2010 March | 1950s Clothing

The Rockabilly style of sleek quiffs, sophisticated yet edgy looks can be said to have been influenced largely by the 1950s glamour style mixed with Beatnik and a healthy dose of American Rock ‘n’ Roll.

This strong and dynamic age of fashion was driven by the emergence of the teenage voice at the beginning of the 1950s when the trend for an older fashionable age group in their 30s and 40s gave way to the younger teen market. This, coupled with the music of Rock ‘n’ Roll gave birth to a mode that is still in operation today where the young teenagers dress to look as old as their adult counterparts.

Modern trends may come and go, but the glamour and vibrancy of the 50s has stayed with us for both men and women. The decade gave birth to influential designers such as Anne Fogarty who invented the Poodle Skirt and the “Paper Doll” sillouette look and later shocked the world with a new trend in swimwear – the bikini. She also created a range of glamorous clothing which women could wear even whilst doing their housework – her book, “Wife Dressing” which received a mixed response as some critics felt its title implied that women needed to dress to please their husbands but was actually more about dressing appropriately for every occasion.

Then came Bonnie Cashin who had already made her mark creating amazing costumes for the movie business in the 1940’s and in the 50s starting creating simple lines of clothing for everyday wear, which became known as “ready-to-wear” or more commonly, “sportswear” in America and then later introduced classics such as suede fringed jackets and the Poncho.

It was the first time that young people used fashion to define themselves and this is still prevalent today where different styles of clothing are used to identify groups of people such as punk, hippy, street-wear or retro.