Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog

Never Is the Next New Thing

Fashion Repeats Itself: Car-Wash Skirts

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When I saw this picture of a “Bias Streamer Skirt” by Alexander Wang in last weekend’s Wall Street Journal, I screamed (in my head), “Car-wash skirts are back at last!”

$465 at Barneys. Click to shop.

I didn’t know I was missing car-wash skirts, but apparently, deep down, I was. If I remember correctly, car-wash skirts — so-called because the fringe-like panels look like the equipment in an automated car wash — had a big moment in the early ’90s. I know I had one then.

Car-wash skirts have turned up occasionally since that time, but now I believe they’re poised to have a big moment. People are used to asymmetrical hemlines thanks to the popularity of the high/low hemline (aka the mullet skirt/dress), and the car-wash look is really just a variation on the “now you see my legs, now you don’t” concept. The fact that the influential label Rodarte showed a car-wash skirt in September 2010 as part of the spring 2011 collection is another sign that the style might be about to blossom into a trend. The New York Times blog post on that show noted that the car-wash look was hot in the 1960s. Another website says the style was also popular in the 1920s, although it was called a “petaled” hemline then. I reject the fashion axiom that if you wore a trend the first time around, you’re too old to wear it again, so I hope to bump into some 110-year-old ladies sporting their ’20s petaled skirts. Talk about Advanced Style!

If you can’t decide between a mullet or car-wash skirt, the Wang skirt shown above is a good choice because it’s both! Here’s another view.

Click to shop at barneys.com.

It’s not just car-wash fashion that has resurfaced repeatedly. The 1976 No. 1 hit song “Car Wash” — the theme song of a movie of the same name — was covered in 2004 by Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott for the soundtrack of the animated movie Shark Tale. Unlike the original, the 2004 version didn’t crack Billboard’s Top 40. But how many other songs mention tuna fish? Not enough, I say! Enjoy.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Holy cow, what a trip down memory lane. I’m sure I even had one–in a dress form, that I wore with choker. After all, it was 1995.

    God.

      • HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I was SO INTO THOSE. I wore one to a bar once and this chic asked me if it was a real tattoo and I told her YES! She was horrified. It was awesome.

  2. I wore a black car-wash skirted dress to my 8th grade graduation in 1993. It was pretty fashion forward, especially at my age. But my mom loved fashion and loved buying me things, so I wore it and loved it. I wore black stockings and heels. I felt fantastic!

  3. Still a little too 90’s for my personal taste, it always makes me wonder if the strips get tangled up in your legs?!

  7. When I was a kid I was terrified of the car wash specifically because of that fringed panel. I’m not sure if I could successfully wear that skirt. I’d love to see an example of how it could be properly styled.

  8. Ah! I love car wash skirts! Le Chateau had the coolest ones. I had a black one (of course).

    I’m going to have to see if I can thrift one and surf this “new” trend!

  11. haven’t heard of the carwash skirt, must have been the years in the 90’s that i only thought of diapers. lol
    laughing because while on a 9 hour car trip with the hubs not too long ago he pulled up his old skool playlist and Car Wash was on it!
    brett

  12. These look crazy! I’m not sure how comfortable they would be to wear. I would feel like it was falling off me or something. Never say never, though …

  13. Oh I love car wash skirts and every now and then I just get a hankering for one. It might be time to indulge again. I loved that movie, and I loved dancing to that song.

  14. Sweet, the perfect DIY. You know anything about carwash shorts? Totally saw someone somewhere rocking them (in denim) unfortunately I don’t remember where!

  16. I like the carwash and mullet styles of skirts—they’re ways of having it all. I can commit to showing AND hiding my legs all at once! I can wear short and long simultaneously!

  17. Remember those skirts that were grafted onto the waist area of a pair of jeans? They were also big in the 90s. In Weird Science (1985) Kelly LeBrock wore a skirt that was the jeans/skirt hybrid with the skirt being comprised of car wash panels! I thought it was THE coolest rock chick getup I had ever seen. I can’t find a good picture online, so my memory may be embellishing, but I still remember it because I wanted one SO BAD.