Bubble Skirts: A Hijabi-Friendly 2025 Trend

November 13, 2024

Bubble skirts first captivated American fashion in the 1950s, embodying the era’s post-war return to opulent femininity and conventional gender roles. Today, as a wave of conservatism resurfaces in the U.S. under President Donald Trump's re-election, we may witness a revival of hyper-feminine styles that echo this ethos, balanced by a countercultural embrace of androgyny as a form of quiet resistance. This parallel to the ‘50s is unmistakable, with the fashion counterculture of that time being defined in history by the Beat Generation.

After a lengthy absence, bubble skirts are returning, evoking a strong nostalgia for older Gen Z—our last memory of them being a playful fixture in childhood wardrobes. This trend signals a yearning for simpler times, free from the pressures of economic instability and, generally, adulthood. Though often perceived as bold, eccentric, or even a bit childlike, bubble skirts have the potential for a refined, elevated styling, which I explore briefly in the linked YouTube video at the bottom of this article.

In this moment of the 2020s, the “ideal woman” archetype exudes sophistication, balancing family and career with an effortless grace (think Nara Smith). Elegance is central to this vision, influencing the dominant trends. Alongside bubble skirts, expect to see voluminous ruffles and ethereal tulle tutus reimagined to align with this poised, modern ideal. We've seen this already in the popularity of coquette-core, an internet trend that I think touches a nerve because it combines that femininity with a yearning for childhood, exemplified by the ubiquitous motif of the bow.

While I observed and projected the rise of the bubble skirt independently, in doing research for this article I discovered I’m not the first or only one to pick up on this rising hemline trend. In an article for Harper’s Bazaar, Sharyn Budiarto writes that bubble skirts may be more than a microtrend, citing their emerging popularity on the runway, red carpet, and social media. She also referenced an uptick in Google searches for bubble skirts. I decided to look into the trend data and discovered there has indeed been a rise in searches. In the following chart, I contrasted the search term popularity of the bubble skirt with the barrel leg jean globally over the last 5 years. The bubble skirt is represented in purple, the jean is represented in pink.

Barrel leg jeans have been a big trend over the last year, so it's surprising that they have lower search term popularity than bubble skirts, which could suggest the bubble skirt trend is on the cusp of a breakthrough.

Bubble skirts can be worn for casual or formal occasions. Here are a few examples of how they've been styled.