Article 28. A LOOK AT THE EVOLUTION OF WOMEN'S
FASHION 1920 -1980
PART 4- The 1960s
The 1960s
Fashion from the 1950s was all about exaggerated
femininity and ladylike style. It was a prosperous
and conservative decade for mainstream America.
In the 1950s working and middle class families
enjoyed a simple formula for security and
success. Work hard, spend wisely and the
American Dream was yours for the taking.
The baby boom had begun during post war 1940s
so by the time the 60s rolled around there
was a large population of youth hitting their
teens. The 1960s were ushered in on a wave
of rigid optimism with a young population
eager for change.
The slim silhouette had been around during
the 1950s but it was not the preferred style.
At the turn of the decade however, the narrow
skirt and tailored top or bodice gained favor.
Full skirts and cinched waists were not abandoned
but the vogue was leaning away from that
look. In the fall of 1960 the United States
elected John F. Kennedy, Jr. as their president.
He was only 40 years old, the youngest president
the country had ever had. His beautiful and
well educated wife Jacqueline soon became
the darling of the masses. She was a true
lover of fashion, had impeccable taste AND
was young (just over 30). Jackie Kennedy
had a willowy figure and favored clean lines
with an undefined waist. She despised patterns
and preferred clear solid colors in sumptuous
fabrics that held their shape. Accessories
were kept minimal… often just simple necklace
and simple earrings, small envelope bag and
to the great
dismay of the millinery industry boring little
pillbox hats or worse, no hat at all. I am
a milliner and custom dressmaker by trade
and in the 1980s when I was new to the field
the older milliners still talked about the
devastating blow their trade had suffered
during this time. Millinery has never since
regained its importance in fashion.
Before she became First Lady, Jacqueline
preferred French couture, with Givenchy said
to be her favorite designer. However during
her husbands presidential campaign pressure
was put on her to display a more “patriotic”
wardrobe. After all Pat Nixon wore off the
rack American made clothes and pronounced
American designers to be “the best in the
world”. Jackie chose Oleg Cassini to become
and remain her official couturier throughout
her stay in the White House. The clean uncluttered
style of Jackie Kennedy had a fresh look
and appeal. Soon old and young alike and
were eagerly adopting it.
The first three years of the sixties still
focused on ladylike for the mainstream consumer
but western culture was on the brink of a
revolution. As I said earlier there was a
large youth population that was restless
for change. Prosperity had led to better
education and higher expectations for the
coming generation. Women were attending college
in record breaking numbers. Science was making
major strides. In May of 1960 the birth control
pill was declared safe by the FDA and by
the mid 60s approximately 20% of women of
child bearing age were on it. The Civil Rights
movement, Women's Liberation, protest against
the Viet Nam war, anti-consumerism all these
are associated with the revolutionary 1960s.
It only stands to reason that Fashion along
with other cultural trends should reflect
the upheaval.
Young women went into full rebellion against
the stuffy attitudes and fashions of their
mothers generation. Out of this rebellion
rose a number of styles. I have a great book
called Sixties People by Jane and Michael
Stern. In their book they do a wonderful
job describing the various identities adopted
by the youth of the 1960s. They talk about
Hippies and Folkies, Rebels and Playboys,
Perky girls and Mr. And Mrs. Average. The
city kids they labeled “Young Vulgarians”
and there is even a chapter on Surfers and
Twisters. Of course the biggest influence
on 60s fashion was the new Mod styles coming
out of England. With all these trends, Fashion
became a kaleidoscope of choices.
Paris had been a major influence on fashion
and but was now associated with the older
generation. A talented group of young designers
based in London began to shock and delight
the young consumer with their daring and
innovative designs. Although Andre Courrèges
(Paris) is said to have been the first mini
skirt designer it is Mary Quant (London)
who made it popular. Boutiques selling affordable
and innovative designer clothing became all
the rage in London. Bazaar (Mary Quant) on
Carnaby Street, Kings Road in Chelsea and,
Biba (Barbara Hulanicki) in the Kensington
area were just a few names to go down in
Mod history. London was the hip place to
be. The music, the fashion, the mod culture
that was coming out of the city spread like
wildfire. London changed the face of couture.
Paris had enjoyed her reign for such a long
time. How shocking it must have been to have
a bunch of young upstarts from dowdy old
England become the leading voices in Fashion!
The right place at the right time said Mary
Quant.
By the mid 60s Paris couture had regained
its balance with names like Pierre Cardin,
Yves St. Laurent and Andre Courrèges creating
their own Mod looks. Of course American designers
were keeping step with the fashion revolution,
e.g., Rudy Gernreich and Betsey Johnson .
During the Mid 60s bright bold colors and
designs dominated the fashion scene. Styles
as well as fabric choices were cutting edge
and experimental. Sexuality was celebrated
with peek-a-boo cut outs, see through plastics,
mini skirts and even a topless bathing suit.
Gender bending was played around with … ruffles,
long hair and lace for men and for women
boyish cropped hair and tailored tuxedo jackets.
The trendy silhouette de-emphasized the bust
and waist and displayed as much leg as possible.
Many designs had a distinctly juvenile feeling,
the baby doll dress being a favorite. The
English model Twiggy was the new ideal with
her lanky child like body and huge doe eyes.
Colors and prints were bright or nursery
sweet. Pop art and Op art influenced surface
design. Wild abstract prints were interpreted
in countless different ways. Oversized dots
and stripes…anything that smacked of
wild or wacky. Accessories were minimal but
often exaggerated in size. Huge pendants
and earrings, giant bangles and square toed
shoes. In the mid 60s mid calf, “space” boots
were a huge fad.
Designers experimented with different fabrics.
PVC Vinyl, hard plastic and even metal was
used. Paco Rabanne the King of experimentation
opened his first couture house in 1966. Rabanne
amazed and delighted the world of fashion
with his dresses made from hundreds of plastic
or aluminum discs linked together in a mesh
like manor. He created dresses from paper
and plastic and even made a seamless dress
by spraying vinyl chloride into a mold. Paco
Rabanne was also the first couture designer
to use black women as models which outraged
more parochial minds in the industry. It
is hard to believe that was just a generation
ago.
The middle of the decade was all about the
mini, which kept getting shorter with each
season. It did not matter if you wore psychedelic
prints or architectural solids…it was generally
short, which by the way killed the garter
and stocking industry. Opaque colored or
textured panty hose took over, overnight.
By the end of the decade, garter hose were
nearly a memory.
Besides the English Mod look a number of
other fashion trends were developing. The
counter culture movement lead to the bohemian,
folk and “hippie” looks. What had originally
started as a rebellion AGAINST consumerism
and Fashion soon became a niche of its own.
Early on these styles were borrowed from
“just plain folk”. Soon farmer jeans and
overalls, worker and laborers shirts, ethnic
and peasant inspired garments became mainstream.
Tyrolean details and Eastern European embroideries
adorned skirts and dresses. Corduroy and
denim were cut into jumpers and skirts.
Towards the later half of the decade people
were looking towards the exotic East for
spiritual meaning. The Beatles and the Beach
Boys sought enlightenment from an Indian
guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Eastern design
was eagerly interpreted to western clothing....Nehru
collars, batik prints lots of beads, silver
and brass jewelry.
At the height of the mini craze the maxi
skirt was born. I remember in 1967 when I
was in the 8th grade seeing a fashion ad
for the same dress in three lengths mini,
midi and maxi! For the first time ever there
were almost no rules when it came to fashion.
Most of the fashion I have talked about thus
far was worn by the middle and upper class.
Even the hippies tended to be people from
privileged backgrounds who were rebelling.
There was another important fashion genre
that gets a lot less attention but deserves
more. That is the look that came out of the
inner cities. I grew up in a quiet working
class neighborhood in an old industrial city
in Massachusetts. We were the "lucky"
ones who had made it out of the “tough” sections
of town. Practically everyone still had family
back in the old neighborhoods and I was no
different. I remember as an early teen being
completely enamored of my older cousins city
friends. Teased up hair or slick and straight.
Long bangs in their eyes. Heavy eyeliner
and pearly white lipstick. Skin tight pants
(white jeans were popular) or skirts and
skinny tennis shoes. They wore tight fitting
sleeveless shells or turtle neck
sweaters that enhanced their bustlines and
whatever nature did not provide tissues made
up for. A far cry from the child like look
in the magazines. Boy those gals made me
feel like a kid and did I ever wish my mom
would let me dress like that!
There were so many fashion changes and innovations
in the 60s it is difficult to capture a fair
sampling in just one short article. I have
tried to do it justice but trying to wind
this up feels impossible. There is so much
more to tell. The good news is that there
are lots of books and articles out there
on the subject . Check out your local or
online book sources