1950’s Fashion

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The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on Janu-

ary 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade

was the sixth decade of the 20th century. By its end, the

world had largely recovered from World War II and the Cold

War developed from its modest beginning in the late 1940s to

a hot competition between the United States and the Soviet

Union by the beginning of the 1960s.

Clashes between communism and capitalism dominated

the decade, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. The con-

flicts included the Korean War in the beginnings of the dec-

ade and the beginning of the Space Race with the launch of

Sputnik I. Along with increased testing of nuclear weapons

(such as RDS-37 and Upshot-Knothole), this created a politi-

cally conservative climate. In the United States, the Red

Scare (fear of communism) caused public Congressional

hearings by both houses in Congress and anti-communism

was the prevailing sentiment in the United States throughout

the decade (this is what primarily led the country to intervene

in the Korean War and later the Vietnam War). The beginning

of decolonization in Africa and Asia occurred in this decade

and accelerated in the following decade, the 1960s.

HISTORIC EVENTS OF THE 1950s

POPULAR CULTURE Popular Culture in the 50's can be captured in just a few words

which speak volumes. "The Cold War", "Baby Boomers" ,

"Korea" , "The Red Scare",. This was the decade where people

built Bomb Shelters, had babies and the news was filled with what

the reds were doing or going to do.

Some of the Most Well Known Movie Stars of the Fifties

Gary Cooper

Bing Crosby

Bob Hope

John Wayne

James Stewart

Frank Sinatra

Marilyn Monroe

William Holden

50s Music

The other important change was in how teenagers were

viewed up until the 50's teenagers were just children and were

treated as such the 50's and future decades changed that where

teenagers became an important section of society when politi-

cians and others realized teenagers would very quickly become

voters and consumers and a new generation of pop stars includ-

ing Elvis Presley were created whose main target audience was

teenagers.

As the radio had done in the 20's providing the masses with

news and entertainment so the TV did in the fifties originally

broadcasting in black and white but later in color.

ART MOVEMENTS

In the early 1950s Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning were

enormously influential. However by the late 1950s Barnett Newman

and Mark Rothko's paintings became more in focus to the next gen-

eration.

Pop Art used the iconography of television, photography, comics,

cinema and advertising. With its roots in dadaism, it started to take

form towards the end of the 1950s when some European artists

started to make the symbols and products of the world of advertising

and propaganda the main subject of their artistic work. This return of

figurative art, in opposition to the abstract expressionism that domi-

nated the aesthetic scene since the end of World War II was domi-

nated by Great Britain until the early 1960s when Andy Warhol, the

most known artist of this movement began to show Pop Art in galler-

ies in the United States

This was also a time of great affluence after the depression years and the

World Wars consumerism took off in a big way which in turn created

jobs and wealth and a circle of growth.

Following on from black men joining the forces and fighting for their

country , a change was needed to treat this section of society equally "

they had fought for their country " and should be treated as equals, and

the battle for civil rights began..The frozen "french fries" were invented

by the JR Simplot company in the early 50's and up till the time

McDonalds still peeled, cut and prepared fries on the premises

A common name termed for people born in the 50's are the baby

boomers . ( after the depression in the 30's and the world war in the 40's )

DESIGN MOVEMENTS

1950s fashion, like all fashion, reflected the fears and aspirations of its

time. Two decades of deprivation and struggle were relieved by the threat

of global nuclear war. Wartime restrictions and rations were removed, dis-

appearing for most by the mid-1950s; in America, and parts of Europe, a

new prosperity blossomed out of the ashes. After the nightmare of the past

twenty years, many people preferred the safety of conformism. Looking,

and acting, like everyone else felt secure.

Fashion in the fifties brought glamour to austerity Britain. Women

adopted the New Look of Christian Dior. In the mid fifties, Chanel's sim-

ple suit provided an alternative and created a much copied fashion that

lasted well into the sixties. When Rock'n'roll came along, young girls

stopped looking like their mothers and adopted a more youthful look.

1950s fashion was an integral part of this push. Unlike the boxy silhou-

ettes of rationed 1940s uniforms, 1950s fashions emphasized fragile femi-

ninity, in the form of soft shoulders, stiletto heels, wrist-length gloves and

full, billowing skirts. Even working women's outfits hinted at fragility,

with pencil-slim skirts and little hats with veil and feathers.

The "New Look" for 1950s women actually originated in the 1940s,

with Christian Dior's seminal collection called Corolle. This collection

contrasted the austere, "make do and mend" aesthetic of 1940s fashion

with full skirts, soft shoulders, and a tight waist, emphasizing the bust and

the hourglass-shaped figure.

TECHNOLOGY

There were some new technologies in the fifties.

Television was just one of them. In 1950 Paper Mate

made it's first leak free ball point pen. The first copy

machine was made 1950 also. The Chevrolet Corvette

becomes the first car to have a all-fiberglass body in

1953. In 1954 Bell Telephone labs produce solar battery.

In 1954 you could get a yard of contact paper for only

59 cents. Polypropylene was invented in 1954 . In 1955

Jonas Salk invented a polio vaccine which was given to

more than seven million American students. In 1956 a

solar powered wrist watch was invented.

A surprise came in 1957; a 184 pound satellite was

launched by the Russians. They named it Sputnik 1. The

space race begins 4 months later the United States

launch a smaller satellite. In 1958 the first plastic Coke

bottle appeared.

COLLOR PALETTE

These Atomic Age era color palettes are quite bright

compared to earlier browns, grays, and more subdued

combinations. Not as vivid and eye-popping as what was

to come in the Sixties, this era still had its share of bright

pinks, seafoam green, and chartreuse. Reds leaned toward

orange or pink while blues were closer to cyan.

FASION ICON AUDREY HEPBURN

Audrey Hepburn is one of the most famous fashion icons of the last century

and her simple yet fabulous sense of style is admired to this day.

Audrey loved simple cuts with clean cut lines that showed off her gorgeous

tall and slim figure. She was very different from the curvy Marylin Monroe and

Lauren Bacall that came before and all the top designers loved to dress her doll

-like body.

THE KEY TO HER LOOK?

I think that’s the key to the Audrey Look; let yourself shine through. I ad-

mit many times I go the opposite way; more for the sake of more. And I think

that’s alright. It’s my own look, which I love. But every once in awhile I like

to embrace my Inner Aubrey. What about you?