The 1950s decade was the first that embraced women wearing shorts for more than just beach wear or for pinup girls. Women’s 1950s shorts came in several lengths and styles to fit a variety of leisure activities women enjoyed.
The shortest of the 1950s shorts were “short shorts.” These came to about 6 inches above the knee and had classic 1950s high waists and side zippers. These shorts were mostly worn on the beaches or on pin up models. Another name for these shorts is culottes. Culottes could be short or a bit longer and have wide leg openings that flair out from a tight waist and hip.
These are the most popular style short worn by vintage retro clothing fans today. The high waisted short slims the tummy and creates a thinner waist than low rise shorts. The short length of legs makes them sexy.
These photographs taken by Robert Kelley from the 1950s for LIFE, was likely used for a feature on the craze of the short short amongst impressionable young females.
(Photos by Robert Kelley, via LIFE photo archive)