Fashion History Throughout 1950s

In 1950 After World War II ended, people were trying to regain in the society, fashion was a time for transition. Showing desire of being fashionable made 1950 as a strong transition point in history. New fabrics and techniques were invented so that people could create new styles and silhouettes. In Paris, Dior launched the ‘vertical line’, also known as the sheath dress. The overall silhouette of ‘vertical line’ was long and narrow. Generally, it was made with three pieces: a bodice, skirt and jacket. The bodice was high V-shaped with shirring necklines with long straight sleeves, the skirt was narrow and slim, and the jacket was short and boxy.

In 1951 The tiny waistline became a popular style this year. Many designers emphasized the waistline and especially Dior. Dior hired the technicians with new-skills to create higher waist line for his collection. The United States were starting to set up their trend and spread all around the world. The ‘American Look’ especially appealed to teenagers. Many designers were focusing on the sleeve. The sleeve was still wide but getting softer and smoother than previous style. Popular styles of this year were tailored tweed dresses, ankle-length evening dresses, small day time hat with jewels and fur trimming. Popular colors were charcoal grey, green tons, blue tons, purple and orchid pink.

In 1952 This year was all about the changes on waistline: from the high waist to the no waist. Among all the designers, Dior and Balenciaga led the fashion trend. Dior presented high waists, swimsuit inspired tight shapes from neck to hips and flared smoothly over the knees. Balenciaga took an another way, with his slack-waist dresses and middle length skirt. In contrast, Balenciaga made the silhouette almost not touching the body. The choices of own fashion style represented the freedom of women’s life after World War II ended.

In 1953 This year were focused on shape and sheen. The waistline became more loose. The half-fitted suit and sheath dress were introduced. The hair lengths and skirt lengths became shorter. The skirt lengths were up to 14 to 15 1/2 inches from the ground. The hair trend called ‘the Italian haircut’ is a layered short haircut with curly hair also known as ‘the puddle haircut’. The common silhouette of women’s wear was bulky shoulder with wide lapel around the chest and the neck were accessorized with jeweled scarves. Accessories were a big deal in 1953, it was getting showy, even embedding jewels in the heels of shoes. The most common accessories for women was the long cotton, wool, silk or fur shawl; it could work with different occasions and outfit.

In 1954 The tiny waist and full skirt lost their dominancy in the shape of style. Rather than emphasize the waist, women started to make their breast pointy and big. Designers created relaxed silhouette, such as H-line from Dior. The shape was straight from the shoulder to the hip. It was more than 2 inches bigger than Dior’s previous silhouette. This year, the mood was elegant and the colors were soft and bright. Coats or jacket always came with dresses or other outfits. Among the variety of jacket designs, Ben Zuckerman created the ‘skyscraper jacket’ which has short a bosom-high bolero. The pants were shorter and long sweaters were often worn over the skirt. Brown was the most used basic color and popular colors were ivory, greenish color.

In 1955 The clothes became contemporary. The women’s style became simple but at the same time [...] appealing and the flavor was from the 1920s. The fashion of this year was strongly influenced by Asian designers specially from Japan and India. The ‘Oriental Look’ from Givenchy led the trend. Indian saris and tunic were extremely popular. This year’s casual clothes were the most demanded style then previously couture, though still popular. Dressing up desire was the peak in 1955, women loved to wear long evening dresses rather than short normal dresses. The evening dresses were made with light wool chiffon or thick wool with gold jewels. The desire of being fancy reflected on the fabric; the manufactures made wool or tweed with mink, cashmere and angora. Because of the influences from Asian fashion, a variety of tones of red, emerald green, yellow and sapphire blue were popular.

In 1956 While women used to wear comfortable clothes, people were starting to look for more personal and formal clothes, and back to the classics. The big influence for this movement was Broadway musicals from US such as My Fair Lady. The style in the musical was following the previous style of World War I. Silk, satin and chiffon were popular this year. The Asian style became more powerful with influential elements due to the world becoming more accessible via trading. For the comfortable daytime look, fluffy knit and long-length coats were popular.

In 1957 Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel became a big name in 1957. Coco Chanel introduced the legendary two-piece suit which has a boxy fit, open button jacket with blouse inside, pockets decorations, cuffs made with pearls, and H-line skirt. Not only did the suit become the iconic style, but also pull-overs fabricated with jerseys and tweeds and lace evening dresses became the most elegant look of women. The biggest news in the fashion industry was the death of Christian Dior, and Saint Laurent replaced him. Women started to come down from the stiletto heels due to the disappearance of waistline, and made the hemline become higher so that the legs could look longer without heels. The cloche hat with loose pleated skirt was the popular common fashion in 1957.

In 1958 This year also had the changing of the shape. Due to some people not liking the new loose shape like Balenciaga’s ‘sack dress’, a new shape was coming out: the triangle shape called ‘trapeze’. People’s demand was getting wider and wider, not anymore one dominant shape was wanted. Coats were also made with trapeze shape which looked like a bell. Coats presented with more designs of collars and details. Hats and shoes were important in 1958. Luxurious material often used fox, lynx and mink. The popular young generation look was bulky sweater with skinny skirt or pants. Beige was the most used basic color and popular colors were bright yellow, blue, magenta red, puscia pink.

In 1959 Many designers started to create new silhouette by manipulating the fabrics. The ‘sack dress’ was still there but it was on its way out in 1959. The neckline became more three-dimensional by folding the fabrics and creating geometric shapes around the shoulders. Chanel was still the most wanted designers, her comfortable new casual look fascinated people a long time. Women preferred the formal jacket to be longer and slimmer. The fabric and details became more luxurious such as mink, sable, leopard, fox and even tiger were more used. Popular colors were olive green, brown and black and white contrast.

References

  • Manferto, V., Ferretti, A., & Rocca, F. (2013). A matter of fashion: 20 iconic items that

   changed the history of style. Vercelli: White Star. 

  • 1950's Fashions including prices. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2016, from

   http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50sclothes.html 

  • Monet, D. (n.d.). Fashion History—Women's Clothing of the 1950s. Retrieved April 26,

   2016, from https://bellatory.com/fashion-industry/Fashion-History-Womens-
   Clothing-of-the-1950s 

  • Mancoff, D. N. (2014). Fashion muse: The inspiration behind iconic

   design. Munich: Prestel.

  • Presley, A. B. (1998). Fifty Years of Change: Societal Attitudes and

   Women's Fashions, 1900–1950. Historian The Historian, 60(2), 
   307-324. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1998.tb01396.x

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