The history of the appearance of the skirt briefly. Brief history of the skirt. The history of the skirt
It is believed that the first prototype of the skirt was a simple loincloth. As you know, the clothes of ancient people had no differences, and bandages in the form of animal skins served as a protective function. At that time, no one thought about aesthetic appeal. The loincloths did not express the wearer's social status, gender, culture, or race.
The inhabitants of ancient Rome and Greece preferred to wear tunics and togas instead of skirts. True, sometimes one could occasionally find a long skhenti skirt, it was wrapped around the hip and tied at the waist with a cord.
A skirt as a necessary thing in a woman's wardrobe
For the first time, a skirt, as a necessary item of women's wardrobe, began to be used in Spain and only in the 16th century. For its tailoring, metal or wooden hoops were used, on which it was held. The skirt at the waist was narrow, and expanded towards the bottom, precious stones were used for decoration, simpler options were decorated with ribbons. The large weight of the skirt made it difficult to move and caused a lot of inconvenience. Later frame skirts became fashionable in France and Germany. Then drapery and a train began to be used to decorate them.
In the 18th century, there was a fashion for skeleton skirts, consisting of metal plates that formed hoops between themselves. They called them skirts on fizhma. More flexible designs made it easier for girls to move around and quickly became popular. However, after the French Revolution, heavy and uncomfortable designs quickly fell out of fashion. The appearance of the skirt has been greatly simplified. It became more comfortable, and simply tied at the waist.
During the restoration frame skirts will return to fashion for a short time. But for the manufacture of the frame of the skirt they already used, not metal, but horsehair. It was later called the crinoline. Then there were skirts with bustles, with special pads that were placed at the back. Bows, embroideries, ribbons were used from decorations.
In the last century, a narrow skirt came into fashion. She was also called a lame skirt. Because it was so narrow that you could only move slowly in it, as if you were limping a little.
New types and forms of skirts
It is believed that new types and forms of skirts arose thanks to dancing. For example, under the influence of tango, a slit skirt appeared, and with the popularity of rock and roll, fluffy skirts became fashionable. But it was Coco Chanel who came up with the idea to make the skirt short. True, she also predicted that the skirt would not be shortened further. But fashion is changing rapidly and by the end of the last century, the skirt became more like the same loincloth worn by ancient people.
Of course, the latter circumstance does not at all prevent you from choosing a skirt of any length and style. Right now there is complete and unlimited freedom in choosing your option.
To date, the skirt is the subject of women's wardrobe. The only exception is the kilt, and even then, Scottish men do not wear it daily, but take it out of the closets on holidays and significant days. But at the dawn of mankind, the division into men's and women's clothing Ancient people covered only the lower half of the body, using the skins of dead animals or plant leaves for this. We can say that it was then that the history of the appearance of the skirt began.
The term "skirt", which originated from the Arabic word "jubba", for a long time meant knee-length clothes, gathered at the collar and belted, as well as the lower part of the dress. Only in the 15th-16th century did the skirt separate from the dress, when they began to practice cutting it separately from the bodice.
For the first few millennia, people were equal, so men, women, old people and children dressed approximately the same. But evolution does not stand still: living conditions have changed, moral, ethical and religious differences have appeared, clothing has also changed. As ancient Greek and Roman history shows us, women in those days did not have skirts in the modern sense of the word, they wore sleeveless tunics and raincoats. And the men of those centuries showed their importance with the length of the outfit, and young boys wore short clothes, rich and revered men wore longer ones.
The further history of skirts confirms that the practice of demonstrating one's status with the help of the length of clothing survived into subsequent centuries. Only now women began to do this, because gradually the skirt migrated to the women's wardrobe.
Moral and religious prescriptions forbade ladies to show their legs to others, all women began to wear floor-length dresses, but long trains came to the aid of representatives of the rich classes. The Church tried to show that before God all people are equal. Medieval religious figures did not care about the history of skirts, they declared trains to be the invention of the devil and denied absolution to all ladies in "long-tailed" dresses. But, despite all the prohibitions, trains remained popular for several more centuries. The history of the skirt briefly preserved information about the longest train in the world. The dress for the coronation of Queen Catherine II was complemented by a seventy-meter "tail", which was carried by fifty pages.
But fashion is changeable, and in the sixteenth century, ladies begin to show off the splendor and width of their skirts. This style began to be called "verdugado", from the Spanish word "verdugo" - "hoop". It was the Spanish fashion designers who came up with the frame of the hoops, which made the skirt voluminous, but did not prevent women from moving relatively easily. Sometimes the outfits were so immense that the ladies could hardly squeeze through the doorways.
It does not stop there, numerous petticoats come to replace the frame. In the nineteenth century, the crinoline and bustle were invented. And the skirt in the form in which we know it appeared only in the twentieth century. Mini, with a slit, pencils and pleated - in the arsenal of modern women there is a huge variety of such seductive wardrobe details.
People did not immediately divide clothes into men's and women's, for thousands of years they did not see the need for this.
Ancient Greek and Roman women did without skirts, their clothes consisted mainly of a chiton or tunic and a cloak.
Strictly speaking, a skirt is a piece of clothing from the waist down.
It is believed that the word "skirt" has the same progenitor with "fur coat": both come from the Arabic word "jubba", which was called a sleeveless cloth tunic.
In the history of the skirt, we find confirmation that all classes did not miss the opportunity to emphasize the significance of their person even with its help. The train served this purpose very well (
XV in.). The church declared trains "devil's tails" and denied absolution to all ladies who dared to wear them.Three centuries later, the train was even more held in high esteem at European courts.
Catherine's coronation dress had the most impressive train.
II - 70 meters long and 7 meters wide, it was carried by 50 pages.In the 16th century, skirts of immense width appeared, which were arranged in several tiers or stuffed with horsehair. Skirts became so heavy that women could not wear them.
And then for the skirts they came up with a frame made of hoops. The skirt of those times is a whole structure: having installed it on the floor, they simply “entered” it, and then fastened it to the corset.
In the 17th century, clothing became more comfortable, loose. And the effect of wide hips was created by wearing skirts. The number of skirts in winter reached 12 pieces. All skirts were decorated with embroidery, lace, flounces. The lowest skirt was one. While this skirt was in the wash, the hostess was forced to lie in bed under the covers.
By the 18th century, the domed skirt returned. Frames were built again, fabrics were stretched over them. Numerous metal (wooden) slats, connected with oilcloth, made rustling sounds, so the skirt was called "screamer".
In such a skirt it was impossible to come to church. The naughty ones were publicly stripped of their skirts and burned.
Fancy fashion made the skirt either wider or narrower, on a frame of whalebone or wiring, with folding frames.
By the middle of the 19th century, the metal frame was replaced by the crinoline: a linen case woven with horsehair, which was soon replaced by wire. They became available to everyone.
Dresses on frames were voluminous and heavy. A wedding dress sometimes weighed a whole centner (100 kg). The bride in such a dress had to be brought into the church in her arms, since she herself was unable to move.
By the 1870s, in order to change the silhouette of the figure, they acquired a bustle - a roller that was placed under the skirt below the waist from the back.
The beginning of the 20th century was remembered for the luxury of ladies' toilets. The cost of one dress reached several thousand, but despite this, women's clothing became more elegant and more comfortable. And the skirt becomes an independent waist product.
In the Russian village, skirts were worn no earlier than the middle
XIX century. At first, they were sewn as sundresses familiar in the village - on a bodice, which was made of lighter fabric and replaced the undershirt.Girls of marriageable age put on several skirts on holidays, "to appear thicker" - fullness for them was the same as beauty.
Two or three petticoats were enough for the full; those distinguished by thinness pulled on four or five skirts at once. In winter, for warmth, they always wore a “lower” skirt quilted on cotton wool.
Everyday skirts were sewn from canvas, festive underskirts were sewn from blue, pink or red chintz.
Peasant customs did not allow short skirts: a girl's skirt opened only her feet, a woman's was always up to her toes.
Prosperity was measured by the number of skirts. The Don Cossacks had fifteen to twenty skirts, for a couple they were supposed to have a jacket of the same color.
In the Kuban, a skirt began to be worn from the age of fifteen. There was a sequence among the sisters: the younger ones had to wait until the elder sister was asked, then only it was their turn to wear a skirt: "so as not to put the older sister under the trough."
Ancient skirts were poneva in Russia. This is the same, only the floors, as a rule, were not sewn. Such an unsewn front poneva was called a vest. The poneva was held on the throttle (belt, rope, cord, braid). They were made from checkered homespun wool. Ponevs were divided into bruises (solid blue) and reds with a swear pattern.
Since the 18th century, deaf ponevs appeared, in which a plain towel was sewn in front - a seam.
Village dressmakers even thought of “pleated” poneva: the sewn poneva was folded into cages and, tied with a rope, placed under a hot village loaf. It turned out "pleated", the folds of which did not disperse for a long time.
After the crown, the young woman put on a poneva with a “tail” made of red cloth with multi-colored silk ribbons, a braid, velvet stripes and a number of buttons. Such a poneva was worn until the time came to become a mother-in-law or mother-in-law. Or until the old woman's time came.
The most decorated ponevs were worn by married women before the birth of their first child. There was no living place left on the festive ponevs, and it was not easy to carry such a burden: there were ponevs that weighed up to five or six kilograms.
Poneva was a woman's clothing. The girl's outfit, as a rule, consisted of a shirt with a woolen belt, and on top - an apron or coat. On the eve of adulthood, on a girl's name day or on a holiday, her friends put on a poneva in front of all her relatives. A girl who put on a cape could be wooed and her dowry collected.
The first skirt, as a wardrobe item, appeared in Spain. It was a heavy, immense multi-tiered structure stuffed with horsehair. The skirt that was made was rather heavy and the women, having put it on, walked with great difficulty. Such an instance was replaced by verdugado skirts with a frame made of metal hoops. Rich young ladies could put on such a skirt only with the help of assistants who climbed into the center of the product and fastened the skirt with a corset. Later, the French and Italians lightened this model by making its shape a little softer and adding a soft thigh pad to the base of the skirt.
The 17th century pleased fashionistas with the creation of straight skirts with tails and draperies, and multi-layered skirts became fashionable, and the number of layers could reach up to 15.
In the 18th century, skeleton skirts made a comeback. The bottom of the frame was made of metal or wooden hoops and tightly covered with fabric. To make the skirt attractive, lace was sewn on the bottom. Some items were so heavy that it was difficult for the ladies to move around.
The 19th century is considered to be the era of elegance and aristocracy, so the frame was replaced by a crenoline. Skirts were sewn only from white fabrics and wearing colored items was considered bad form. At the same time, the bustle was invented, due to which the volume of the back of the skirt was given.
At the beginning of the 20th century, very tight skirts became fashionable. They narrowed at the ankles, so it was extremely difficult to move around in them, but nevertheless, every lady who followed the fashion appeared at public receptions only in such a skirt. Further, only the imagination of fashion designers influenced the change in the styles of the skirt.
In Russia, the skirt as a wardrobe item appeared only in the 20th century, pushing into the background the sundresses familiar to many. The skirt looked like a straight piece with a plain fabric in front and pleating at the bottom. Casual skirts were mainly sewn from canvas, and festive items from calico. Ribbons, buttons, velvet were used as decor.
It depended on the social status of the girl: unmarried ladies could wear foot-length skirts, and married ladies could wear skirts. which completely covered the legs to the heels. And what is most interesting, only married ladies could afford bright and unusual skirts.
A symbol of elegance and strict femininity, the most sought-after item of women's wardrobe and a sure way to emphasize female beauty without going beyond the bounds of decency. But the pencil skirt might not have existed, if not for one curious case and the ingenuity of the Wright brothers.
Story
It all started with the fact that in 1908 a certain Mrs. Berg became the first woman to fly by plane. It would seem, where does the skirt? The fact is that the first planes were completely different than they are now: passengers did not sit in a comfortable compartment, but between the wings. Fluffy skirt from light fabric Mrs. Berg began to develop, rise ... in general, create an emergency situation and put the lady in an extremely awkward position. To eliminate embarrassment, the Wright brothers simply tied the skirt with a rope just above the ankles, unaware that they had made another revolution, this time in the fashion world.
As usual, photographs were taken at the scene of the event. The pictures spread all over the world, and they were seen by Paul Poiret, who immediately saw a new style of skirt, which he immediately dubbed hobble skirts - a lame skirt. I must say that this piece of clothing was only remotely similar to a modern pencil skirt from: it was still long, hugged the hips, and expanded to the bottom in the shape of a bell. But by the way, the famous style of Mermaid dresses is definitely a direct descendant of the uncomfortable skirts, and is relevant to this day. There is also a version that the prototype of the pencil skirt is another cult thing - a little black dress, which also had a tight-fitting knee-length hem.
The First World War affected not only the fates and minds of people, but also fashion: many rich and famous fashion designers lost their fortunes and the opportunity to continue their business, precisely because clothes began to change rapidly, and they could not keep up with the times. So hobble skirts went out of fashion due to the fact that they hindered movement, and women of those years had to work hard (most of the men died or became disabled) and, as a result, wear comfortable clothes. The deficit also played a role: skirts became shorter, and trousers were given priority.
Finally, in 1940, the first pencil skirt appeared in the form in which modern ladies know it, the authorship belongs to Christian Dior. At that time, it was a real provocation, but ladies, tired of shapeless and not very beautiful clothes, gladly accepted new fashion trends. The very first skirts were sewn from and were part of a suit with a jacket, but later they began to be combined with blouses and soft sweaters.
The new model had a number of advantages: it emphasized the charms of the female body, it took less material, it was easy to sew it yourself if possible, but the real boom in the pencil skirt happened after famous women began to wear it. Marilyn Monroe (it can see it in this skirt from the movie “Only Girls in Jazz”), Audrey Hepburn, Princess Grace and other famous ladies of the twentieth century flaunted in a skirt from Dior at social events and since then, every woman considered it a must to have such a skirt in her closet .
Our days
In the eighties, the pencil skirt suddenly lost its status as strict and elegant: it was sewn from bright fabrics unthinkable colors, worn with leather and denim jackets, decorated with fringe and metal fittings... In 2000, she returned to her original style: strict lines and soothing colors and began to be considered office wear. Today, a pencil skirt is appropriate in any setting, be it a business reception or a party, it all depends on the color. According to the couturier, this model goes well with the top of guipure, velvet or chiffon.