Hobble skirt got its name from the word “Hobble” which means “to limp. Hobble skirt is narrow skirts which significantly obstructs the stride of the wearer’’s, and hence forces the wearer to limp. Some people use a corset having knee length to achieve this effect. A dress having such skirt is termed as hobble dress. Hobble skirts first emerged in Western fashion in the year 1880. The term hobble skirt was used as an indication to a fleeting trend of slim skirts in the years 1910-1913. The great hobble skirt is a development of narrowing the skirt which was seen in the fashion ever since the start of century. It is believed that the Persian designers developed the hobble skirts and were motivated by the Western culture.
In the Western fashion history, the hobble skirts appeared near the beginning of 1880s, shared with the movement to slim down the traditional gown. This was a temporary effect and the skirts were widened again in latter 1880s. The expression ”hobble skirt” became popular in early 1910s, when a French designer Paul Poiret brought in long skirts which were thin at the bottom. This caused ”hobbling” to the wearer and hence got the name hobble skirt. For the hobble skirt it was believed that the tighter the skirt the more fashionable it was. Various accessories for the hobble skirt were also introduced like hobble garter designed to bind the wearer’’s. The trend of hobble could not get the desired rotation in the market and hence was vanished pretty soon.