Vintage Clothing from the 50's

Spotlight on: the 50’s

1950's fashion

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.

The poodle skirt, one of the most enduring images of the day, eventually became a generic term referring to any full skirt embellished with a felt applique and, frequently, offset with a crinoline petticoat in a contrasting color. American fashion designer Anne Fogarty was among those who pioneered the look, which often featured appliques of flowers, cars and animals other than poodles.
Donna Reed and June Cleaver, perhaps as well known for managing household chores in high heels and pearls as for raising clean-cut children, also might have been indebted to Fogarty, whose 1959 book, “Wife Dressing,” advised women on how to look their best while doing housework.
Paris was still the center of the fashion universe at the time and French designers had arguably the heaviest influence on 1950s style.
Cristobal Balenciaga is widely credited for creating the quintessential 1950s silhouette of broadened shoulders and narrowed waist. Balenciaga also developed a tunic dress, which later evolved into the classic chemise, as well as empire-waist dresses and coats patterned after kimonos.
Christian Dior’s New Look designs, unveiled in the late 1940s took full advantage of newly lifted fabric restrictions to flatter women’s figures with flared skirts, hip padding, ample petticoats, ribbed corsets and bustier-style bodices. Pierre Balmain, also an acclaimed Broadway costume designer, reflected the New Look in designs featuring emphasized bust lines, narrow waists and full skirts.
Hubert de Givenchy, one of Audrey Hepburn’s favorite designers, became known for his classically tailored separates and for his Bettina blouse, which reintroduced tailored shirting to high fashion.
In 1954, at age 71, Coco Chanel mounted a fashion comeback and countered Dior’s New Look with a line of tailored tweeds, suits with braided trim and gold-chain embellishments and silk blouses in colors to match her suit linings. The line also featured costume jewelry, monogrammed buttons, quilted bags and simply tailored eveningwear.

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.

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