Editing Skort

{{Short description|Shorts made to look like a skirt}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2010}}

{{Infobox clothing type
| name          = Skort
| image_file    = Field hockey skort (50269656266) (cropped).jpg
| image_size    = 200px
| caption       = A [[field hockey]] player wearing a skort as part of her uniform
| type          = Pair of shorts that look like a skirt, or shorts with a skirt-like panel in front and back
| material      = [[fabric]]
| location      = 
| url           = 
}}

A '''skort''' (a [[portmanteau]] of [[skirt]] and [[shorts]]) is a pair of shorts with an overlapping fabric panel made to resemble a skirt covering the front, or a skirt with a pair of integral shorts hidden underneath.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apparelsearch.com/Definitions/Clothing/culottes.htm|title=Culottes Skirt is a Skort|website=www.apparelsearch.com|access-date=29 January 2019}}</ref>

==History==
Initially called "trouser skirts", skorts were developed to provide more freedom to do activities (such as sports, gardening, cleaning, or bike riding), and give the appearance of a skirt. At first, skorts were not deemed appropriate to be worn during any non-athletic activity.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/skort-history|title=How the Skort Went From Rebellious Garment to Athleisure Staple|first=Tanya|last=Basu|date=21 September 2017|website=Atlas Obscura|access-date=29 January 2019}}</ref>

[[Montgomery Ward]] claimed in their 1959 Spring/Summer catalog to have invented the garment they called a skort.  It was a short knife or accordion pleated skirt with an attached [[Bloomers (clothing)|bloomer]] underneath.  Years later, the term was applied to a pair of shorts with a flap of fabric across the front (and often the back) making the garment appear to be a skirt.  In recent years, the term skort has been given to any skirt with an attached pair of shorts.

== Predecessors ==
The origins of skorts may be related back to earlier garments such as [[bloomers]] and [[harem pants|jupe-culottes]] which grew in popularity in the late 19th century and early 20th century, despite common public disapproval for women wearing pants.<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 March 2019|title=Women And Pants: A Timeline Of Fashion Liberation|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/women-and-pants-fashion-liberation_l_5c7ec7f7e4b0e62f69e729ec|access-date=9 June 2021|website=HuffPost|language=en}}</ref> In 1911, Paul Poiret produced several designs that were a combination of skirts and trousers, and they became known as jupe-culottes or as [[harem pants]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Milbank|first=Caroline Rennolds|title=Paul Poiret|url=https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fashion-clothing-industry/fashion-designers/paul-poiret|access-date=9 June 2021|website=LoveToKnow|language=en}}</ref> Similar to skorts, culottes involve various styles that may appear as a hybrid between pants and skirts.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Borrelli-Persson|first=Laird|title=The Ups and Downs of Culottes|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/the-ups-and-downs-of-culottes-a-brief-history-from-paul-poiret-to-hedi-slimane|access-date=9 June 2021|website=Vogue|date=16 September 2019|language=en-US}}</ref> Skorts are distinguished by their construction as a pair of shorts with material over it to make it appear as a skirt.

==Women's sports==
The first noted skort-like clothing to be worn as tennis attire was done so by the Spanish player, [[Lilí Álvarez]], who wore a pair of culottes which had been shaped to resemble a skirt during her Wimbledon match in 1931. Skorts have become common in sports such as [[field hockey]], [[tennis]], [[golf]], [[ten-pin bowling]] and [[camogie]]. 

Skorts have also gained popularity in casual and athletic wear due to brands such as [[Lululemon Athletica|Lululemon]]. High-waisted skorts, skorts with ruffles or asymmetrical hems, and skorts made with patterned or textured fabrics have all become popular options.<ref name="auto"/>

===Camogie===
In [[camogie]], the requirement for skirt-like clothing is viewed by some as archaic.  A request for shorts to be permitted was rejected by governing body the [[Camogie Association]] in April 2024.<ref>{{cite news |title=Motion on skorts fails to pass at camogie congress |url=https://www.rte.ie/sport/camogie/2024/0406/1442074-motion-on-skorts-fails-to-pass-at-camogie-congress/ |access-date=4 May 2025 |publisher=RTÉ Sport |date=6 April 2024}}</ref> Skorts are criticised by a majority of players as being uncomfortable, and giving rise to concerns about exposure in media content. All players on both sides in a 2025 [[Leinster Senior Camogie Championship]] game protested by wearing shorts, but all were required to change to skorts, otherwise the game would be abandoned.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hickey |first1=Emma |title=Camogie players forced to change to skorts after protest-wearing shorts at Kilkenny-Dublin match |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/camogie-players-forced-to-change-to-skorts-after-wearing-shorts-dublin-kilkenny-6695248-May2025/ |access-date=4 May 2025 |publisher=TheJournal |date=3 May 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Fashion|Clothing}}
* [[Women and trousers]]

==References==
{{wiktionary}}
{{reflist}}

{{Clothing}}

[[Category:Skirts]]
[[Category:Trousers and shorts]]
[[Category:1950s neologisms]]
[[Category:2000s fashion]]
[[Category:2010s fashion]]