorts, but hanging like a skirt.{{cite book |last1=Yarwood |first1=Doreen |author-link=Doreen Yarwood |title=Illustrated encyclopedia of world costume |date=2011 |publisher=Dover Publications, Inc. |location=Mineola, N.Y. |isbn=9780486433806 |page=376 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UdP_sSKIxf0C&pg=PA376}} |
| 100px | Full skirt | A skirt with fullness gathered into the waistband. |
| 100px | Gored skirt | A skirt that fits through the waistline and flares at the hem. May be made of from four to twenty-four shaped sections. Dates from the 14th century and much used in the 19th century. Very popular in the late 1860s, mid-1890s, early 20th century, 1930s, 1940s, and now worn as a classic skirt style.Tortora, Phyllis G. et al. (2014): Dictionary of Fashion. New York: Fairchild Books. pp. 370-374 |
| Inverted pleated skirt | A skirt made by bringing two folds of fabric to a center line in front and/ or back. May be cut straight at sides or be slightly flared. Has been a basic type of skirt since the 1920s. | |
| 100px | Pleated skirt | A skirt with regular pleats ('plaits') or folds, which can be stitched flat to hip-level or free-hanging. |
| 100px | Slit skirt/Split skirt | A skirt that has one or more slits (or splits). |
| 100px | Pencil skirt | A slim-fitting skirt with a straight, narrow cut. Generally the hem falls to, or is just below, the knee and is tailored for a close fit. It is named for its shape: long and slim like a pencil.{{cite news |first=Robin |last=Givhan|author-link=Robin Givhan |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Fall Fashions |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64300-2003Aug15.html |date=August 18, 2003}}{{cite web |publisher=Kohl's Corporation |title=Glossary of Fabric & Fashion Terms |url=http://www.kohlscorporation.com/ecom/valueadded/glossary.htm#P |access-date=February 3, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510140212/http://www.kohlscorporation.com/ecom/valueadded/Glossary.htm#P |archive-date=May 10, 2012 }} |
| 100px | Underskirt | Simple, basic skirt over which an overskirt, or drapery, hangs. |
| 100px | Wrap or wraparound skirt | A skirt that wraps around the waist with an overlap of material. |
= Some non-basic types =
| class="wikitable"
|+ | ||
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 100px | Ballerina skirt | Also referred to as a Juliet skirt or a romance skirt, it is a full skirt that is worn by ballet dancers and is composed of multiple layers of fabric. Ballet dancers wear the longer version of the skirt, while for fashion purposes the skirt is worn shorter, like a mini skirt for better dancing, the cocktail version.{{Cite web |title=What is a Ballerina Skirt? |url=http://www.wise-geek.com/what-is-a-ballerina-skirt.htm |access-date=2022-03-02 |website=www.wise-geek.com |first=Erica |last=Stratton|language=en-US}} |
| Broomstick skirt | A light-weight ankle-length skirt with many crumpled pleats formed by compressing and twisting the garment while wet, such as around a broomstick. | |
| Bubble skirt | Also called a balloon skirt. A voluminous skirt with a hem that is tucked back under to create a "bubble effect" at the bottom. Popular in the 1950s, 1980s, and again in the 2010s. | |
| Cargo skirt | A plain utilitarian skirt with belt loops and numerous large pockets, based on the military style of cargo pants and popularised in the 1990s. | |
| 100px | Dirndl | A skirt in the Bavarian-Austrian dirndl style, made of a straight length of fabric gathered at the waist. The style derives from Tyrolean peasant costume. |
| 100px | Denim skirt | A skirt made of denim, often designed like 5-pocket jeans, but found in a large variety of styles. |
| 100px | Godet skirt | A skirt with godets, triangular pieces of fabric inserted upward from the hem to create more fullness. Popular in the 1930s. |
| 100px | Hobble skirt | A skirt with a narrow enough hem to significantly impede the wearer's stride. It was called a "hobble skirt" because it seemed to hobble any woman as she walked. Hobble skirts were a short-lived fashion trend that peaked between 1908 and 1914.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hDkVCwAAQBAJ&q=hobble+skirt&pg=RA2-PA176|title=Clothing and Fashion: American Fashion from Head to Toe [4 volumes]: American Fashion from Head to Toe|last1=F|first1=José Blanco|last2=Hunt-Hurst|first2=Patricia Kay|last3=Lee|first3=Heather Vaughan|last4=Doering|first4=Mary|date=2015-11-23|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781610693103|language=en}} |
| 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 the general appearance of a man's kilt. | |
| 100px | Leather skirt | A skirt made of leather. |
| 100px | Lehenga | Also called Ghagra or Garara. A long, pleated skirt, often embroidered, worn mostly as the bottom part of the Gagra choli in North India and Pakistan.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7c8TBQhoAIC&pg=PA148 |title=Social Science a Textbook in History for Class IX as per New Syllabus|work=google.co.in}} |
| 100px | Mandala skirt | A skirt with a mandala motif. |
| 100px | Mini-crini | A mini-length version of the crinoline, designed by Vivienne Westwood in the mid 1980s.{{cite web |last1=Staff writer |title=Vivienne Westwood designs |url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/v/vivienne-westwood-designs/ |publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum |access-date=5 June 2015 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906113937/http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/v/vivienne-westwood-designs/ |url-status=live }} |
| 100px | Poodle skirt | A wide swing felt skirt of a solid color displaying a design appliquéd or transferred to the fabric,Stephen Feinstein: The 1950s. 2006 created by Juli Lynne Charlot in 1947.{{Cite news |last=Fox |first=Margalit |author-link=Margalit Fox |date=March 4, 2024 |title=Juli Lynne Charlot, Creator of the Poodle Skirt, Dies at 101 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/04/fashion/juli-lynne-charlot-dead.html |access-date=March 5, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305000012/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/04/fashion/juli-lynne-charlot-dead.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://thevintagetraveler.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/interview-with-juli-lynne-charlot/ |title=Interview with Juli Lynne Charlot |access-date=31 January 2011 |date=28 April 2010 |publisher=The Vintage Traveler}} The design was often a coiffed poodle. Later substitutes for the poodle patch included flamingoes, flowers, and hot rod cars.Charles Panati: Panati’s Parade of Fads, Follies, and Manias 1991 |
| Puffball skirt | Also called "puff" or "pouf". A bouffant skirt caught in at the hem to create a puffed silhouette. Popular in the mid-late 1980s when it was inspired by Vivienne Westwood’s "mini-crini".{{cite book |last1=Evans |first1=Caroline |editor1-last=Breward |editor1-first=Christopher |editor2-last=Ehrman |editor2-first=Edwina |editor3-last=Evans |editor3-first=Caroline |title=The London look : fashion from street to catwalk |date=2004 |publisher=Yale University Press / Museum of London |page=149 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THRGcg6viZwC&pg=PA149 |location=New Haven |isbn=9780300103991 |chapter=Cultural Capital 1976–2000}} | |
| 100px | Rah-rah skirt/Cheerleader skirt | A short, tiered, and often colourful skirt fashionable in the early-mid-1980s. |
| 100px | Sarong | A square or rectangle of fabric wrapped around the body and tied on one hip to create a skirt that can be worn by both sexes. |
| 100px | Skort | A skirt with a pair of integral shorts hidden underneath.{{cite web|url=http://www.apparelsearch.com/Definitions/Clothing/culottes.htm|title=Culottes Skirt is a Skort|website=www.apparelsearch.com|access-date=29 January 2019}} |
| 100px | Skater skirt | A short, high-waisted circle skirt with a hemline above the knee, often made of lighter materials to give the flowing effect that mimics the skirts of figure skaters. |
| 100px | Spank skirt | Also called spanking skirt. A skirt that has an additional opening in back designed to expose the buttocks, so that the wearer can be spanked without removing or repositioning the skirt. Considered fetish wear, these kind of skirts are typically tight-fitting and made of fetishistic materials such as leather, PVC or latex. |
| Squaw dress | A one or two piece outfit based on Native American clothing. Fashionable in the 1940s and 1950s.{{Cite web|url=http://arizonasonoranewsservice.com/the-squaw-dress-tucsons-controversial-but-unique-fashion-history/|title=The squaw dress: Tucson's controversial but unique fashion history |last=Driver|first=Maggie|date=21 April 2016|website=Arizona Sonora News|access-date=2018-01-17|archive-date=2018-01-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118011417/http://arizonasonoranewsservice.com/the-squaw-dress-tucsons-controversial-but-unique-fashion-history/}} | |
| Swing skirt | A flared skirt, circular or cut in gores, fitted at hips with a wide flare at the hem. Popular in the late 1930s and at interval since. Very popular in the mid-1980s. | |
| File:Phoenix Rising TSkirt (cropped).jpg | T-skirt | A skirt made from a tee-shirt. The T-skirt is generally modified to result in a pencil skirt, with invisible zippers, full length two-way separating side zippers, as well as artful fabric overlays and yokes. |
| 100px | Tiered skirt | A skirt made of several horizontal layers, each wider than the one above, and divided by stitching. Layers may look identical in solid-colored garments, or may differ when made of printed fabrics. |
| 100px | Prairie skirt | Variant of a tiered skirt, a flared skirt with one or more flounces or tiers (1970s and on). |
| Trouser skirt | A straight skirt with the part above the hips tailored like men's trousers, with belt loops, pockets, and fly front. | |
| |Tulip skirt
|A skirt wrapped over at its front and that bears angled ends which make it form a tulip shape. |
Male wear
{{Main|Men's skirts}}
File:Utilkilt beige.jpg, 2010]]
There are a number of garments marketed to men which fall under the category of "skirt" or "dress". These go by a variety of names and form part of the traditional dress for men from various cultures. Usage varies – the dhoti is part of everyday dress on the Indian subcontinent while the kilt is more usually restricted to occasional wear and the fustanella is used almost exclusively as costume. Robes, which are a type of dress for men, have existed in many cultures, including the Japanese kimono, the Chinese cheongsam, the Arabic thobe, and the African Senegalese kaftan. Robes are also used in some religious orders, such as the cassock in Christianity and various robes and cloaks that may be used in pagan rituals. Examples of men's skirts and skirt-like garments from various cultures include:
- The fustanella is a full-pleated skirt worn by men in Albania and Greece and other parts of the Balkans. By the mid-20th century, it was relegated to ceremonial use and as period or traditional costume. It is worn by the Evzones, or Evzoni (Greek: Εύζωνες, Εύζωνοι, pronounced [evˈzones, evˈzoni]), which is the name of several historical elite light infantry and mountain units of the Greek Army. Today, it refers to the members of the Presidential Guard who parade the presidential mansion wearing a short version of this historic costume.
- The gho is a knee-length robe worn by men in Bhutan. They are required to wear it every day as part of national dress in government offices, in schools and on formal occasions.{{cite web|title=Gho & Kira: The National Dress|url=http://www.raonline.ch/pages/bt/visin2/bt_dress01.html|work=Bhutan's Culture|publisher=RAOnline|access-date=31 July 2010|archive-date=27 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127175554/http://raonline.ch/pages/bt/visin2/bt_dress01.html|url-status=live}}
- The hakama is worn in Japan. There are two types of hakama, divided umanori (馬乗り, "horse-riding hakama") and undivided andon hakama (行灯袴, "lantern hakama"). The umanori type has wide and divided legs, similar to culottes. Some hakamas are pleated.
- The kilt is a skirt of Gaelic and Celtic history, part of the Scottish national dress in particular, and is worn formally and to a lesser extent informally. Irish and Welsh kilts also exist but are not so much a part of national identity.
- The sarong is a piece of cloth that may be wrapped around the waist to form a skirt-like garment. Sarongs exist in various cultures under various names, including the pareo and lavalava of the Hawaiian islands and Polynesia (Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, and Fiji), the Indian dhoti and lungi, and the South Indian and Maldivian mundu.
Aside from the wearing of kilts, in the Western world skirts, dresses, and similar garments are generally viewed exclusively as women's clothing which, historically, was not always the case.{{cite web|title=The History Of Men & Skirts|url=https://www.bustle.com/p/the-history-of-men-skirts-58088|work=Bustle|first=JR|last=Thorpe|date=22 May 2017|access-date=5 Oct 2018|archive-date=6 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006035038/https://www.bustle.com/p/the-history-of-men-skirts-58088|url-status=live}} However, some Western men have taken up skirts as forms of civil protest.{{cite web|title=These Men in Skirts and Dresses Protested Workplace Dress Codes. Lo and Behold, They Won|url=https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/these-men-in-skirts-and-dresses-protested-workplace-dress-codes-lo-and-behold-th.html|work=Inc.|date=27 June 2017|access-date=5 Oct 2018|first=Bill Jr. |last=Murphy|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204072049/https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/these-men-in-skirts-and-dresses-protested-workplace-dress-codes-lo-and-behold-th.html|url-status=live}} Other Western men advocate skirts as a measure of co-equality between women and men.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
Norms and policies
The skirt is a part of uniforms for girls in many schools around the world, with lengths varying depending on local culture. The pleated tartan skirt began as a component of girls' school uniforms in the early twentieth century in the United Kingdom.{{cite book|last1=Brown |first1=Ian|title=From Tartan to Tartanry: Scottish Culture, History and Myth, page 177|date=2010|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|location=Edinburgh|isbn=978-0748644490}} Most UK schools now allow girls to wear trousers, but many girls still wear skirts in primary and secondary schools, even where the choice of trousers is given. In the late 20th and early 21st century, many schools began changing their uniform rules to allow trousers for girls amidst opposition to skirts-only policies - the most publicised possibly being Jo Hale vs Whickham Comprehensive in 2000.{{cite web |first=Rebecca |last=Smithers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2000/feb/24/schools.news |title=Girl wins battle to wear trousers to school | Education |work=The Guardian |date=2000-02-24 |access-date=2014-07-30 |archive-date=2014-05-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509000121/http://www.theguardian.com/education/2000/feb/24/schools.news |url-status=live }} Although it is commonly accepted that girls may wear trousers to school, no test case is known to have been brought before the courts, making the legal position uncertain on requiring skirts as part of girls' uniforms. The rule is still enforced in many schools, particularly independent and selective state schools. In fact, United Kingdom government guidelines expressly state the decision of allowing girls to wear trousers is with individual schools.{{cite web |title=School uniform |publisher=GOV.UK |date=2014-06-27 |url=https://www.gov.uk/school-uniform |access-date=2014-07-30 |archive-date=2019-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227055656/https://www.gov.uk/school-uniform |url-status=live }}
In the 1980s in Puerto Rico, Ana Irma Rivera Lassén was not allowed to enter court in trousers and was told to wear a skirt. She sued the judge and won.{{cite news|title=Mujer de intersecciones|url=http://www.elnuevodia.com/estilosdevida/hogar/nota/mujerdeintersecciones-1264798/|access-date=19 February 2016 |publisher=El Nuevo Día|date=27 May 2012|location=Guaynabo, Puerto Rico|language=es|archive-date=19 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219230951/http://www.elnuevodia.com/estilosdevida/hogar/nota/mujerdeintersecciones-1264798/|url-status=live}}
In 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled against the Charter Day School in North Carolina, which had required girls to wear skirts due to the idea that girls are "fragile vessels" deserving "gentle" treatment from boys. The court ruled the requirement was unconstitutional.{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/north-carolina-schools-requirement-that-girls-wear-skirts-unconstitutional-court-rules/ar-AAYsQMn|title=North Carolina charter school's skirt requirement for girls unconstitutional, court rules |website=MSN |first=Nate |last=Raymond|access-date=2022-06-19|archive-date=2022-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615042556/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/north-carolina-schools-requirement-that-girls-wear-skirts-unconstitutional-court-rules/ar-AAYsQMn|url-status=dead}}
Since 2004, the International Skating Union has allowed women to wear trousers instead of skirts in competition if they wish.{{cite web|url=http://www.skatetoday.com/2004/12/05/slovak-pair-tests-new-isu-costume-rules/|title=Slovak Pair Tests New ISU Costume Rules |website=skatetoday.com |first=Barry |last=Mittan |access-date=2022-06-19|archive-date=2020-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408180251/http://www.skatetoday.com/2004/12/05/slovak-pair-tests-new-isu-costume-rules/|url-status=dead}}
Dancing
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2024}}
Many forms of dancing require women to wear skirts or dresses, either by convention or competition rules. In Scottish highland dancing, for example, women wear the Aboyne dress, which actually involves a skirt, for the national dances, and wear a kilt-based outfit for the Highland dances.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
- Brockmamn, Helen L.: The Theory of Fashion Design, Wiley, 1965.
- Picken, Mary Brooks: The Fashion Dictionary, Funk and Wagnalls, 1957. (1973 edition {{ISBN|0-308-10052-2}})
- Tozer, Jane, and Sarah Levitt: Fabric of Society: A Century of People and Their Clothes 1770–1870, Laura Ashley Ltd., 1983; {{ISBN|0-9508913-0-4}}
External links
{{Wiktionary|skirt}}
{{Commons category|Skirts}}
{{Commons category|Miniskirts}}
- [http://www.apparelsearch.com/glossary.htm Apparel Search glossary of textile and apparel terms]
- [http://www.85b.org/dress_conv.php An international dress size converter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707045553/http://www.85b.org/dress_conv.php |date=2007-07-07 }}
- [http://www.koreabang.com/2013/stories/new-south-korean-law-might-make-miniskirts-illegal.html New South Korean Law Might Make Miniskirts Illegal]
- [http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/04/france-revokes-214-year-old-law-that-made-it-illegal-for-women-to-wear-pants.html France Revokes 214-Year-Old Law That Made It Illegal For Women To Wear Pants]
{{Clothing}}
{{Historical clothing}}
{{Authority control}}