The female silhouette was shaped mainly by skirts: generously pleated and stiffened at the bottom, overlapping one another, sometimes even five at a time to create a crinoline-like effect. Depending on the region, they could reach the ankles or behind the knees, their length varying according to the current fashion. With time, women started choosing increasingly shorter cuts – skirts from the late 1930s barely covered the knees. The top of the skirt was usually sewn into a stitching extended by ribbons to be tied around the waist. On the bottom, skirts were lined with a strip of a thicker material, which stiffened them and prevented them from tearing, just like the hem with a band frayed at the ends (‘brush’) or a strip of fabric sewn onto the outer edge of the skirt. A few metres of fabric were needed to make a skirt. The widest ones could be made out of as much as eight metres of fabric. No wonder that savings were made wherever possible: the invisible front covered with the apron was often made of lesser-quality materials.