Vintage Clothing from the 60's

Spotlight on: the 60’s

60s fashion trends

The 1960s, that turbulent era in which the Baby Boomers came of age and found a collective voice, influenced some of the most iconic and enduring looks in fashion history.

In the early 1960s, French designer Oleg Cassini created a wardrobe for Jacqueline Kennedy that lent a twist to classic Chanel suiting and popularized pillbox hats, luxurious fabrics and streamlined silhouettes. Meanwhile, Audrey Hepburn donned a Hubert de Givenchy creation in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and made the little black dress an instant wardrobe staple.

As the decade progressed and a new generation eschewed the conventions of their parents, demure hemlines and feminine silhouettes gave way to futuristic shapes, psychedelic prints and alternative fabrics. The streets of Swinging Sixties London became the epicenter of fashion, thanks in part to Barbara Hulinicki and her trendy boutique, Biba, where teen-agers snapped up affordable versions of floppy felt hats, feather boas, velvet suits and tie-dyed T-shirts.

Both English designer Mary Quant and French contemporary Andre Courreges claim credit for the quintessential 1960s miniskirt, although Quant is widely credited for coining the name in tribute to her favorite automobile. Quant later developed the daring micro-mini as well as plastic raincoats and hot pants, while Courreges, with his background in civil engineering, designed the triangle-shaped shift dress and introduced the white patent leather go-go bootas part of his 1964 collection.

As hemlines rose above the tops of traditional stockings, opaque tights became the norm. Dramatic eye makeup and hair bobs completed the modern look.

The 1960s also blurred the line between art and fashion design, yielding what in many cases looked less like clothing than wearable art. Pacco Rabanne, costume designer for the 1960s classic "Barbarella," brought his jewelry designer's eye to the creation of avant garde garments embellished with geometric shapes of plastic and metal. Pierre Cardin, American designer Rudi Gernreich and Yves Saint Laurent, who became head designer at Christian Dior after Dior's untimely death, are among those who heavily influenced 1960s fashion with androgynous shapes and futuristic details. Pucci contributed pantsuits and headscarves in his trademark psychedelic prints.

Menswear, meanwhile, shifted toward lightweight fabrics and lines cut more closely to the body, while both men and women embraced the emergence of blue jeans and paired them with colorful printed shirts.

The Nehru jacket, a hip-length, unisex coat with a stand-up collar, enjoyed brief popularity as a testament to minimalism and growing awareness of eastern culture. The jacket was modeled on a garment worn by India's prime minister from the mid-1940s through 1964, although the western was shorter and more closely resembled a traditional suit jacket. The look was widely copied after turning up in the wardrobes of musicians including the Monkees and the Beatles.

© 2008 Spotlight Vintage.