Threads of

Change

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS MAJORETTE SKIRT AND THE POPULARITY OF THE MINISKIRT

Red and white band majorette skirt laid flat on table.

Majorette red and white wool twill short skirt (1).

Photographic advertisement featuring two models wearing dresses with miniskirts and tall boots.

Photographic advertisement featuring one model wearing a dress with a miniskirt.

Ads from 1968 and 1969, showing the ubiquitous nature of the miniskirt in the 1960s (2).

The 1960s were a tumultuous time filled with political and social upheaval that manifested itself in the styles of clothing that many different groups chose to wear as signs of protest (3). This was most evident in women’s clothing in the popularity of the miniskirt, a style of dress considered to be symbolic of freedom for women, along with the abandonment of bras (4). Although bra-burning might not have been the most mainstream form of protest, miniskirts were ubiquitous during the 1960s and continuing into the 1970s, demonstrated by the fact that even a University of Arkansas majorette’s uniform, seen above, was a short skirt similar to the miniskirt style. This style of skirt was often worn with some form of hosiery, as seen in the bottom advertisement displayed above, however this did not stop adamant criticism from many who felt it went against norms of gender and sexuality (5). These comments often came from older women looking down on the younger women who were more likely to wear the style, which reflects the larger trend in the 1960s of generational divides about social issues that led to tensions between the younger and older generations (6). Many of these critiques concerned the sexual nature of the miniskirt, which came from its short length, but also because of the associations that went along with the style (7). The 1960s represented a time of sexual revolution for women, which the miniskirt, along with birth control pills, embodied (8). It was a symbol of the freedom, equality, and independence that women were gaining by rejecting the ideas of what traditional femininity or womanhood entailed (9). The miniskirt represented the increased participation of women in society and their additional freedoms. They were choosing the length they wanted their skirts as a sign that they had the freedom to choose what to do with their bodies, with their careers, and with their lives. Their clothes would not be constrained by traditional gender norms or expectations for women. Therefore, the miniskirt can be viewed as a physical manifestation of their protest and their changing position in society.

1 Majorette skirt, Fayetteville, AR, University of Arkansas Museum Collections.
2 Daniel Delis Hill, As Seen in Vogue: A Century of American Fashion in Advertising, (Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2004), 102.
3 Betty Luther Hillman, Dressing for the Culture Wars: Style and Politics of Self-Presentation in the 1960s and 1970s, (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2015), xvi.
4 Toni Nyberg, The Changing American Woman: 200 Years of American Fashion, (New York: Woman’s Wear Daily, 1976), 40.
5 Nyberg, The Changing American Woman, 52; Luther Hillman, Dressing for the Culture Wars, 15.
6 Luther Hillman, Dressing for the Culture Wars, 15.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid, 16.
9 Ibid, 16, 21.