d r e s s, part one
d r e s s e s
The dress that was to re-invent women’s fashion was the
so-called "sack dress",
premiered in the 1957 Paris collections.
Though it didn’t become popular all around the
world, particularly England, it inspired a new, slimmer look in
dresses, beginning with
the sheath dress popular in late 50s Britain.
By 1958 the square and rounded necklines
had given way to a slim, "shirtwaister" dress, one with a
button-down neckline and cinched
waist which was popular with older women (think June Cleaver...)
It was also at this time
that the sack dress evolved into what was to become the
most popular style of dress for
the next decade...
The shift dress made its appearance in the late 50s - a slim
fitting dress which, barely covering the knee,
was scandalously
short. It was initially
quite popular in stripes and floral patterns
(especially large roses), and in 1958 the
Empire waist look was introduced. The look was adopted by
teenagers, like the ton-up girls (later the Rockers) who wore
leather shifts with knee-high black leather boots. By 1964 the
teenage influence caused the hemlines to creep up, and most
teenagers were wearing mid-thigh length shifts as daywear.
The sweater-dress was also very popular with young people
from 1961 onwards, until the mid-60s when other innovative
designs were introduced.
1965 saw the premiere of culotte
dresses in op-art or vibrant coloured patters, which were most
popular as evening or party wear - the freedom of trousers but
with the look of a full skirt. 1966’s dress was the tent, or baby
doll, dress in transparent chiffon, worn over a contrasting slip,
often sewn-in. And in the fall 1967 collections, the paper dress
made its debut. Made of paper blended with Nylon or other
cellulose material, it was intended for everyday wear but was
only ever widely used as holiday or lounge wear, due to its
tendency to crease and also its, er, flammability.
s k i r t s
The same year that the sack dress premiered, 1957, also saw
the
rising popularity of legs and shorter hemlines (and some would
say the moral decline of
society and youth!) 1957 and 58 saw the introduction of what
would eventually become the
baby-doll line, then called the trapeze line, and it’s scandalous
hemline a whole 20
inches above the ground!!! Skirts became slimmer beginning in
the late 50s and, aside
from a brief 61/62 flirtation with flares, became quite straight, in
what became known
as the pencil-skirt look. Permanent box-pleats were popular in
the early 1960s, as
were reversible skirts, usually tartan, and from 1961-64,
inverted front and back pleats.
The next skirt innovation was to come in 1966, the year of the
mini-skirt.
Widely acknowledged to be the brainchild of Mary Quant,
within a year anybody who had the
body to pull it off was wearing a mini, whose hemlines were
4-5 inches above the knee in
New York and 7-8 inches above in London. Throughout this
time skirts were often paired
with a matching sweater and matching set of tights for a
uniform look.
s h i r t s & c o a t s
Virtually all ladies shirts and tops fell under the heading of knitwear, with the button-through cardigan twin set being the most popular style throughout the 1950s and 60s. Teenagers in the late 50s and early 60s often wore chunky sweaters of double-knit wool or mohair, which they borrowed from their male friends. The hip-length or longer sweaters were paired with knee-length skirts or tight trousers. From 1960 onwards the turtleneck, or polo neck, sweater was common, especially under a collarless jacket, and in 1966 Aran sweaters, with their thick knit, became trendy.
Sleeve length was usually ¾ length, with long sleeves often pushed partway up the arms for a ¾ look. Sleeveless tops did not become truly popular until the mid 1960s.
The
full-length, shawl-collared coats and furs of the 1950s gave
way in 1958 to a straighter
look, which remained in vogue throughout the 60s. In 1960 it
was a straight coat with a
wide-set upright collar (like a wide Nehru jacket). 1964 brought
the reversible coat,
usually in tweed and plaid, paired with a matching dress
or suit. 1965 saw the mini-coat,
perfectly straight and virtually shapeless, and also the
pop-inspired dyed furs and PVC
designs. By 1967 capes were popular, and were often made
with matching deerstalker hats
(no, thank you, not for me...)
i n d e x