The seeds of the hotpants revolution came much earlier. 1956 Life magazine
Daisy Dukes and booty shorts both owe their hip-hugging styles to a ‘70s fad that lit male imaginations and conservative ideals afire: hotpants. People rightly connect the flaming hotpants fad to the disco decade. However, it’s worth noting that the hotpants revolution can be traced back twenty years prior to when the hotpants' forerunners debuted to utter indignation.
Unlike the ‘70s, which came on the heels of the free love era, the ‘50s were still stuck in the mud before hotpants arrived in shocking fashion. The sudden appearance of women’s (and a few men's) legs sent an entire generation into a tizzy. Here’s the salacious history of hotpants.
Those who opposed the short shorts era were slowly pushed aside.
‘Who Wears Short Shorts?’
The iconic “Short Shorts” ditty created in 1958 by “The Royal Teens” became the song of summer that year while helping usher in a new era of (mostly) ``Who wears short shorts?” was an emphatic “nobody should!”
When the skies were even friendlier. vintageeveryday
Short Shorts Backlash
In a Fort Worth Texas community, one woman burned with such vitriol over the booty emphasizing shorts that she wrote a heated letter to the City Council. She called short shorts “an advertisement for adultery”, claiming that a “decent lady” such as herself shouldn't have to see “ugly legs” and the outrageous pants were “a disgrace to humanity!”
The Council took her letter seriously, mulling over the possibility of banning the “godless” style from their wholesome community. While they eventually demurred, even the consideration made National News, spurring a public debate over the sanctity of hotpants’ descendants.
From Short Shorts To Hotpants
Initially, Hollywood actresses were the first to sport short shorts while at the beach or for the much-in-demand pin-up photoshoots. These short shorts accentuated their curves to a degree almost never seen before and rose to six inches above their knees, which for the ‘50s was essentially nude.
These antecedents to hotpants also often featured a classic ‘50s high-waisted cut along with a zipper. While an older generation raged at what they perceived as the death of the puritan light, men almost everywhere rejoiced at the curtain being drawn back that little bit more.
Elizabeth Taylor helped spark the hotpants revolution. pinterest
The Sexy ‘60s Birth Hotpants
While the demand for short shorts steadily grew throughout the late ‘50s, the supply remained stubbornly absent. Much of that was likely due to prudish proprietors not wanting to join in the “sexual revolution.” However, when the swinging ‘60s came knocking, the sexual liberation of women could not be contained.
In the late ‘60s, Welsh fashion designer Mary Quant opened her shop in London, challenging the status quo with forward-thinking ideas, like the mini skirt. Nevertheless, her extensive clientele kept coming back with the same feedback “make it shorter, shorter, shorter.” She responded with hotpants, which featured a maximum inseam of roughly two inches. Immediately, they sold like hotcakes.
There's no pants like hotpants.
No Turning Back
When James Brown released a three-part anthology “Hotpants”, things really started to take off. After Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Elizabeth Taylor were seen sporting the new style, the cat was officially out of the bag. Even a few men got in on the action as David Bowie, Elton John, and Liberace all tried their hand at the hotpants revolution.
Quickly, hotpants moved from the stars to the mainstream. Almost overnight, cheerleaders were decked out in hotpants, and stewardesses on Southwest Airlines followed. The phrase “coffee, tea, or me?” undoubtedly started, thanks to a man witnessing flight attendants in hotpants and go-go boots. In fairness, the airline itself hired its staff based on the strength of the interviewees’ legs. The company motto even became ‘sex sells seats.’
Inevitably, by the mid-'70s, the pendulum swung back the other way as hotpants became another term for prostitution as sex work earned a taboo label. Of course, today, hotpants look about as scandalous as sandals by comparison.
