1960's Fashion

60's Fashion

The 1960’s is a decade of revolution. Fashion, is also changing fast.
As the beautiful traits of 1950’s dawdled into the early 1960’s, the more formal look remained but the full skirt downsized into narrow skirts. The style is adult and glam, no longer trying to differentiate from the older generation.

But what did I say about this being a decade of revolution? Along came the mini skirt. Women were being liberated in ways never done before - there is no better feeling than not being told how high your skirt CAN’T go!

Still nothing represent the era better than Mod. During 1960’s fashionistas sport an “any thing goes” attitude. Their clothing reflect the atmosphere of the time and many went out to “do your own thang”. It was said that Mod, for modern, its purest use meant minimalist. But there is nothing minimal about these clothes! Bold, bright colors in geometrical patterns, Vinyl materials and cut outs in most daring position, Mod is anything but the conservative clothing we think of our grand parent’s era! (What did they say about less being more?)

Austrian Rudi Gernreich took it up to top notch in 1964 with a daring topless swimsuit(not pictured here, or many other places for obvious reasons). If you think you are being risque by sun-bathing with your bikini top off, just remember that back in Granny’s days their bikinis have no top!

With all these cut outs and high hemlines, what better way to show some fashion sense then to introduce the Maxi Coat! Still seen in shops today, is the Maxi dress. This much loved fashion style was introduced towards the later part of the 60’s, which lead on to the famous 70’s flower child look.

60’s Golden Rules:

1. Pocahontas headbands - in! The curlier the hair, the better.
2. New place for beads, beads, beads!
3. Gaucho, gaudy and great!
4. The wider the collar, the better!
5. Medallions - a must for today's meditative maidens
6. Fringe benefits from leather
7. Embroidery enters fashion scene
8. Belts - start collecting!
9. Skirts staging comeback
10. Join the chain gang
11. The bold leg for campus
12.The new boot look



reference:http://www.fiftiesweb.com/

How to choose your Maxi dress:

* If you are petite: fuller skirts can wash you out with all those extra fabric, so look for a low-cut front with a widening bias-cut skirt. Grab patterns or swirls with a vertical line, ditch the belt (it cuts you in half and make you look even tinier!), check that the hemline lightly meets the floor, it will give and illusion of extra height!

* Pear shapes: bandeau-style top showcasing sun-kissed shoulders. Tie-dye styles draw the eye up. Bodice-skimming jersey maxi dress in your favorite colour with a contrasting belt - anything to draw attention to the upper half!

* If you are busty: Go for a solid shoulder, V-neck style. Avoid empire lines that fall from the bust, which make a girl look like a tent! Instead, define your true waist with a slim belt. Beware flimsy straps or elasticized bodices- it will only make you top heavy and lose the style!

* If you have a larger frame: Avoid small patterns or floral like you owe them money. Striking diagonal patterns will create a longer, leaner line, larger repeats or bolder colours such as sky blue or coral will minimise you. An empire line is perfect for you! If what you got is a streamlined style, wear your belt lower.

* If you are tall: Lucky you, the Maxi world is your oyster. Stick with barely-there flats to ground the look (try not to put on the heels or your Maxi might become mini again). To make the rest of the female population jealous, a big bag is a must to complete this look.

1960's Hair & Make up

1960's Hair

The baby boomers has now step into their teenage years. They color the world to their taste and fashion specific. And we all know there are LOTS of them swinging!

Just like back in the 50's, curls are still in today. Big curls,tight curls, spit curls; curls bobbing on a shorter hairstyle or tumbling off longer lengths, curls are all the rage.

Hair in the 60's is all about volume. The bigger the better! Yeah baby! 60's hair style is full of roller work, so whip out the biggest and the baddest rollers you can find! (Cold cream optional) Teasing is a must have too, and ends will need to flick! It's all flirty and fun, think Austin Powers!

Ribbons and hairbands are all the rage too! Remember to color code and match your outfit!

60's hair is very styled and controlled. whether long, straight, curly or fuzzy (yeah you read me right, fuzzy) a great deal of attention was paid to getting just the right look.

Here is how Dior do 60’s today

If you still have questions about how the hair should look like, perhaps your question can be better answer in this video:

Want to see how its done today?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1960’s make up

Google 1960’s make up and you will get one name over and over : Twiggy.

A Mod icon, Twiggy inspired many girls in the 1960’s and continue to be a inspiration today. The foundation was matte, and blush often left out. Colorless face draws all attention to the eye makeup. And what eye makeup it was! Big, dramatic eyes were the ultimate fashion ploy. Mascara layered so thick that lashes clump together like falsies; falsies applied and then more mascara. Eye shadow all the way to the brow bones in broad daylight, and the eye liner brave the adventure all the way around the eye.

See how it's done:

Exercise caution and proceed with care. These eyes are becoming weapons!

Back to the 50's - Fashion

50's Fashion

World War II wasn't all bad, as it brought mass production of clothing with the war effort. Ordinary women now have access to buy designer inspired clothing for the first time.

The style of 50's is soft, feminine and romantic. It is still inappropriate for young ladies to wear sexy clothing, but dresses now accentuates the bust and waist and starts to showcase the female form. With the influence of the now glitzy Hollywood, fantasy dresses with style only limited by imagination is everywhere.


With the end of World War II, the fashion industry is now blooming. Major design houses re-open and styles are abundant. Chanel, Dior, Jacques Fath, all great influential fashion houses.

A Classic 1950s fashion garment is brought out by fashion powerhouse Dior. Dior shows his H, A and Y lines. The H line of 1954 was a slender tunic suit with a slim skirt that later became more of a dropped waist tubular twenties style dress with an upward creeping hemline.

The empire line dress, also known as baby doll dress, has also become favourite for teenagers back then. The dress has a child like quality, which was the teen fashion back in the days. The mature styles and sophistication is just like mother and the teens would not be caught dead in them.

Another classic of the 1950's is the double breasted shirtwaist slim line dress, usually made of hard wearing suiting material and sporting French cuffs.

The 1950’s are all about the dresses.
Fabric Croissant is inspired to have a dress collection for you sometime soon. Watch this space for news

Back to the 50's - Hair and Make Up

50's HAIR STYLES

Straight hair was out. Short hair was in. Fifties hairstyles were soft and curly. Young women often tied their hair back in a ponytail and circled it with a pretty chiffon scarf (Sandra Dee did it in Grease). But this would have been for casual activities and rarely for evening.

The Fifties look usually meant an arduous process of pin curling and rolling. There was no blow dryers in the 50s! As demonstrated by super model Suzy Parker, one pinned the hair and sometimes sprayed it to keep the set.

Women actually slept in curlers and rollers. Thank goodness we have hair driers and curling tongs now. Even with all the curling sometimes a perm (permanent wave) was required. Then it's more rollers and heat setting. Because the natural, unfettered curl look of today would have seemed wild and unruly back then.

The poodle frenzy of the Fifties gave birth to the poodle cut. No better example can be found than the hair of Lucille Ball.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

50's MAKE UP

Color motion pictures is what led to an explosion of 1950’s makeup. After years of light glamour, stars on the big screen suddenly appeared with perfect faces. In addition, women everywhere wanted the same thing. (We still do the same, though thank god not attempting to be blue like the Avatars....)

For this season, Max Factor invented "Pan Cake", a foundation used to mimic what was being seen on the big screen, and new lines of brightly colored eye shadows and lipsticks. Similar to today’s products, Pan Cake was applied to skin to cover up any imperfections in a quest to achieve a movie star-like standard of beauty.

All of a sudden, women's magazines featured guides to makeup application and women everywhere started to experiment with cosmetics. Pan Cake would be applied to neutralize the face. Then, the mixing of colors would begin and a bold, colorful canvas would emerge in the form of cherry lips, rosy cheeks and neutral-toned eyelids. It was later in the decade when companies began adding titanium to their products to tone down the bright color of many products, resulting in a more natural look.



A peaches and cream complexion was the basis of any Fifties makeup look. Applied as either a liquid or as pressed powder, the foundation needed to reflect the soft femininity of the day.

This was the decade of the fashionable, glamorous homemaker. Women began baking apple pies and vacuuming the house in heels, dress and fully made up faces. Cosmetic companies capitalized on this emerging trend and targeted ads towards married women who had to look good for their husbands.

Eyebrows were usually narrowed. Blush and eye shadow were minimal and thus, natural looking. Today this makeup style would be refered to as a California look. Women could get away with a more dramatic look, particularly for evening.

Eyeliner was liquid, making a sharp, highly defined contour. It was used primarily on the upper lid.

Pastels were the favored colors for day, especially for a younger woman. Women could wear red by day and it was the most popular choice for evening. Lips were colored lush and full.

There were certain 1950's makeup products that defined the trends of the time. They included:

- Bright Red Lipstick and Nail Polish: Everywhere you went; 1950's women were donning scarlet lips and matching fingernails.

- Pan Cake Foundation: A much-thicker version of today's foundation, it covered blemishes and imperfections with a thick coating.

- Liquid Eyeliner: It was a stylish 1950's makeup trend to wear a thick, bold line across the top eyelid, accompanied by two coats of black mascara.

- Royal Blush: Two circles on the apples of the cheeks, the blush added back some of the color taken away with the foundation.

Let Us Show You How...
So, now you know the theory, how to really do it right? Check out the tutorial videos below.

And to do a QUICKIE... This is how.

The Famous 50's Pin Curl