Poodle skirts have farseeing been a symbol of 1950s Americana, but did you know they date back to 1947 ? The like class that Christian Dior unveiled the New Look, these iconic wool traffic circle skirts besides came into being. The look emphasized a little waist with tortuous skirts and/or petticoats. But, most people don ’ t know the veridical history behind why the airheaded designs of the poodle annulus became sol democratic .
The original interior designer of the poodle skirt was Juli Lynne Charlot who, in 1947, wanted to create a vacation skirt for herself but had little in the way of sewing skills .
In an interview from 1953 she described herself from the winter of ’ 47 as being broke, dowdy, and unable to sew very well. What she came up with required only basic cut and sewing. Charlot cut a large circle from a piece of wool feel and then cut another smaller circle in the middle for the shank of the dame. There were no side seam. The simplicity of the design was appealing. future, she stitched on appliqués besides in wool find, which did not need to be hemmed .
Charlot had the idea to produce these skirts for retail sale, with each design containing within it a fun narrative for the customer. The first designs were Christmas themed and the skirts that followed were dog themed, giving wax to the list “ poodle annulus. ”
She was soon selling her skirts to shops and then late her designs were bought outright from companies who reproduced them en masse.
It wasn ’ t long ahead making these skirts at home became the swerve. And here ’ s why the idea capture on so promptly : like Charlot, adolescent girls with little sewing experience could whip these skirts up cursorily and have a one-of-a-kind design that was on swerve with lone a few hours of work !
If you see vintage poodle skirts for sale in vintage stores or on-line you ’ ll much see grosgrain ribbon as the waist band or shank line since these were identical frequently merely made at home with more creativity than skill. pattern makers soon put out many designs which played on the appliqué skirts that Charlot had made democratic .
Poodle surround designs can range from the classical poodle to wiener dogs to birds, people, records, or even life-size chess or badminton bet on boards. The designs were entirely limited by the imaginations of the adolescent girls making the skirts at base. The course was soon translated into silk, cotton, and early fabrics and even later Charlot skirts were not always made in the simple wool style ( for example their summer styles in 1953 were made from poplin ) .
While Charlot did have her own clothing tune, she is besides known for her acting and singing talents ! If you have an original poodle annulus then clearly you have a treasure. But, if you have a Juli Lynn Charlot master poodle skirt ? You might want to take care. We found one presently for sale on-line for $ 750 !