When people think of 1950s fashions, the first thing that pops into their head, is the Poodle Skirt. This iconic fashion piece took the world by storm in the 1950s and remains a beloved symbol of the era to this day.
BUT! Did you know that the creator of the poodle skirt, Juli Lynne Charlot JUST passed away at the age of 101 on March 3rd, 2024? It’s true as you can see from the screen grab from the New York Times. Sad news, but what a long life!
Now after I saw this news (special shoutout to my amazing sister-in-law who brought this to my attention), I realized that I have never done a blog post on Juli before. Why? I have zero clue but today that all changes!
Let’s learn all about Juli Lynne Charlot’s fashion design path, see her creations and also view some items that are available for sale at the time of this post.
Let the fun begin!
Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
NOTE: If you click on any of the items featured below and they are not available, don’t fret! Hit the search button and see what else is on the websites. There are 1000’s and 1000’s of items being listed daily.
Juli’s Early Life
- Born Shirley Ann Agin on October 26, 1922, in Manhattan, New York.
- At the age of 13, she started voice lessons. She had dreams of becoming an opera singer and would eventually change her name to be more “diva like”.
- When she was a child, her family moved to Southern California. There, her father, an electrician, and her mother, an embroiderer, plied their trades at Hollywood studios.
- She attended ‘Hollywood High School’ with friends like Judy Garland, Ann Miller & Lana Turner.
- After high school, Juli participated alongside the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera as a singer and also sang with an orchestra directed by Xavier Cugat.
- She made her Broadway debut in 1945 in the Victor Herbert operetta “The Red Mill,” and was cast as a singer in the 1946 film comedy “Night in Paradise.” (source)
- Throughout her performing years, she designed her own wardrobe. Because she had refused to learn to sew (“I didn’t want to be a drudge, like my mother”), she hired a seamstress to realize her designs in cloth (source).
Juli also performed with the Marx Brothers, who asked her to tour with them at several military bases during World War II (source).
1940s photo: Juli Lynne Charlot, wearing a dress of her own design, with Harpo Marx.
- She also loved love and was married four times, “to two millionaires, a royal count and a Baron”.
Juli the Fashion Designer
In 1947, at age 25, Charlot was invited to a Christmas party in Los Angeles and planned to create a dress for the event. Having little money (her current husband, Philip Charlot had lost his job around this time & Juli was no longer a working singer), she decided to make her own skirt to wear, instead.
“I couldn’t sew seams,” recalled Juli Lynne Charlot, “so I cut a circle with a hole in the middle, put it on a waistband and had my skirt.”
Spokesman.com
“If I had known how to sew, or had the money to purchase better materials, I would have never made the circle skirt.”
Wikipedia
The Skirt: Charlot’s mother owned a factory which used felt, which allowed her to use that material. It was also the height of the New Look when fabric restrictions were lifted and skirts got fuller and longer. So Juli added some Christmas motif appliques to the skirt and went off to the party.
A week later, Charlot made two more circle skirts due to how wonderful they turned out. She took them to a Beverly Hills, California boutique just prior to Christmas 1947. They were sold immediately; this started the Juli Lynne Charlot California company (great logo typography btw) (source).
Source: Etsy-VINTAGEVAVAVOOMZ
The Iconic Poodle Skirt Is Born
After Christmas 1947, the boutique requested a non-holiday motif. They figured that dogs were popular so it was suggested that Juli Lynne make a dog-themed skirt. She came up with the idea of three dachshunds: two females and a male. The first dog was a flirty girl, the seconds one was a girl with her nose stuck in the air, and the third was the male who was trying to get to the flirty girl. But all the leashes became intertwined so the boy dog could only get to the stuck up girl (Source-Vintage Traveler).
The skirts at the boutique in Beverly Hills were quite popular and sold out; in early 1948, Charlot designed a similar skirt with poodles, which was more successful than the previous skirts based on dachshunds (source).
The Poodle Skirt is born!
Poodle Skirts & More!
Due to the incredible popularity of the skirts, Ms. Charlot soon had a poodle-skirt factory. She made skirts adorned with images of frogs and lily pads, Parisian street scenes, galloping racehorses, cascading flowers and champagne glasses and pink elephants, along with coordinating blouses, sweaters, dresses, hats and handbags.
Exclusive department stores, including Bullock’s Wilshire in Los Angeles, Neiman Marcus in Dallas and Bergdorf Goodman in New York, were carrying her designs. And by the early 1950s, her skirts were selling for about $35 apiece — some $400 in today’s money (source).
Example of a sweater designed by Juli, a 1950s vintage novelty cardigan. Incredibly detailed applique throughout of a lively travel scene – mountains, buildings, boats and floral blooms (avail for sale at time of posting).
Source: Etsy-bellofbow
Charlot’s designs were so successful that one of them appeared in a national ad campaign for Maidenform bras in 1952 (seen below). Leading Designer Patterns, a mail order pattern company, also released one of her designs.
Juli was a huge success!
Source: Pinterest
Why was the Poodle Skirt so Popular?
The skirts seemed to celebrate the postwar optimism in the United States and offer a canvas for the 1950s flood of consumer kitsch. The poodle skirt, especially for teen girls, also was a chance for an important style statement: I’m not wearing what my mom wore (source).
Copycats Everywhere!
When one becomes popular, especially in the world of fashion, it is only a matter of time before others copy the designs. From mail order catalogues, to at home sewers (so many vintage sewing patterns out there), the skirts were seen everywhere! Especially because anyone could easily make it.
Vintage 1950s Teenage circle skirt with poodle applique.
Source: Etsy-CloesCloset
1950s catalog page featuring a pretty felt circle skirt with floral applique and on the right a sewing pattern for women’s heart applique circle skirts (and one with just lines).
1956 Toronto Metropolitan University Fashion Design students sporting their own circle skirt designs.
Fun fact! I graduated from the fashion marketing program at TMU in 2003.
Juli’s Later Life
While in Mexico in the 1980s, Charlot took interest in a classic Mexican wedding dress and decided to create variations on it. This resulted in her purchase of a manufacturing plant in Mexico City to produce and export these dresses worldwide. The factory later collapsed during the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, forcing her to abandon the dress business (source).
Charlot died at her home in Tepoztlán on March 3, 2024, at age 101.
The Poodle Skirts Legacy
In later years, the poodle skirt became visual shorthand for the entire decade. Even now, a production of “Grease” or “Bye Bye Birdie” can scarcely be mounted without one in evidence (source).
I know when I worked as a waitress a 50’s diner in my hometown, we all wore poodle skirts as our uniform. Nothing else was an option.
Further Reading: Mini Guide To Holding The Ultimate 1950’s Themed Party
Source: Etsy-FindCraftyPatterns
Further Examples of Juli Lynne Charlot Circle Skirt Creations
The Pink Elephant Circle Skirt-Source: New York Times
Would you like to own a stunning ‘Romeo and Juliet’ 1950s felt circle skirt designed by Juli Lynn Charlot that was ALSO seen on the late Queen Elizabeth II? Well as of the time of this posting, you could!
The story of this skirt & Queen Elizabeth II:
The time was 1951, and the place was Ottawa, where the woman was attending a hoedown at the home of Canada’s governor general. At 25, she had never seen a hoedown, and was tutored privately in its mysteries before the dancing began.
The woman, attired in a steel blue circle skirt by Ms. Charlot appliquéd with hearts, flowering branches and stylized figures of Romeo and Juliet, acquitted herself admirably, according to news reports.
Her name was Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, and she would be known from the next year on as Queen Elizabeth II (source).
Source: Etsy-VINTAGEVAVAVOOMZ
Vintage 1950s felt circle skirt with Samba Dancers and Palm Trees.
Source: Etsy-FabGabs
Chess Game 1950’s felt skirt. All of the appliques are decorated with sequins and beads.
Source: 1stdibs.com
Last but not least a Fun Liz fact! I own my own 1950s vintage felt circle skirt that I picked up years ago at an amazing vintage store in Toronto, called ‘Gadabout‘. It has a giant accordion, musical notes and a conductor. It’s a prized possession in my small but mighty vintage clothing collection. Take a look at a video I made of the skirt below (video link).
Liz Note: After looking at the quality of these skirts from this post, I am beginning to wonder if my skirt was a Juli Lynn Charlot design? There is no tag but the skirt is incredibly well made. If anyone knows, please comment below!
@tovintagelizzie I love Accordions! Especially on a 1950s true vintage circle skirt in my collection. 🎶 #1950s #1950sfashion #accordion #vintagetiktok ♬ Music Box Polka – George Staiduhar
Further Reading: Interview with Juli from the Vintage Traveler
Thank you for taking the time to read all about Juli, who was an incredible woman who struck gold with an idea that was just simple in it’s design. I am happy to have been able to of shared her story.
Question Time: Did you wear a poodle skirt / circle skirt? Own one? Hate them, love them? Share any thoughts on this topic in the comment section below.
Further Reading from the Vintage Inn Blog (archived posts):
Thanks for dropping by!
Liz
