MEMORIES:

They were hot, but they sure weren’t pants. Hot pants were super short shorts that were a hot fashion item in the 60s, alongside the popular micro-mini skirts. At least in the hot pants you could bend over and pick something up without your underwear being exposed to the world.

 

The style was originally developed as underwear in the 20s and 30s, known as tap pants. Movie star Marlene Dietrich was famous for her gorgeous gams in films such as The Blue Angel or The Blonde Venus when she wore her silk shorts in her dressing room. But that was lingerie – it was the 60s the brought the style out as regular street wear.

 

Teens took immediately to the style, combining hot pants in soft velvet with thigh-high go-go boots. You knew the look was here to stay when fashion trade magazine, Women's Wear Daily, coined the term “hot pants” in 1970. And, indeed, the look stayed in style throughout the 70s, appearing in a multitude of prints, fabrics, and styles. Nothing was sexier than a pair of hot pants with platform wedges.

 

The 80s and 90s had hot pants too, but under a different moniker. Now the short shorts were called Daisy Dukes – named after the character in the TV show The Dukes of Hazzard, who’s leggy look helped make the series a success.