However, by 1981, she was singing the praises of Mary Quant, the miniskirt matriarch, for her ‘clever codes’ of ‘inexpensive separates in high fashion style’. For women, miniskirts were a symbol of liberation; a rejection of post-War utilitarianism and the overly feminine styles that had dominated the 1950s. ‘City gents in bowler hats beat on our shop windows with their umbrellas shouting “Immoral!” and “Disgusting!”’ recalled Quant, in her 1966 memoir Quant by Quant. Holland Cooper Belgravia mini skirt in Westminster tweed £349 SHOP NOW Vivienne Westwood Cotton Panther mini skirt in Dusk £485 SHOP NOWTwiggy, Cilla Black and Brigitte Bardot all adopted the miniskirt, catapulting it to global fame. ‘The result was that she lost her power and in the end no-one cared about what she did.’ A powerful punch from something so mini.