When talking about skirts, the most obvious point of discussion is their length. This collection of LIFE skirt photographs certainly runs the gamut, from antebellum-style hoop skirts to the thigh-baring minis that made a splash in the later years of the magazine’s original run.
But in addition to revealing a little (or a lot of) leg, these photos of skirts also show something else. They highlight the many different approaches that great photographers can take to a subject.
For instance, the pictures of John Dominis and Carlo Bavagnoli in this collection take a documentary approach to fashion, showing skirt-wearing women as they moved about the world. Then there was Gjon Mili, a master technician who brought models into his studio, where his use of strobe lighting created images that are as striking as they are distinctive.
Then there are photographers such as Nina Leen and Gordon Parks, who took an approach that is somewhere between the two, placing their models out in the world but crafting images that are as stylish as the clothing trends they sought to illustrate.
See for yourself. Like the skirts themselves, the variation adds to the fascination.
Circle skirts, 1950.
Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
LIFE magazine’s original caption: “Surrounded by a skirt full of her own pretty face, model Norma Richter shows off dress made especially to demonstrate photographic fabrics.”
Nina Leen The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A French model showed a small print dress with triple-flounced skirt and long sleeves by designer Jacques Fath, Paris 1951.
Gordon Parks/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation
Fashion, 1951.
Gordon Parks/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A polka dotted smock top over black skirt by Balenciaga, Paris, 1951.
Gordon Parks/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation
Model showing skirt featuring three-tiers of ruffles, 1951.
Gordon Parks/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Photo from a story on Big Ten college fashions, Bloomington, Indiana, 1954.
Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The new skirts of 1947.
Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Space fashions rushed onto the market in 1957 included skirts, jackets, hats, and balloons with a satellite motif.
Peter Stackpole The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A Kansas high school student wore a mini skirt, 1969.
Arthur Schatz/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
In 1950 career girl hostess Joan Wilson wore a cotton circle skirt that retailed for $17.95.
Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Skirt fashions, 1938.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The New York Look, 1969.
Vernon Merritt III/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
From a story on summer beach fashions, 1950.
Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Fashion shoot, 1946.
Nina Leen/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Washington, D.C., April 1947.
Martha Holmes/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
From an April 20, 1942, LIFE story about proper skirt-hem lengths.
Nina Leen/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
In Columbus, Missiissippi, coffee was served on porch of ante-bellum mansion, Riverview, by young ladies wearing hoop skirts at a party for cadets from the local Army flying school, 1953.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Cotton skirt, New York City, 1941.
Gjon Mili/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Model Dorian Leigh showed off the accordion pleats of a straight-hanging sheer dress (Jane Derby, $250) which could swirl into a ten-yard circle of flesh-colored chiffon, 1950.
Gjon Mili/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A double image from a story on college fashions, 1948.
Gjon Mili/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Employees of Saks Fifth Avenue watching a fashion show promoting midi-length skirts, 1970.
John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Actor Rock Hudson (center) sitting on MGM lot with eight midi-skirted starlets who play opposite him in the Roger Vadim-directed film Pretty Maids All In a Row.
John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shuttetstock
A women in a miniskirt considered the midi-skirt look, 1970.
John Dominis/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Short skirts hit London, 1966
Carlo Bavagnoli/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Short skirts hit the street of London, 1966
Carlo Bavagnoli/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
