Are Long Dresses a Health and Safety Problem?
I seem to remember in the late 1960s, when women started to wear long dresses again regurlarly on the street, that the Underground warned them to be careful on escalators.
Now that such dresses are popular again, I am surprised that the warning has not been repeated in this Health and Safety obsessed world .
If you go back in history the first escalator on the Underground was installed in 1911 at Earl’s Court station. I’m not sure of my facts, but that surely was about the date, when skirts got a little bit shorter than floor length for general wear.
The Anonymous Widower 
very long skirts and wide leg trousers are difficult on stairs as well as escalators. Especially walking down.
The biggest effect on skirt length was during the period of austerity after WW2, when women were told that if they wanted their skirts longer there would be fewer of them, so the “New Look” came into fashion – skirts down to mid calf length.
Comment by liz | June 28, 2011 |