Fashion of the 1960s featured a number of diverse trends, as part of a decade that broke many fashion traditions, adopted new cultures, and launched a new age of social movements. Around the middle of the decade, fashions arising from small pockets of young people in a few urban centers received large amounts of media publicity and began to heavily influence both the haute couture of elite designers and the mass-market manufacturers. Examples include the miniskirt, culottes, go-go boots, and more experimental fashions, less often seen on the street, such as curved PVC dresses and other PVC clothes.
Mary Quant popularized the miniskirt, and Jackie Kennedy introduced the pillbox hat; both became extremely popular. False eyelashes were worn by women throughout the 1960s. Hairstyles were a variety of lengths and styles. Psychedelic prints, neon colors, and mismatched patterns were in style.
In the early to mid-1960s, London "Modernists" known as mods influenced male fashion in Britain. Designers were producing clothing more suitable for young adults, leading to an increase in interest and sales. In the late 1960s, the hippie movement also exerted a strong influence on women's clothing styles, including bell-bottom jeans, tie-dye and batik fabrics, as well as paisley prints.
Women's fashion Early 1960s (1960–1963) High fashion Fashions in the early years of the decade reflected the elegance of the First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy. In addition to tailored skirts, women wore stiletto heel shoes and suits with short boxy jackets, and oversized buttons. Simple, geometric dresses, known as shifts, were also in style. For evening wear, full-skirted evening dresses were worn; these often had low necklines or boat-necklines and close-fitting waists. Along with evening wear, women would wear evening gloves mainly white or black, also following the fashion of Jacqueline Kennedy.
The rise of trousers for women
The 1960s were an age of fashion innovation for women. The early 1960s gave birth to drainpipe jeans and capri pants, a style popularized by Audrey Hepburn. Casual dress became more unisex and often consisted of plaid button down shirts worn with slim blue jeans, comfortable slacks, or skirts. Traditionally, trousers had been viewed by western society as masculine, but by the early 1960s, it had become acceptable for women to wear them every day. These included Levi Strauss jeans, previously considered blue collar wear, and "stretch" drainpipe jeans with elastane.1962 Sears catalog Women's trousers came in a variety of styles: narrow, wide, below the knee, above the ankle, and eventually mid-thigh. Mid-thigh cut trousers, also known as shorts, evolved around 1969. By adapting men's style and wearing trousers, women voiced their equality to men.
Mid-1960s (1964–1966)
Bikini
The modern bikini, named after the nuclear test site on Bikini Atoll, was invented in France by Louis Réard in 1946 but struggled to gain acceptance in the mass-market during the 1950s, especially in America. In 1963, rather large versions of bikinis featured in the surprise hit teen film Beach Party, which led a wave of films that made the bikini a pop-culture symbol.
The first Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (1964) featured Babette March in a white bikini on the cover. This has been credited with making the bikini a legitimate piece of clothing.
The monokini, also known as a "topless bikini" or "unikini", was designed by Rudi Gernreich in 1964, consisting of only a brief, close-fitting bottom and two thin straps; it was the first women's topless swimsuit. Gernreich's revolutionary and controversial design included a bottom that "extended from the midriff to the upper thigh" and was "held up by shoestring laces that make a halter around the neck." Some credit Gernreich's design with initiating, or describe it as a symbol of, the sexual revolution.
Space age fashions
The space age is commonly dated from 1957 to 1972, corresponding to the Space Race during the Cold War. Throughout this period, elements of mass culture—including science fiction literature, films, and television series such as Star Trek: The Original Series, Dan Dare, or Lost In Space—were heavily influenced by space exploration themes. Fashion also reflected this influence by emphasizing energy and technological advancements of the period in its material, silhouettes, and styles. Pierre Cardin and André Courrèges are credited as major figures in the development of space age fashion. Cardin had been inspired to move in a futuristic direction after seeing cosmonauts during his first visit to the Soviet Union in 1963.
Synthetic material was popular among space age fashion designers. After the Second World War, fabrics like nylon, corfam, orlon, terylene, lurex and spandex were promoted as cheap, easy to dry, and wrinkle-free. The synthetic fabrics of the 1960s allowed space age fashion designers such as Pierre Cardin to design garments with bold shapes and a plastic texture. Paco Rabanne was known for his 1966 "12 Unwearable Dresses in Contemporary Materials" collection, made of chain mail, aluminum, and plastic. Rabanne would even design the iconic green dress, as well as the other costumes, Jane Fonda wore in the 1968 science fiction film Barbarella. People Magazine journalist Hedy Philips described Rabanne's Space Age fashion as "turning the fashion world upside down." Non-cloth material, such as polyester, lucite, and PVC, became popular in clothing and accessories as well.
The space age look featured boxy shapes, thigh-length hemlines and bold accessories. For daytime outerwear, vinyl raincoats, colorful swing coats, bubble dresses, helmet-like hats, and dyed fake-furs were popular for young women.Pierre Cardin In 1966, the Nehru jacket arrived on the fashion scene, and was worn by both sexes. Waistlines for women were left unmarked and hemlines were getting shorter and shorter.
Metallic silver was a prominent color in space age fashions, especially in 1965 and '66, as well as the stark white of André Courrèges. The futuristic-looking geometry of the Op Art of such artists as Bridget Riley, Victor Vasarely, and Richard Anuszkiewicz influenced prints, as did geometric art from earlier in the century like that of Piet Mondrian, inspiration for Yves Saint Laurent's popular Mondrian shift dresses of 1965. Fluorescent colors (also known as day-glo or neon), phosphorescent effects, and even light-up dresses like those shown by Diana Dew in 1967 were also seen. Footwear for women included low-heeled sandals and kitten-heeled pumps, as well as shoes of transparent plastic and go-go boots. André Courrèges is credited as the pioneer designer of go-go boots, which were widely imitated and adapted. Courrèges' original designs featured flat heels and unconventional closures made from Velcro—a material also used by NASA within spacecrafts. Go-go boots, appearing in a variety of fluorescent colors and shiny materials like sequins, became a staple of go-go girl fashion in the 1960s.BBC Culture: Space age fashion Shoes and boots were often made of patent leather or vinyl.
Other influential space age designers included Rudi Gernreich, Emanuel Ungaro, Jean-Marie Armand, Michèle Rosier, and Diana Dew, though even designers like Yves Saint Laurent showed the look during its peak of influence from 1963 to 1967. Italian-born Pierre Cardin was best known for his helmets, short tunics, and goggles.
The miniskirt
The definition of a miniskirt is a skirt with a hemline around 6-7 inches above the knees. During the 1950s, the miniskirt began appearing in science fiction films like Flight to Mars and Forbidden Planet.Parks, C. (2015, March 23). The Miniskirt: An Evolution From The '60s To Now. Retrieved October 30, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/23/mini-skirt-evolution_n_6894040.html
The miniskirt has not been unanimously attributed to a single designer. Rather, it is commonly acknowledged among historians that fashion designers like Mary Quant, André Courrèges, and John Bates all contributed to the popularity of the miniskirt in the 1960s.
Quant, a London-born British designer, is frequently cited as one of the earliest proponents of the abbreviated silhouette. In 1955, Quant opened her boutique Bazaar on the fashionable King's Road in Chelsea district of London. By 1961, Bazaar had transitioned from selling imported Italian and Austrian designs to offering Quant's very own label, which featured unconventional ready-to-wear styles like the miniskirt. The so-called "Chelsea Look"—or "Chelsea Girl"—aesthetic became closely associated with Quant's miniskirts and her other bold, youthful silhouettes displayed and sold at Bazaar.Paula Reed. (2012). In Fifty Fashion Looks that Changed the 1960s (pp. 30–31). England: Alison Starling. The term miniskirt likely derives from a reference to the Morris Mini-Minor automobile, or Mini Cooper, introduced in 1959. The prefix mini began appearing in print in reference to skirts and dresses by 1965. However, as late as 1966, Quant herself continued to describe her designs simply as "short, short skirts," rather than using the term miniskirt.
Courrèges was a French fashion designer who also began experimenting with hemlines in the early 1960s. He started to show space-age dresses that hit above the knee in late 1964. His clothes represented a couture version of the "Youthquake" street style and heralded the arrival of the "moon girl" look.Koda, H. (2010). 100 Dresses: The Costume Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. S.l.: Yale University Press.
As teen culture became stronger, the term "Youthquake" came to mean the power of young people. This was unprecedented before the 1960s. Before World War II, teenagers dressed and acted like their parents. Many settled down and began raising families when they were young, normally right after high school. They were often expected to work and assist their families financially. Therefore, youth culture began to develop only after World War II, when the advancement of many technologies and stricter child labor laws became mainstream. Teenagers during this period had more time to enjoy their youth, and the freedom to create their own culture separate from their parents. Teens soon began establishing their own identities and communities, with their own views and ideas, breaking away from the traditions of their parents.Blackman, C. (2012). 100 Years of Fashion. London: Laurence King Pub. The fabulous "little girl" look was introduced to USA—styling with Bobbie Brooks, bows, patterned knee socks and mini skirts. The miniskirt and the "little girl" look that accompanied it reflect a revolutionary shift in the way people dress. Instead of younger generations dressing like adults, they became inspired by childlike dress.Nectara, J (2012, July 13). "The Miniskirt – A Short History." Retrieved October 30, 2016, from
Second-wave feminism made the miniskirt popular. Women had entered the professional workforce in larger numbers during World War II, and many women soon found they craved a career and life outside the home.Bourne, L. (2014). "A history of the Miniskirt: How fashion's most daring hemline came to be." Retrieved October 30, 2016, from http://stylecaster.com/history-of-the-miniskirt/ They wanted the same choices, freedoms, and opportunities that were offered to men.Niara. (2016, January 9). "Aesthetics and Activism: The history of miniskirt." Retrieved October 30, 2016, from http://www.collegefashion.net/inspiration/the-history-of-the-miniskirt/