{"id":8423,"date":"2010-11-30T11:44:27","date_gmt":"2010-11-30T16:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=8423"},"modified":"2010-12-04T19:47:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-05T00:47:00","slug":"vintage-skirt-styles-hobbling-and-hitching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2010\/11\/vintage-skirt-styles-hobbling-and-hitching\/","title":{"rendered":"Vintage Skirt Styles: Hobbling and Hitching"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the early ’80s, there was a brief fad for vintage-style hobble skirts<\/a>, which are so narrow that one can only take tiny steps. The term “hobble skirt” was first used in the early 1900s to describe designs by Paul Poiret<\/a>. (Nowadays, we’d say we were dressing “steampunk<\/a>.”)<\/p>\n

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Hobble skirt postcard via Wikipedia. Click for source.<\/p><\/div>\n

I remembered the hobble skirts last Tuesday when I was wearing my ultra-tight vintage Patrick Kelly gown at the Committee to Protect Journalists dinner<\/a>. It’s so tight around the legs that at some angles it looks like a catsuit, like it did here<\/a>. But not in this photo from Getty\/Michael Nagler! Thanks for getting this great shot, Mike. I’m trying to figure out how I can use it on my driver’s license and passport. What?! I like to look my best on government documentation!<\/p>\n

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Photo by Getty\/Michael Nagler. Note my turquoise Hathor earrings on my friend Melissa's lobes on the left. The flash in back of me belongs to New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

As I minced along that night, it suddenly dawned on me that I was wearing a full-length hobble dress. Luckily, I wasn’t in a rush. If I had been in a hurry, I would have been better off with the opposite of a hobble: a Bonnie Cashin<\/a> hitch-up skirt.<\/p>\n

Cashin, who died in 2000, was a groundbreaking sportswear designer. You might recognize her name because she designed handbags for Coach, which did some Cashin-inspired pieces last year<\/a>.\u00a0 How I wish I had a photo of the Coach bag I had in high school! We all had Coach bags with the toggle closure, which Cashin had introduced decades earlier.<\/p>\n

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Cashin clutch with toggle closure. $145 on MidCentury Chic. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

She did the same closure on outerwear.<\/p>\n

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Cashin jacket. $325 on eBay. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

Cashin explained the origin of her hitch-up skirt design in an interview<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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“My studio, out in the country, in Briarcliff, in the old carriage house, had steps that went up to a second floor. And I was constantly holding my skirts going up. I entertained a lot. And I’d be running up stairs with a martini in my hand. And so I thought I’d better hitch my skirt permanently.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here is an example from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.<\/p>\n

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Courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Metropolitan Museum of Art describes the style this way:<\/p>\n

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The Cashin silhouette … is … achieved with an unusual skirt fastener. She called this favorite device her “dog leash” in recognition of that simple hardware. The effect is to winch up the cloth and make the mohair more layered and luxurious by a profoundly simple hitch.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
There is a beautiful 1964 hitch-up skirt for sale at Swank Vintage, in mohair, just like the museum piece.<\/div>\n
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$625 at Swank Vintage. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I’m tempted but I don’t usually wear such voluminous clothes. I’d have to try on one of these in person before buying, so right now I’m just looking. There’s a second hitch-up skirt at Swank Vintage that’s already on hold, which makes it perfect for admiring from a distance.<\/div>\n
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Click photo to ogle.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Another Cashin trademark was orange, including orange leather.<\/div>\n
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This orange leather coat with toggle closures and an attached handbag is $1,400 on 1stdibs.com. Click to shop.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Orange weatherproof coat with white leather trim. $299.99 on eBay.<\/p><\/div>\n

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"Cashin Carry" handbag. $125 on Etsy.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Orange and camel coat. $150 on Etsy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Those pieces made me think of the “knock-knock” joke phase I went through as a kid. At the time, my gorgeous sister, Terri Berry<\/a>, was just a baby Berry as well as an enthusiastic mimic. She latched onto this joke:<\/div>\n
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Knock knock<\/strong>
\nWho’s there?<\/em>
\nBanana.<\/strong>
\nBanana who?<\/em>
\nKnock knock<\/strong>
\nWho’s there?<\/em>
\nBanana.<\/strong>
\nBanana who?<\/em>
\nKnock knock<\/strong>
\nWho’s there?<\/em>
\nOrange.<\/strong>
\nOrange who?<\/em>
\nOrange you glad I didn’t say banana ?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Except, being a good story-teller, she never said the last line. She would come up with something new. It might start out\u00a0 “Orange went to the supermarket and met Peach and Plum …” and continue along those lines for quite a few minutes. All the fruits and vegetables would get in on the action. Orange you glad little children are so cute?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In the early ’80s, there was a brief fad for vintage-style hobble skirts, which are so narrow that one can only take tiny steps. The term “hobble skirt” was first used in the early 1900s to describe designs by Paul Poiret. (Nowadays, we’d say we were dressing “steampunk.”) I remembered the hobble skirts last Tuesday…<\/p>\n

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