Finally finished!!!! Contextual Essay: Fashion in the 1950s

Fashion in the 1950s 

What do you think of when you see "1950s"? I think of "Grease", petticoats, tiny waists and Teddy Boys. But of course, there is much more to it than that. I have chosen to write about the 1950s because it is my absolute favourite decade. I love the colours, the fabrics, the new technologies that inspired the decades to come, and probably most of all, I love how I can dress up like a 50s woman and feel beautiful. 

The fifties was a time of great change for the UK. Hitler had been defeated, and now came the tremendous task of rebuilding Britain. The vibrant patterns and contrasting colours of fashion are merely one part of the huge development in culture, but this is the part I will focus on. 

There were two main silhouettes of the 50s; The wasp waist with full skirt, and the slim fitting pencil skirt, with both working well on most figures (with a little help from a girdle!). This era was the rise of "ready to wear" clothing which could now be mass produced and was of a higher quality. Marks and Spencer were the leaders of the this market, well known for their value for money. So much so, that Pairs and America would often copy the way M&S manufactured their garments. 

Although the war had ended, rationing didn't until 1954, but despite this, people remained positive and happy from the jubilation of their victory. They were incredibly hard working, desperate to fix what was broken and achieve stability once again. Most women also continued to work because they didn't want to return to being 'just a house wife', meaning families had more disposable income to spend on luxuries. However, some women did not embrace these new fashions because they didn't want to return to being just a pretty housewife after all the work they had done during the war. Some felt that they had proven their strength and ability, and weren't about to give it up for some pretty clothes, whereas other women were quite happy to embrace the fact they could take off their overalls and dress like women again. 

Importing and exporting began again, with Paris sending lots of new designs and new fabrics to be made into fabulous new dresses for any occasion. Tweed took the limelight in the Autumn of 1952, along with lace, chiffon and crepe which all made a comeback. It was basically anything and everything fancy, as there had been so little during the war. Prints became popular again, and new technologies created fabrics that were synthesized from petrochemicals and therefore easier to care for than ever before. Crimplene, Nylon and Orlon were initially quite expensive fabrics, but the cost soon reduced once they gained popularity and could be mass produced. The care for these fabrics simply required a quick rinse, drip dry and no ironing; easy to care for and would last ages! Crimplene was a remarkable advance in technology for people of the 50s as it enabled them to wear white or pastel colours without them yellowing with age or sunlight, like white nylon does. It also does not lose it's stiffness through washes and can be well tailored into shape. 

So, what did these amazing new fabrics make? Well, the ideal silhouette of the time was a stunning hourglass figure, made possible by several layers of starched net, under a wide pleated or circular skirt. The skirt was always mid-calf length, occasionally longer but never shorter. These full skirts could be worn as part of a casual outfit during the day, or a more classic look during the evening. Bright, contrasting chiffon was often seen as part of a glamorous evening dress. However, some women opted for the slim fitting pencil skirt for a more elegant take on the hourglass figure. The close fitting, calf length skirt would  force women to wiggle their hips as they moved and was therefore nicknamed the 'hobble' skirt. A pencil line dress was also a popular choice, though for the more mature lady, paired with heels and accessories. Young girls and teens were restricted from wearing this kind of skirt as it was deemed too provocative. Another, more seductive style was the sweater girl look, famously sported by Marilyn Monroe. This look consisted of a tight jumper, concealing a pair of large, pointy breasts created with a bullet bra. This type of bra was heavily padded to create the illusion of cone shaped breasts, and pushed them up and out. In the mid 50s, the fashionable silhouette changed again, and this time it was slimmer. But women did not dress like this all the time; for housework they would wear a simple sheath or wrap dress, nothing too fancy. 

A women could not leave the house without a pair of gloves, a handbag and a hat, either a small, lampshade style hat or a pill box shape hat, often with a veil. Their gloves would be long in the evenings, layered with bracelets, and short in the day. Scarves were a 50s fashion staple, either tied round the neck or in the hair, and very often brightly coloured. To really emphasise their small waists, women would wear wide belts with full skirts, pencil skirts and capri pants, however thinner belts were also worn to really squeeze the narrowest part of the waist. Red lipstick was another 50s staple, whether is was a cool red for pink skin tones or a warm red for yellow skin tones. A fine eye pencil was used to outline the eye and extend in a slant to the corner, a doe eye look that makes eyes pop. 

Despite the tiny waists and hourglass figures, women actually felt less pressure in the 50s to conform to the latest fashion trends and the so called "rules of fashion". There was little pressure to have a skinny waist as undergarments such as girdles were used to smooth down and lumps, bumps and bulges. Some women opted to wear sack dresses which were a throwback to 1920s style fashion, and this huge difference from the classic 50s look earned the phrase "the wandering waistline", first used in Paris in the spring of 1952. In 1953, elegance took over, and hemlines, waistlines and hairlines all grew shorter. 

As female fashion changed, so did male fashion. Gone were matching waistcoats, and instead men wore waistcoats in contrasting or complementary colours, paired with a two piece lounge suit for business and semi-formal occasions. Since there was more variety of fabrics and patterns after the war, clothing could be made from silk, corduroy and velvet, and bolder designs were seen on shirts, socks and ties. Towards the end of the 50s, musical icons such as The Rat Pack influenced American male style, popularising suits and trilby hats. The Teddy Boy look also originated in America, and soon, young men all over were wearing drape style jackets with contrasting cuffs and lapels, paired with matching or contrasting drainpipe trousers, stiff shirts and brocade waistcoats. James Dean famously wore white t-shirts as a main piece of clothing, rather than as underwear, and also promoted leather and denim looks. 

Teenagers emerged in the 1950s and were finally recognised as a group of people who were neither children nor adults. They now had their own money (pocket money from parent's disposable income) and would hang out at cafes and diners, socialising and developing their own voices and styles, rebelling from their parents. A specific range of clothing was designed and developed for them, ideal for dancing and jiving. Girls would have dressed similar to their mothers, and continued in that style until they reached adulthood, but now they had a choice to wear capri pants with a tight top and flat shoes, instead of the traditional attire. They would still wear full skirts and matching sets, but now they could look different to their mothers, and not like children. Boys would look to James Dean for fashion inspiration, wearing white t-shirts, jeans, leather jackets and slicking back their hair. Previously, girls and boys had been classed as children until they reached puberty, when they became youths. They would officially become a "grown-up" at the age of 18, and adult at the age of 21, when they would often marry, purchase their own property and look to starting a family of their own. To them, marriage symbolised an escape from puberty, and proof that they were officially an adult with responsibilities. 

The Festival of Britain was held throughout the UK in the summer of 1951. This post-war celebration was to show the power of Britain, with stalls displaying over 6000 products, most of which couldn't have been purchased prior to the war. The goods were initially only for trading with other countries to promote economic growth, but soon became available to everyday people. The festival brought with it luxury fabrics, unseen clothing and intricate accessories, along with so many more products. 

Dior revolutionised fashion in 1947 with the release of his "New Look" designs in Paris, creating A-line and H-line garments, shift dresses and slim fitting skirts with pleating below the knee, now known as mermaid or fishtail skirts, along with so much more. His work used lots of excess fabric which shocked people as there had previously been a lack of fabric available during the war, but all the excess fabric was to emphasise the hourglass figure. Coco Chanel made a comeback in the 50s, disagreeing with the use of excess fabric as she felt it was a waste. Instead, she created an 'open jacket' policy, designing blouses to be the focal point of an outfit. She realised that couture was on it's way out and adapted her designs to suit the new market, bringing out simple and elegant garments, including the Little Black Dress. At the opposite end of the scale, Cristobal Balenciaga was designing garments using the 20s as inspiration. He opted for more sleek and slender silhouettes, broadening the shoulders and taking the emphasis away from the waist, leading to sack dresses and tunics becoming popular in the late 50s and into the 60s. Hubert de Givenchy was a close friend of Balenciaga's, and aided with the designing of the sack dress. He was responsible for making Audrey Hepburn into the style icon she became, designing the Little Black Dress she wore for her role in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. Givenchy even inspired Mary Quant's mini skirt of the 60s with his straight, short shift dresses. 

Many style icons of the 50s embraced the new trends; Audrey Hepburn was famous for wearing capris, knitted jumpers and ballet pumps, while Marilyn Monroe was often seen sporting the 'sweater girl' look, or a range of sexy and glamorous film star dresses at various parties and premieres. Elizabeth Taylor wore quite an elegant 50s style and Grace Kelly's wardrobe ranged from crisp cotton shirts, capris and tortoiseshell sunglasses, to scoop necked gowns with pinched in waists. Simple and sophisticated, but never showy. She even has a Hermes bag named after her (the Kelly bag), since she often used hers to cover her baby bump when being photographed by the paparazzi. 

The 50s was a bright era full of change, which still affects us today. Icons such as Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Scarlett Johansson along with many others are often seen sporting 50s inspired outfits on the red carpet. Dita Von Teese is a famous American burlesque dancer who takes her style inspiration from the 1950s, and even if you don't know her name, you'll probably know her face. I would love to have been alive in the 50s; to be a part of the post-war regeneration, to experience the different fashion trends, to see what social group I would have been with, and so much more! It's a shame that there doesn't seem to be a specific fashion trend nowadays, but I will always try to bring back old fashion trends, one outfit at a time.