Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment worn from the waist, covering the legs, and traditionally worn by women. Unlike pants, a skirt is not divided. The hemline can be as high as the upper thigh or as low as the ground. At its simplest a skirt can be a draped garment made from a single piece of material, but most skirts are tailored, with gores, pleats or panels, in light to mid-weight fabrics such as denim, jersey, worsted or poplin. A dress, or frock, is a garment consisting of a skirt with a bodice attached, and skirts and dresses of thin or clingy fabric are worn with slips so the material drapes better.
Some medieval upper-class women wore skirts over 3 metres in diameter at the bottom. At the other extreme, the miniskirts of the 1960s were minimal garments that might not even cover the groin and buttocks fully
A dress or frock is a garment consisting of a skirt with a bodice attached.
Skirts and dresses of thin or clingy fabrics are worn with slips to make the material of the skirt drape better.
In Europe and America skirts and dresses can be worn by females of all ages when they are not wearing pants. A skirt may be worn as part of a suit. Skirts or dresses are the garments of choice for many women in formal situations, such as weddings and geopolitical summits. In cold climates, girls and women may wear pants for warmth, with dresses on top to mark their femininity. In traditional societies, such as in many countries in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, it is considered inappropriate for girls and women to wear pants rather than a skirt or dress.
A disadvantage of skirts and dresses that contributes to many girls and women preferring pants is that they may be either too tight and therefore limit freedom of movement such as when climbing ladders, or too wide, in which case one, because of modesty, may feel the need to take the trouble to avoid exposing underwear or "too much leg" during daily activities or when there is a strong wind. There is also a large social predjudice against those who choose to adhere to traditional female gender roles (sometimes termed being a "girly girl") and wear dresses and skirts, particularly amongst younger women, with many young girls and women feeling that they shouldn't wear them at all, despite feminism not being about the choices made but the freedom to make that choice.
Skirts and dresses however can be cooler and less confining than many pants styles, and they are more practical for relieving oneself in remote outdoor areas. Dresses are still very popular for special occasions such as Proms or weddings.
The taboo against the wearing of skirts and dresses by men in the Western world is one of the strongest clothing gender roles and is virtually never violated. In some places men may wear what are de facto skirts or dresses, though they are not usually so defined. Examples of this include the kilt in Scotland (now usually worn only in ceremonial of formal occasions), and skirts for men as part of 1990s fashion design and of some counter-cultures or youth style fashions (e.g. gay culture, techno music). Also the sarong is worn commonly by men and women in some parts of the tropics.
Learn about mini skirts.
Find a skirt retail store. Better yet, check out the Skirts Store.
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Evening Dress (White Tie)
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/skirt_and_dress). 11/2/04 Modified by Apparel Search. |
Hemline length is the skirt's most visible variable, and it carries social meaning. Floor-length skirts and dresses belong to formal dress: evening dress, wedding gowns, ball gowns and court and mess dress all build on the long skirt. Knee length is the general-purpose standard for work and day wear. The short skirt has its own history, from the ballerina skirt's stage origins to the miniskirt of the 1960s, which remains the reference point for shortness. Dresses are named by their occasions in the same way: the cocktail dress for evening parties, the little black dress as the versatile formal staple, and the academic and artistic dress traditions that turned the garment into a statement about taste and reform.
Practicality cuts both ways. Skirts and dresses are cooler and less confining than many pants styles, and in cold climates women may wear pants for warmth with dresses kept for occasions; equally, a skirt that is too tight limits movement such as climbing ladders, and a very wide skirt needs care in wind and during daily activities. The choice between skirt, dress and pants is now simply a wardrobe choice in most of Europe and America, and all three are worn by women of all ages. Garments that read as skirts are also worn by men in specific traditions, most famously the Scottish kilt, worn on ceremonial and formal occasions, and the sarong, worn commonly by men and women in parts of the tropics.
A skirt covers the body from the waist down and is worn with a separate top. A dress joins a skirt and a bodice in a single garment, so it dresses the wearer in one piece. A skirt may also be worn as part of a suit, matched with a jacket.
Most tailored skirts are built from shaped pieces: gores, triangular panels that flare the skirt toward the hem; pleats, folds that add fullness while keeping the waist fitted; or flat panels. Medieval upper-class skirts could exceed three metres in diameter at the bottom, supported by structures such as the hoop skirt, while the miniskirts of the 1960s were minimal garments at the opposite extreme.
A slip gives thin or clingy fabric a smooth layer to fall over, so the skirt drapes instead of catching on the legs, and it keeps lightweight material from showing what is beneath it. The slip is the standard underlayer for unlined skirts and dresses.