27. A LOOK AT THE EVOLUTION OF WOMEN'S FASHION
1920 -1980
PART 3- Fashion of the The 1950s
At the beginning of the 1950s the desire
for sophisticated beauty had reached a peak.
WW11 ended five years before and with it
the need for restrictions and utilitarian
clothing. In 1947 Christian Dior presented
his Corolle Line which is now referred to
as the “New Look”. With its sloped shoulders,
full bosom, impossibly tiny waist and extravagant
full skirt the New Look was the epitome of
exaggerated femininity. If skirts were not
full they tended to be narrow and curvy boldly
accentuating the derriere. Either way the
focus was on the female form. Although there
was protest against such explosive change
it took just a few years for the culture
of ultra femininity to triumph. By 1950 fashion
dictates mandated the perfectly groomed woman
with her flawless arched eyebrows, powdered
porcelain complexion and meticulously coiffed
hair. Undergarments were needed to mold the
natural body
to fit the newly perceived ideal. Waist
cinching girdles and gravity defying bras
did the trick. Protocol of dress reached
new heights. The proper Mademoiselle never
left home without her chapeau, matching bag
and shoes and for most occasions, gloves
as well.
Paris had again become the couture capitol
of the world. Designers like Balenciaga,
Dior, Balmain, Fath and Ricci (to name a
few) produced a parade of experimental and
opulent collections each season. The fitted
waist reigned supreme but waist levels were
dropped and raised. Skirts were full or pencil
thin sometimes with flared peplums. The décolleté
was daringly low on strapless dresses. Skirts
reached enormous widths requiring yards and
yards of expensive fabric often extravagantly
embellished with bustles, swags, drapes or
reams of lace. For Paris couture it was an
era of extremes
Paris may have regained its influence but
not its rule over American style. High end
American designers and couturiers produced
their own creations. It was an era of beautiful
dresses. Norman Norell, Nettie Rosenstein,
Ceil Chapman …just a few of the many talented
designers who helped define American style
in the 1950s.
Some women chose career after the war but
most wanted nothing more than to get married
and become homemakers. The ballroom chic
coming out of Paris was exciting and beautiful
but ill suited to the average woman’s way
of life. The US ready to wear market went
to work producing wearable suits, dresses
and separates which mimicked the new body
conscious silhouettes. Slim or full skirted
shirtwaist dresses, almost always with a
defined waist. Two piece dress sets consisting
of a narrow sheath and matching overlay or
jacket. Fitted and full skirt separates finished
with fitted sweaters and blouses. (Sweater
twin sets were the ultimate in daytime chic.)
Suits had soft shoulders with fitted jackets
and long A-line or pencil skirts. Matching
accessories were de rigueur.
The 50s decade was a time of optimism and
prosperity. For a great percentage of the
mainstream culture jobs were plentiful and
they paid enough to afford a modest home
and comfortable lifestyle. Vacations and
recreation time had historically been a luxury
of the upper classes but now even blue collar
workers bought barbecue grills and rented
cottages at the beach. Many of the moms where
I grew up had part time jobs to supplement
the household income but most considered
their primary job to be caretakers of their
family. Families were often large and mothers
were active. By the second half of the 1950s
Capri pants or peddle pushers and crisp cotton
blouses were common attire in the home.
American sports clothing had been a developing
business since the 1920s and this new era
of “leisure" boosted the industry dramatically.
"Play clothes" for women flooded
the market. There were sun suits and tennis
dresses, patio frocks and beautiful swimsuits
with endless variations of detail. Names
like Rose Marie Reid, Catalina, and Cole
of California were producing glamorous beach
wear which is much sought after by today’s
vintage collectors. Slim side zippered slacks
and blouses began to take the place of house
dresses. However, despite the growing interest
in leisure clothing, even the most casual
of women "dressed" when they went
out in public. My Mom, a country girl at
heart, lived in denim and sneakers but when
we went into town, out of the closet came
her perfectly pressed shirtwaist dress, sheer
stockings, black pumps and Revlon lipstick!
I loved those occasions when I
was a tiny girl, riding the bus beside my
dressed up mother… pressing my nose to her
clean starched sleeve which always smelled
like fresh air and sunshine!
Colors and fabric prints changed in popularity
according to each new season but over all
they tended to be vibrant and cheerful. …
Plaids and ginghams, polka dots, stripes,
paisley and stylized designs. Animal prints,
abstract moderne and of course florals which
were a favorite throughout the decade. I
consider the impressionistic rose to be a
signature 1950s print. Novelty woolens were
popular flecked tweeds, oversized plaids,
boucles, polished fleeces…. Commonly used
fabrics for evening were crisp taffetas,
Chantilly lace, duchesse satin, shantung,
chiffon and brocade.
Other often used fabrics were corduroy, seersucker
and dotted swiss.
The 1950s saw an explosion in marketing to
the junior miss customer. Specific fashions
were designed for adolescent and young women
like never before. Felt circle skirts with
whimsical appliqués, penny loafers and bobby
socks, fuzzy angora sweaters … “slim jim”
pants and jersey pullovers all created with
the young lady in mind. The 1950s high school
prom was an ocean of tulle, lace and chiffon,
daring décolleté and classic pearls.
In the 1950s (particularly the second half)
the dominant issue for accessories was to
coordinate, coordinate, coordinate!! Some
took it to the extreme... hat, gloves, bag
and shoes all in the exact same color. More
often though, the bag and shoes were matched…
black, brown, tan and navy being the most
common colors, the hat might match shoes
and purse but could just as easily pick up
a color in the outfit and white gloves were
appropriate for most ensembles. The parure
(matching set of jewelry) had been around
since the 19th century but in the 1950s it
became wildly popular. If a woman’s budget
allowed, slips were bought in a variety of
colors to match each dress as closely as
possible. Matching scarves were also an important
wardrobe necessity.
Hats relied less on ornate trim and more
on design and material. The felts used in
millinery during the 1950s were plush and
rich, straws were fine or novel in structure,
and cloth covered hats used the finest fabrics.
Lines were clean. Toques, sailor styles,
portrait brims, tiny capulets and modified
cloches were a few common styles seen over
the decade. Veiling was used extensively.
The hard sided handbag with short single
handle was the most common 1950s bag but
collectors eagerly seek the more novel specimens,
e.g., carved Lucite plastic boxes, basket
woven metal, creative straws. Handbags with
applied decorative motifs or needlepoint
sides are valued as well.
High heel shoes started out with rounded
toes and thicker heels. Ankle straps and
sling-backs remained in vogue but the pump
is by far considered the shoe of the 50s.
As the decade progressed the toe became more
pointed and heels very narrow. The stiletto
heel was invented in the 1950s in Italy.
There is much controversy over exactly who
invented it but it is agreed that a technological
breakthrough involving a steel shank being
encased in plastic made it all possible.
For the younger miss saddle shoes were all
the rage as well as different styles of loafer.
Toward the mid and later 1950s Paris was
again launching new and innovative silhouettes.
The sack, a loosely shaped dress which tapered
below the knee was introduced by Balenciaga
in the mid 1950s (however Dior made it popular).
In 1958, in his first collection, Yves Saint
Laurent created his trapeze dress for the
house of Dior which went on to inspire A-line
dresses for decades to come.
In a nutshell the 1950s was a decade that
took preoccupation with glamour and style
to new heights. The importance of fashion
was undisputed and permeated the culture
of the day. There are those who lament this
lost age of devotion to appearances and others
who could not even imagine such slavish behavior.
However few can deny the pleasure derived
from revisiting this elegant and sophisticated
era.