Spanish Origin of Miniskirt?

[Baker, John]

I do see a number of articles from 1962 that refer to the skirts as "ya-ya skirts."   The earliest is in the Winnipeg Free Press, June 14, 1962.  It was called simply the "ya ya" in the Winnipeg Free Press on July 7, 1962.  

Since these reports of "ya-ya girls" and "ya-ya skirts" seem to have spread quickly, I suppose that Occam's razor tells us that they must have spread to Mexico City, a psychiatrist wrote an article of some kind linking the short skirts to fears of international conflict, and a wire service reporter in Mexico City then wrote a humorous article based primarily on the psychiatrist's piece.  Perhaps the psychiatrist's piece used the term "minifalda," which I understand is Spanish for miniskirt.  But without further evidence we have no way of knowing whether it influenced the English term "miniskirt," beyond this one use in 1962.


John Baker



-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of ADSGarson O'Toole
Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2014 11:46 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Spanish Origin of Miniskirt?

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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