Clothing: 1960’s Style Trends

 

 

 

 

 

 

In vintage clothing, 1960’s fashions are very popular. Although many people have an image in their head when they think of clothing from the 1960’s, in fact this decade encompasses several diverse clothing trends.

 

At the beginning of the 1960s, clothing lines were still similar to the quintessential 1950s style, including full skirts (the “poodle skirt”,) and pastels or lighter shades of color. These elegant styles included the pillbox hat worn often by Jacqueline Kennedy, skirt suits, and capris for women. Popular shoes included very high stiletto heels.

 

In the mid 1960s, fashion broke from these traditions to embrace social movements happening during this time. The bikini first became popular in the mid 1960s. In clothing, 1960’s trends closely mirrored what was happening socially, including hippie styles and the “mod” style of bright colors and go-go boots which came into style along with British pop bands like the Beatles. The new 1960s footwear included flat styles rather than the stiletto heels of the 1950s.

 

In clothing, 1960s styles differed from 1950s and early 1960s styles in the hemlines, which became very short “mini” styles after 1964 rather than the longer skirts of decades past. The unique “micro mini” was a very short skirt, well above the knee. Another popular shape was the shift dress, a simple sleeveless dress extending to the knee or just above the knee.

 

Another difference in 1960s fashions was the color; 1960s clothing is known for bold prints and bright colors rather than subdued solid shades. New synthetic fibers like spandex, nylon, polyester, and acrylics were being used in clothing; 1960s styles use much less wool and other natural fibers than in decades past. PVC was even used as a textile for clothing. These new styles helped fashion to celebrate modernity; this fact is mirrored in the clothing designs themselves.

 

Menswear of the 1960s is known for being bright and visually interesting, with wide printed ties, collarless jackets, and bright colors for the suits themselves. Some of the popular styles of the 1960s included unisex styles worn by both women and men, particularly in the “mod” era. Both men and women could wear a pair of trousers along with a brightly patterned blouse or button-down shirt.

 

By the end of the decade, pants were beginning to widen at the bottom, flaring into what would become bellbottoms by the 1970s for the true “hippie era.” Although the 1970s is known for hippies, in clothing 1960s trends clearly paved the way for these hippie styles.

 

Before the 1960s, the “teenager” group had not yet become distinct, and most fashion trends were seen on those young and old. In clothing, 1960s styles were more youth-oriented and closely followed music and social movements. Designers focused more on the teenage age group than ever before, resulting in some very fun and playful styles. The first supermodels gave women inspiration to follow these trends. The decade of the 1960s is known for quickly changing fashion trends or “fads”, which continues to the present day.

 

Author; D.A.Grosshans

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