Poodle skirts—the origin and influence

You have heard of Poodle skirts and their association with 1950’s fashion, but you may not know how they originated or the profound influence they have had on women’s fashions since that time.

The phenomenon started in 1947 when 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 and appliquéd Christmas trees to it. Felt was the only material available that was wide enough to cut a complete circle skirt without any seams. The skirt was a huge hit.

A week after the party she sold the skirt to raise money to go to design school and learn how to sew.

Eventually as demand for her skirts grew, she opened her own factory. Although she continued to get orders, money was tight. Then a New York designer visited her factory, found her in tears, and invested enough money for the business to take off.

Although many appliqué designs were used on the skirts, it was the elegant, well groomed Poodle  with a swirly leash that proved to be the most popular. In fact circular skirts with other designs were often called Poodle skirts.

The full skirt was a welcome change from the straight or pleated below the knee skirts that were worn by young girls and women of the day. Poodle skirts were worn with flirty petticoats and a wide cinch belt.

The skirt looked cute on young girls, but pretty silly on their mothers and grandmothers. In other words Poodle skirts were one of the first “too young for you” fashions.

From that time on, seeing a youth market with money to spend, many designers worked exclusively on clothing geared to the young.

The 60’s mini skirt and go-go boots followed this youthful trend. A mini skirt accessorized with support hose and orthopedic shoes is a definite fashion blunder.

Today we might say that these are “too young for you” fashions:

A nose ring with bifocals
Multiple ear piercings with a hearing aid
Spiked green hair with a bald spot
Speedos and cellulite…

Well, you get the idea.

Comments

[Khyra]

Will woo model yours fur us?

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
PeeEssWoo: My mom says years and years and YEARS ago, she had a skirt with a gardening elephant on it - she khan still pikhture it in her aged mind!

[Karen Friesecke]

Just wait 40 years for the above mentioned fashions to appear. well, except for the speedos, they don't look good on anyone over 25.

[jackie]

I had a gray skirt with pink poodle..wide black belt and gray/with pick swirls blouse..i was 'swinging'...I wore black flats..as there was nooooo way i was wearing black/white saddle shoes..i thought then and still do..thems some butt ugly shoes.

[Clive]

We enjoyed finding out about poodle skirts!

[mb.]

you need a [like] button

[Therese]

When I was a kid we wore poodle skirts and saddle oxfords to 50s parties where we danced to the oldies. Now kids are wearing what I wore as a kid and dancing to the 80s oldies!

[Dr. Liz]

Unless you are at a swim meet (or training), Speedos are pretty much a full-time fashion Don't... ;-) But Fi wants to know what is up with the silly poodle haircuts - she doesn't know any self respecting poodle who would allow his/her hair to be cut in such a fashion! :-)

[Dennis the Vizsla]

I think the first time I saw a poodle skirt was in some silly 80s made-for-television Halloween movie where somebody accidentally cast a spell that brought everyone in the cemetery back to life, most of whom were evil decayed zombies, except for this one girl who had died in the 1950s and for some reason was heroic and perfectly preserved, right down to her poodle skirt. The hero thought she was just a girl in a costume and fell in love with her and was devastated at the end when she had to return to her grave in the cemetery. *sniff*

[poodle skirt]

wow..1 it really looks so funny, the dogs wearing the poodle skirts look so pretty and funny. i like it so much. i had once purchased a poodle skirt for my bitch. it was so funny.