Spanish Origin of Miniskirt?

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The OED citation is dated August 6, 1962:

[Begin excerpt]
1962   Billings (Montana) Gaz. 6 Aug. 6/3   Ladies feel that while the
mini-skirt may be the least, it is the most.
[End excerpt]

There is an earlier AP article in June 1962 about the phenomenon of
young women wearing short skirts in England. The article referred to
the women as “Ya-ya girls”; however, the skirts were not called
“Ya-ya” skirts. The article did not contain the word “miniskirt” or
“mini-skirt”, but it included the measurement of eight inches above
the knee which apparently was also used in the later Montana AP
article.

The reporter obtained a reaction quotation from Mary Quant. Hence,
newspapers were linking Quant to the sixties seismic short skirt style
shift in 1962.

Date: June 12, 1962
Newspaper: Ottawa Citizen
Article: Hemline Hike Hits British
Source: AP News wire
Article Location: London
Quote Page: 32
http://bit.ly/1q9248T

[Begin excerpts]
For the last three days, young girls by the hundreds have turned out
with hemlines two to eight - repeat eight! - inches above their knees.
You can see them in the parks . . on the streets . . on seaside
promenades . . on the buses . . on subways . . in restaurants . . at
parties . .  and even in church.
. . .
The Whitsuntide skirts have become so abbreviated that a name has been
coined for their wearers Ya-ya girls. Etymologists say ya-ya comes
from yeah-yeah and in its current usage is a double-barreled term of
approval and appreciation.
. . .
"Extreme youth is the fashion ideal today," said Mary Quant who runs a
fashion house in the Chelsea beatnik belt. "And youth means short,
short skirts. By 1970, skirts could be halfway between the knees and
the hips."
[End excerpts]

Garson

On Sun, Jul 13, 2014 at 3:16 PM, Baker, John <JBAKER at stradley.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Baker, John" <JBAKER at STRADLEY.COM>
> Subject:      Spanish Origin of Miniskirt?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The term "miniskirt" is usually thought to have been invented in London aro=
> und 1965, possibly by Mary Quant, who had a well-known boutique in Chelsea.=
>   However, the OED has an earlier citation, in 1962, to the Billings (Monta=
> na) Gazette.  Billings is not usually considered to be quite so fashion-for=
> ward. =20
>
> I took a look at the article.  It's datelined Mexico City and credited to J=
> ohn Abney, who I understand was a wire service reporter there.  Presumably =
> it just happened that the Billings Gazette was the only newspaper that pick=
> ed up the article and was included in online databases.  The article descri=
> bes the "mini-skirt" or "Ya-Ya" as the latest thing on the production line =
> in Mexico City.  It refers repeatedly to some kind of writing by a prominen=
> t psychiatrist, unnamed, who had argued that the miniskirt was a youthful p=
> rotest of international threats to peace.
>
> Mexico City is an unexpected source of "miniskirt," but still quite a bit m=
> ore plausible than Billings, Montana.  Might "miniskirt" be a calque of som=
> e Spanish term?  It would be nice if someone who speaks Spanish and has acc=
> ess to the necessary databases could do a search of Mexico City publication=
> s from the period.
>
>
> John Baker
>
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