In the 1950s, as Elvis Presley and James Dean defined American cool with leather jackets and straight-legged jeans, couture designers newly freed of World War II fabric rations sent hourglass silhouettes and swirling, calf-length skirts down the catwalk.
The newfound energy of rock-and-roll set against a backdrop of conservative politics and traditional sexual mores exposed a widening generation gap that was nowhere more evident than in the decade’s evolving fashion trends.
As teenaged girls sock-hopped in poodle skirts, beaded sweater sets and scarf-tied ponytails, their mothers accentuated their own curves with wide shoulders, full skirts, cinched waists and structured undergarments. But 1950s youths were also showing a rebellious side as they turned up in rolled-cuff jeans, skin-tight T-shirts and greasy ducktails.

In 1952 Bonnie Cashin and Philip Sills created a line of  ready-to-wear featuring the use of leather and suede inspired by the traditional attire of the far east.  She created the sensible notion of a layered outfit so the modern traveler of the time would always be prepared regardless of the climate she found herself in.

  Women of the 1950s also favored fitted shorts, boxy jackets and blouses paired with pencil skirts. Curve-hugging styles were sometimes offset by tent-like coats that fit at the shoulders and flared over the waist and hips.
Eveningwear often featured strapless, heart-shaped bodices with full skirts made of pastel tulle and trimmed with ruffles and bows.