Women: The MiniskirtThe 1960s saw the appearance of the mini-skirt. Up until that time, skirtsand dresses in Australia finished sensibly at the knee. New soaringhemlines created huge controversy when they first appeared, exposingcentimetres of thigh never before seen in public.At the Melbourne Cup in 1965, English model Jean Shrimpton createdcontroversy by wearing a synthetic white shift dress with a hem highabove her knees. She did not wear stockings, gloves or a hat. Shrimptonsoutfit was considered scandalous, and made headlines around the world.By the end of the decade, however, shift dresses and mini-skirts hadbecome widely accepted.Mini-skirts represent more than just a fashion landmark of the decade -they have become an icon of the general culture of rebellion thatcharacterised the 1960s. Young people were rejecting the social standardsof the past and so too was their fashion. Many devotees of the feministmovement of the 1960s also saw the mini-skirt as a claim to the right ofwomen to proudly display their bodies as they wished.
4. Jean Shrimpton
5. Jean Shrimpton