Alexis Simmons

September 28, 2017

Professor Lampley

FM228-25A

Making Mini Happen

Jean Shrimpton, also known as, “The Shrimp” or “The Most Beautiful Girl in The World” was one of the world’s first official . She earned the title in 1971 from Time

Magazine, but she was making show-stopping headlines years before that. Said headlines emerged when she popularized the miniskirt in an era where women didn’t dare leave the house unless they were fully dressed—hat and gloves included. Because of her rule-breaking attitude, she’s appealing to adolescent girls with a bit of a rebellious side. These girls are of every ethnicity and cultural background, as any and every girl can have a passion for ‘fighting the man.’ Grouping all of these girls into one economic background is simply not realistic, but majority of them, or their families at least, come from an upper middle-class background.

They’re the type of girls that would get access to the papers to read all about it, and then proceed to get the necessary materials to pull off the look of their newfound icon.

In 1965, Jean not only showed up to the Cup Carnival two hours late, but her legs were out for the world to see. Jean was hired by DuPont to promote their new fabric, Orlon, during the cup. She was sent rolls of the material to be made into various looks to be worn over the course of the four-day festival. However, her designer didn’t have enough fabric to make the dress hit the below the knee standard. Shrimpton didn’t care, embraced the look, and stepped out in the white shift dress with a hem that hit five inches above her knee. Though this was the specific item that makes her an icon, her out-of-the-norm look didn’t stop with just the short hem. She also wasn’t wearing the mandatory items for the members’ enclosure. Her hat, gloves, and pantyhose were all absent from her ensemble. This entire outfit made international headlines, bringing the miniskirt into the public eye. Though it was deemed as “skimpy” and

“snubbing the iron-clad conventions of fashionable Flemington,” designers rushed to copy her hemline. The following year at the cup, if your hem was below your knee, you were committing a serious fashion crime.

The miniskirt has only gotten shorter since Jean’s big debut, hitting the shortest and skimpiest in the 2000’s era of fashion. Since fashion flows from one extreme to the next, hemlines have fluctuated back and forth for decades. As ideas about what should and shouldn’t be seen on a woman’s body change over time, a skirt that hits a whopping five inches over the knee isn’t the main concern today. The length of Jean’s skirt—the “original” miniskirt—is still in today, and not even seen as immodest. In fact, it’s almost considered long in the current fashion climate. It’s a classic design, always in style; however, the midi skirt and miniskirt currently share the spotlight for the hottest skirt on the market.

Part of what adds to Jean’s appeal is how ‘natural’ being an It Girl was to her. She didn’t go out of her way to ‘break the rules.’ It just happened. Though the day after her legs made international news, she appeared in a compliant outfit, it only lasted for a day. The end of the festival saw Jean in her trademark stripped-back mod look.

Jean ended her modeling career in her thirties. She became a recluse, and in her most recent interview (2011) she made it very clear that she ended modeling for a reason. She dislikes the fashion industry as a whole, and didn’t even enjoy the attention she received in her prime. She says, “I never liked being photographed. I just happened to be good at it.” This quote made me think. I respect Jean so much for her entire mentality. Though I still want to enter the industry, I think it’s important to acknowledge it’s many faults. She appeals to me becau