A skirt covers your lower body.
It starts at your waist. People have worn them for a long time. Some skirts are long and some are short.
They can be many colors. Do you like skirts?
A skirt covers the lower body.
It starts at the waist. People have worn them for a long time.
In old times, people used simple cloth. Some used sheep skin for warmth. In Egypt, men wore skirts too. They tied a piece of cloth in front.
Skirts come in many shapes. Some are long like a floor.
Some are very short. A pencil skirt is slim and narrow.
A circle skirt is very full. It hangs smoothly from the waist. Some skirts have many folds. These are called pleats.
Today, many people wear skirts. Girls and women wear them often. Some men wear them too. Skirts are a fun way to dress.
A skirt is a garment for the lower body.
It covers a person from the waist down. Some skirts are just a single piece of cloth. Others are fitted at the hips. They may be fuller below using pleats, which are folds in the fabric.
People have worn skirts for a very long time. In the Bronze Age, some skirts were made of wool yarn.
In ancient Egypt, men wore skirts called shendyt. These were made of cloth wrapped around the body. In Mesopotamia, the Sumerians wore kaunakes. These were skirts made of sheep fleece or cloth that looked like fleece.
Skirts come in many different styles and lengths. A maxi skirt reaches the ankles. A miniskirt is very short. A pencil skirt is slim and narrow.
A circle skirt is very full and hangs smoothly. There are also culottes, which look like a skirt but are shaped like shorts.
Today, many women and girls wear skirts. Some men wear them too, like the kilt in Scotland.
A skirt is a garment that covers the body from the waist down.
It can be a separate piece of clothing or part of a dress. Some skirts are very simple, made from just one piece of draped fabric. Other skirts are fitted closely to the hips or waist. To make them fuller, makers use pleats, panels, or darts.
Most modern skirts use light fabrics like denim, jersey, or poplin. Some people wear thin skirts with a slip underneath for modesty. While many women and girls wear them, some men wear skirts too. Examples include the kilt in Scotland or the izaar in Muslim cultures.
There are many ways to shape and style a skirt.
An A-line skirt is narrow at the hips and widens at the bottom. A circle skirt is very full and hangs smoothly from the waist.
Some skirts have a specific look, like the slim pencil skirt.
You might also see a maxi skirt that reaches the ankles. For a shorter look, there are miniskirts or even microskirts. Some styles, like culottes, look like skirts but are shaped like shorts.
Other special types include the bubble skirt or the cargo skirt with many pockets.
People have worn skirts since prehistoric times to cover their bodies.
In Armenia, a straw-woven skirt from 3900 BC was found in a cave. The Vinča culture in the Balkans showed women in skirts around 4500 BC. In ancient Mesopotamia, the Sumerians wore kaunakes. This was a skirt made of sheep fleece or special cloth.
Ancient Egyptians used linen to make their clothing. Men in the Old Kingdom wore wraparound skirts called shendyt.
By the New Kingdom, men often wore kilts with pleated triangular sections.
Fashion has changed a lot through different centuries. In the Middle Ages, men and women often wore dress-like garments. Even knights had short metal skirts on their armor to cover straps. By the 19th century, skirt shapes changed very quickly. Some skirts used hoops to stay wide, while others used bustles to pull fullness to the back.
In the 1850s, women like Elizabeth Smith Miller promoted "bloomers." These were knee-length skirts worn over pantaloons. This style was called the "freedom dress" by women's rights advocates. Even female coal miners wore trousers under short skirts for work.
Today, skirts are a huge part of global fashion.
Designers like Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier use them in new ways. Gaultier often puts skirts in men's collections to add something new. This shows how skirts can break old social rules. Whether it is a formal ballerina skirt or a casual denim skirt, they are everywhere. They connect our ancient past to the modern world of style. People choose them based on their own taste or what is popular in their culture.
A skirt is a garment that covers a person from the waist downwards.
It can be a separate outer garment or the lower part of a dress. At its most basic level, a skirt might consist of a single piece of draped fabric, such as a pareo. Most modern skirts are fitted at the waist or hips. To create fullness in the fabric, makers use specific techniques. They might use darts, which are folds sewn into fabric to shape it. They may also use gores, which are triangular pieces of fabric. Other methods include pleats or adding extra panels.
Skirts come in many different shapes and lengths. The hemline, or the bottom edge, can range from a micro-length to a floor-length maxi skirt.
An A-line skirt is narrow at the hips and widens toward the hem, resembling the letter A. A circle skirt is cut in sections to form one or more circles. This creates a very full look that hangs smoothly without needing pleats.
Other styles include the pencil skirt, which is slim and narrow like the writing tool. Some garments, like culottes, are constructed like shorts but hang like a skirt.
There are also specialized types, such as the voluminous bubble skirt or the utilitarian cargo skirt with many pockets.
Humanity has worn skirts since prehistoric times. They provided a simple way to cover the lower body.
In the Balkans, the Vinča culture produced figurines showing women in skirt-like garments around 4500 BC. An even older example is a straw-woven skirt from 3900 BC found in Armenia. In ancient Mesopotamia, the Sumerians wore kaunakes. This term originally described a sheep's fleece tied to a belt. Eventually, people used "kaunakes cloth," a textile designed to imitate the look of sheepskin. This fabric even became a symbol in religious art, such as the cloak of John the Baptist.
Ancient Egypt offers many examples of diverse skirt styles. During the Old Kingdom, around 2130 BC, men wore wraparound skirts called shendyt. These were rectangular pieces of cloth tied in the front. By the Middle Kingdom, skirts became longer, sometimes reaching from the waist to the ankles. In the New Kingdom, men's kilts often featured a pleated triangular section. Many Egyptians used linen to create these garments. For the upper classes, the linen was often beautifully woven and intricately pleated. Some men even wore a shente, which was a triangular loincloth fastened with cord ties.
In the Middle Ages, clothing styles often resembled dresses. Men's lower garments were typically shorter than women's. These were often wide and pleated to make horse riding more comfortable. Even knights wore a short metal skirt below their breastplate. This armor piece covered the straps that attached the upper leg pieces to the chest. As technology improved between the 13th and 15th centuries, new tools emerged. Foot-treadle floor looms and pivoted-blade scissors made tailoring much easier. These advances helped make trousers and tights more common for men. As these became standard male attire, wearing them became taboo for women.
The 19th century saw massive changes in skirt silhouettes. In Western culture, the waistline moved from just below the bust to the natural waist.
Skirts grew from narrow shapes to huge hoopskirts supported by crinolines in the 1860s. Later, the bustle was used to pull fullness toward the back. In the 1890s, the "rainy daisy skirt" introduced a shorter hemline for sportswear. This helped lead to the shorter hemlines of the 20th century. During this time, the Victorian dress reform movement emerged. Advocates like Elizabeth Smith Miller and Amelia Bloomer promoted "bloomers." These were knee-length skirts worn over pantaloons. Supporters called this the "freedom dress" to support women's rights.
Today, skirts are worn by many different people across the globe. While commonly worn by women and girls, they are not exclusive to them. The kilt is a traditional men's garment in Scotland, Ireland, and England. Many Muslim cultures wear the izaar. In modern fashion, designers like Jean Paul Gaultier use skirts to challenge social codes. Gaultier often includes skirts in men's collections to add novelty. For example, he famously introduced the sarong into male attire.
Whether for modesty, tradition, or personal style, the skirt remains a vital part of human dress.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (41)
+ 29 more
More to explore
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.