For the economy's sake, show some leg

TORONTO, March 31 (UPI) -- The Canadian manufacturer of a women's leg shaver suggests higher hemlines showing more leg might help the economy as the style has historically done.

In a release from Toronto, Schick Quattro for Women created a timeline showing hemlines' relationship to stock markets and economies.

"There (are) historical data that demonstrate a strong correlation between skirt length and the strength of the economy," said Wolfgang Klein, a senior investment adviser at Canaccord Capital. "Longer skirts are in fashion during a bear market and during economic booms the mini is always in style."

The report cited U.S. economist George Taylor for coining the term "hemline theory" in the 1920s, when both the stock market and women's hemlines were on the rise. After the 1929 market crash, hem lengths went below the knee and stayed there through the 1950s, the release said.

The report went on to question whether the current recession might have been ushered in by clothing designers who reintroduced the long bohemian-style skirt in 2008.