1960's Fashion Trends Essay

“In any era, fashion is a reflection of the time and what is going on in the culture politically, socially and economically.”1 The 1920’s witnessed a variety of dramatic changes for women; these changes, such as shorter dresses and stronger attitudes occurred primarily after World War I in spite of the prolonged development of women 's’ rights through 1914 and 1920. With their new hair, fashion styles, and attitudes, women had started what became known as the “Flapper Era”.

The style and cut of women's clothing during the 1920's changed drastically. Waistlines dropped dramatically while hemlines rose scandalously. Turned-down hose were no longer black, but beige. Rouged knees, bobbed hair, and figureless figures characterized the "radical flappers". These women violated many of the rules dictating appropriate clothing and behavior for women. The

People may say that the true years of fashion began in the late nineteen forties and went on through the early nineteen sixties. If you look at fashion today, its almost repeated the look from sixty years ago. In each generation fashion trends become based on history and/or important events. in the nineteen forties fashion was being modeled by the military wear. World War II caused a drastic change in the way clothes were being made and worn. In the nineteen fifties Americans admired the fashion of movie stars and music artists. Media had a strong influence on the wordly trend. The people of the sixties expressed there personalities and emotions through

The 1920’s fashion was a period of liberation, change, and even more importantly a movement towards the modern era. Fashion in the 1920’s varied throughout the decade but one could see the noticeable change from the previous fashion statements and eras. At the start of the decade, women began emancipating themselves from the constricting fashions by wearing more comfortable apparel. As women gained more rights and World War I forced them to become more independent, flappers came to be, mass-produced garments became available, and artistic movements increased in popularity, one can see how the fashions from the roaring twenties characterized the time and redefined womanhood. (1920s clothing 1)

Fashion in the early nineteen twenties was all about comfort. Men’s pants got wider and women stopped wearing their corsets and tight dresses, while older women of the age considered this scandalous and still held the thought that women should not show their ankle. Though the majority of adults disagreed with the fashion revolution, young women continually hiked up their skirts, stayed out late, and kept up with fashion trends. Times were changing, and thus the flapper age was born. Hemlines rose to the knee, and then later above it- exposing the muscular dancer’s legs-toned

Throughout the 1920s through the 1950s Women’s clothing in America was affected by World War II, which lead to the exploration of different styles, the encounter of new trends and the exchange of ideas and new styles.

In the 1920's, women's fashion experienced an enormous change, the Bob haircut was the newest fad, makeup was no longer simple and basic, and dresses were not the traditional length. The Bob haircut was a blunt cut, it was a simple look, but a drastic departure from the long feminine look (Warner). This was an exciting fad for women, because they were displaying that they can be like men, and they are equal to them as well. Due to the imbalance of the ratio between men and women, the women had to compete for the fewer men's attention, making the 1920's makeup more desirable (Jessop). The fad of making was exciting for Canadian women, because they began to explore makeup its self and develop new products and techniques. Dresses became short, showing off women's legs (1920's). By 1926, dresses reached their shortest length, reaching no further than the knees (1920's). This event was very exciting for

Before the 1950’s many teenagers would wear the same exact clothes as their parents did, in the 50’s we start to see fashion including teenagers as their own fashion. Teenage girls would wear more colors, and tighter dresses to get a finer look. We also see that the teenagers start to go farther into the accessories by wearing pearls, necklaces and waves many high class wives would too. Many of the guy teenagers would wear sweaters or leather man jackets and the “rebel high schoolers” would wear the black leather jacket. The 1950s, we see many new

As this article focused on the change of American culture during World War II, another main point was how the clothing styles changed. In the 1930s, women mainly wore conservative, but stately dresses. After women entered manual factory work, they needed to wear appropriate clothing, such as pants and flat shoes (Hall, Orzada, and Lopez-Gydosh). Because pants did not fit the woman’s picture, clothing companies had to shift to comply with the demand. Due to this, not only did the workforce demographics change, companies and products changed from past

As more American ladies entered the military or took regular citizen employments in industry to bear on the work of men who had gone off to war; ladies needed designs that were less frilly and more suitable for work. They likewise needed apparel styles like the outfits worn by their men. When all is said in done ladies ' apparel got to be uninteresting and viable and limited however most importantly; utilitarian. There was little frill on the first things in light of the fact that beautification obliged extra fabric and materials. However ladies as often as possible connected their frill: like bows and periphery; to emerge in a swarm. Ladies ' shirts and coats embraced the square shaped - square carried look of the military uniform by sewing modest shoulder braces into the

The political and economic crisis of the 1930’s strongly affected the way women dressed. The harsh situation in the country forced them to abandon fancy trends (in clothing, accessory, beauty department) in favor of the simplicity. Women quite often looked up to the glamorous Hollywood movie stars for fashion and beauty inspirations. However, the upcoming war stripped them of this sole way to escape the grim reality of day-to-day life. The hard times that emerged at the end of the 1930’s with the upcoming war on the horizon translated into simple and practical clothing.

During the 1950s, the hair was constantly changing in every possible way. People could do just about anything with hair except leave it alone. Tied back hair and short bangs were inspired by Audrey Hepburn. Earrings became a focal point because woman wore their hair up or their hair was short. Cosmetics became a necessity for every woman during the 1950s. The body shape changed and became more muscular, tone, and womanly. Breasts were becoming the focal point of the postwar years. Bras were pointed with stitching in circles to accentuate the mountainous aspect of what was underneath. The strapless bra was a big number as the strapless evening dresses required something to hold the breast high and structured without

Another area in which women made changes was with their appearance. Women used their attire and style to show an independence, a certain freedom in which they alone had control. Starting with the “Gibson Girl”, women dressed in long, slim dresses, freeing themselves of the poufy petticoats of yore. Women started wearing shorter dresses and shorter hairstyles, leading to “Flapper Jane”. “Women started wearing “less” clothing, shorter dresses, cutting off their hair, and just being more “sensual” than normal”, (Bliven, 1925).

The 1920’s, also called the roaring 20’s, was a time of change. During this time period the fashion for both men and women was changing immensely. The aftermath of WWI caused America to enter a vigorous era. As a result of the role of women during the war, many customs and morals were changing. The Stock Market started booming, many new dances and music came about, and women got the right to vote and enter the workforce. There was an uprise in almost every activity, and fashion was definitely one (Tirocchi, Anna and Laura). Although fashion varied throughout the decade, one could notice a drastic change from the prior fashion.

The Years between the 1950’s and 1960’s was an explosive time in fashion. The 50’s represented an out coming of the new generation. People began to gain their own personal style and appearance, influenced by films and singers (“Vintage Fashion”). Their styles incorporated leather, jeans, corduroy, and the ballet shoes for the girls. Men’s wear began to drastically change. Men would wear a leather jacket, with jeans that narrowed at the bottom, and a simple t-shirt (Peacock 210-211). This was the first time in history that jeans were not just worn by the working class but by all men (“Brief History”). The man’s lust for flesh grew during this time, so women’s skirts began to get shorter and the bikini was invented. Clothes were made to glorify the female body and emphasize every curve. It wasn’t until the Barbie doll was created in the late 50’s that young girls began to have a separate fashion from their mothers. Young girls would wear sweaters with full skirts or pants