1950s: The Poodle Skirt
The poodle skit originates from the phenomenon started in 1947 when a 25 year old, Juli Charlot needed a skirt to wear to a holiday party in Los Angeles because she couldn’t sew she cut a big circle of felt with a hole in the middle to fit her waist. The material was felt because that was the only fabric available in that size. After the party she then sold the skirt to raise money to go to design school and learn how to sew. Eventually everyone wanted her famous skirts and she opened her own factory. The most popular design was the elegant, well groomed poodle with a swirly leash that was the most popular.
The poodle skirts were usually seen on younger girls, and from then on many designers worked on clothing for the younger generation.
Dancers craved clothing that was moveable, and the poodleskirt allowed them to dance. These knee-length skirts were often worn with cardigans, neck scarves, bulky belts, frilly socks, paired with oxfords. We see the “Poodle Skirt” in the classic movie grease.
The Poodle Skirt has come back in 2015 but not in the exact way that it was back in the 50’s. For starters the skirts we are often seeing now from the runway to clothing stores don't have poodles on them. In fact neither did a lot of the poodle skirts in the 50’s they were just given this name. The skirts we are seeing now are not much different to the the original poodle skirt. They are the same length and cut and fit tightly around the waist and then taper out, and have a large circled hem. They have a more modern feel to them and the fabric is seen as more structured, they also have been seen in many different fabrics such as cotton and mesh.
Rebecca Eames
Principal Blogger
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