Juli Lynne Charlot, creator of the poodle skirt, dies at 101

The woman who created the poodle skirt that remains a fashion icon from the 1950s, Juli Lynne Charlot, has died at the age of 101.

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Charlot died on Sunday, according to The New York Times at her home in Tepoztlán, Mexico.

She was born in New York on Oct. 26, 1922, named Shirley Agin, according to People Magazine and the Times.

She pursued a career in singing in Hollywood after her family moved to Southern California, attending school with Judy Garland, Ann Miller and Lana Turner. According to the newspaper, she eventually changed her name professional to Juli Lynne and sang Los Angeles Civic Light Opera and with Xavier Cugat’s orchestra. Charlot appeared with the Marx Brothers at military bases stateside during World War II.

Charlot was married four times including her first to a millionaire, a British Royal Navy officer named Philip Charlot after the war, another millionaire and a German baron’s Mexican-born son, the Times reported.

Her claim to fame, however, was not on the stage. Instead, it was in clothing design, after she created the iconic poodle skirt in 1947.

Charlot was trying to find an outfit for a holiday party and wanted to make a skirt, People Magazine reported. She didn’t know how to do it herself or have the money to get one so she got some felt. She cut a large circle and then a smaller one and put it on to create the circle skirt. She received a lot of comments on her outfit.

The Toledo Blade said, according to People Magazine, that Charlot made some more circle dresses and they were sold at a Beverly Hills, California boutique, launching her fashion career.

She then started to design some more skirts including one that became known as the poodle skirt. According to People Magazine, it started with a dachshund but expanded to poodles. The skirt became an icon for teenagers across the United States in the 1950s. The Times reported that the skirts back then cost about $35 and today they would go for $400.

The poodle skirts are even worn today in productions of “Grease " or “Bye Bye Birdie,” according to the Times.

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