BIBA MINI

materials - 100% cotton

BIBA is a mini babydoll dress with a classic 1970s ringer t-shirt bodice. It has alternating quadrants of black and forest green gingham with a sepia toned base. It has an oversized waistline for comfort, and is easily dressed up or down for any occasion. It has a delicate contrasting zipper with a ring pull for easy dressing. 

model wears size XXL

size chart in last photo

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When we imagine gingham, we usually think of domesticity. Kitchen curtains, the lining in a picnic basket, maybe even the wholesomeness of one Dorothy. It’s a traditionally cheap and accessible fabric. Until.

In 1964, the Daily Mirror planned to publish a piece on young career women and wanted to include Barbara Hulanicki, the fashion designer who had just started the boutique Biba. The magazine asked her to come up with a design that would appeal to the new wave of stylish hooligans listening to rock and roll music and could be sold for just 25 shillings (because the youths are broke). She threw together a pink gingham mini dress, and received 17,000 orders in the first week of the article’s publishing. At a time when there was no clothing specifically designed for the young and the reckless, it captured a zeitgeist.