Poodle skirts have long been associated with 1950s Americana, but did you know they first appeared in 1947? These iconic wool circle skirts debuted the same year that Christian Dior debuted the New Look. With voluminous skirts and/or petticoats, the look emphasized a small waist. Most people, however, are unaware of the true story behind the poodle skirt’s popularity.
Juli Lynne Charlot created the poodle skirt in 1947 when she wanted to make a holiday skirt for herself but didn’t have any sewing skills. In a 1953 interview, she described herself as broke, frumpy, and unable to sew well since the winter of 1947. Her creation required only basic cutting and sewing. Charlot cut a large circle from a piece of wool felt and then a smaller circle in the center for the skirt’s waist.
There were no seams on the sides. The design’s simplicity was appealing. She then stitched on appliqués made of wool felt that did not need to be hemmed.Charlot came up with the idea of making these skirts for retail sale, with each design containing a fun story for the customer. The first designs were Christmas-themed, and subsequent skirts were dog-themed, giving rise to the term “poodle skirt.”
She quickly began selling her skirts to stores, and her designs were later purchased outright by companies that mass-produced them.It wasn’t long before making your own skirts became popular. And here’s why the concept took off so quickly: teenage girls with little sewing experience, like Charlot, could whip up these skirts quickly and have a one-of-a-kind design that was on trend with only a few hours of work!
When you see vintage poodle skirts for sale in vintage stores or online, you’ll often see grosgrain ribbon used as the waist band or waist lining because these were frequently made at home with more creativity than skill. Pattern makers quickly produced a slew of designs based on the appliqué skirts popularized by Charlot.Poodle skirt designs can include everything from the traditional poodle to wiener dogs, birds, people, records, and even life-sized chess or badminton game boards.
The designs were only limited by the teenaged girls who made the skirts at home. Even later, Charlot skirts were not always made in the simple wool style (for example, their summer styles in 1953 were made from poplin).
Charlot has her own clothing line, but she is also known for her acting and singing abilities! If you have an original poodle skirt, you obviously have a treasure. But what if you have an original Juli Lynn Charlot poodle skirt? You should exercise caution. We discovered one for sale online right now for $750!