I lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from 1963 to 1976. As I remember it,
skirts got progressively shorter from 1966 to 1969 but the local
culture still didn't accept trousers on women. IIRC, the first
"pantsuits" for women were greeted with derision on this side of the
Atlantic. Anyhoo, I *loathed* mini-skirts with a deep, abiding
passion so I made my first maxi skirt (without a pattern) in
1968/1969, specifically to wear to school (9th grade). It was ankle-
length, and I'm proud to say that I was one of the first to wear one
in my social circle <g>. By the time I graduated in 1972, we were
all routinely wearing those long dresses with the elastic under the
bust (as mentioned by another list-member)--made in wild floral
prints and using commercial patterns--when we weren't wearing jeans.
While other fashions had been banned at various times, the Ann Arbor
schools never bothered to target "granny dresses". I do remember
that it was a challenge to keep bra straps hidden under those wide
necklines! So when I went to college I just stopped wearing the
bras....
By 1974, I had given up wearing skirts entirely and bought pantsuits
instead for occasions that called for something nicer than jeans.
Anybody wanna talk about pantsuits??
Suzanne
[who thinks it is true that the Sixties mostly happened in the
Seventies]
On Jul 4, 2009, at 1:00 PM, h-costume-requ...@indra.com wrote:
From: Hope Greenberg <hope.greenb...@uvm.edu>
Date: July 4, 2009 11:44:14 AM CDT
To: Historical Costume <h-cost...@indra.com>
Subject: Re: [h-cost] 1960s hippie fashions
Ah, what fun. I know by the early 70s I had several long dresses
for casual wear, but when did the trend start? Well, here are two
factoids that might help:
In the late 60s Laura Ashley introduced daywear that had a longer
length. (see any history of Laura Ashley, wikipedia will do)
And my favorite kind of evidence--mention in contemporary literature:
In 1968 the popular writer Barbara Michaels published "Ammie, Come
Home" a ghost story set in Georgetown, MD. The key thing here is
that early in the book the protagonist goes shopping with her
trendy niece and is talked into buying one of those "new maxi
skirts." (BTW remember that the first "maxis" were mid-calf length.
Later the term was applied to ankle-length as well.)
- Hope
On Sat, Jul 4, 2009 at 12:06 AM, Sylvia Rognstad <syl...@ntw.net>
wrote:
Anyhow, I'm trying to remember when long
skirts and dresses came in. I can only recall wearing them in
the 1970s,
but my legs, not being what they used to be, definitely do not
want to be
seen in a mini skirt, which is all I can remember wearing in the
late 60s.
_______________________________________________
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
