Costume Reseach

We are producing a musical based on Cilla Black's whole life. The fashion drastically changes throughtout her years (1940's-2010's) so we would need a variety of different styled costumes for the cast members. You can see below how fashion has changed through her lifetime.

Fashion During the late 1950's- Cilla's Young adult years.

The End of Rationing and the Beginning of Excess....Once World War II and rationing ended, fashion fabrics became more avalible this allowed fashion to bloom and allowed people to have more freedom over what clothes they wore during the 50's. Here are some photos to show what types of clothing we would use for Cilla's young adult years.Hairstyles copied the glamorous look of movie stars. Fur coats, were also popular and the 1950's saw denim jeans being worn casually for the first time too.

New unfitted style of clothing appeared as an

alternative to the tight waist and full skirt 1950s mens fashion look was often called Ivy League or preppy,

men were also always seen in hats. Men often wore the business wear look- Smart trousers, tie, shirt and blazer

1960's Fashion- During Cillas Career Bloom

1960s clothes included:- Mini-skirts - created by British fashion designer Mary Quant was a huge style with young females - Flamboyant men's shirts decorated with ruffles;- 'Teddy Boy' suits thin ties and suede shoes; were popular with men during the 60'sAfter the release of the song 'These boots are made for walking' in 1966 Go-Go boots came into fashion

This Photo is actually of Cilla Black during the 60's as you can see itis very similar to the pictures aboveI collected on 60's fashion for young women

Fashion in the 1970's

This era was quite similar to the 60's with bellbottom jeans still in fashion. This decade became one of the most ironic decades for fashion in the UK. The most generic fashion among young people were tight on the top loose on the bottom.For example:

Hippy Fashion was still in from the 60'sMany wore tie-dye shirts,ponchos, ankle-length dresses called "maxis" were also worn in the early 1970s.The top fashion models of the 1970s were Lauren Hutton, and Margaux Hemingway.

Fashion in the 80's

Fashion during this period had heavy emphasis on expensive clothes and high fashion.Women wanted to express a sense of wealth through wearing things such as:Costume jewellery,- consisting of:

pearl necklace

Clothing was covered with sequins and diamonds.

Women also took pride in their hair: the 'bigger the better' many want for curly,and heavily styled.

Makeup was bright- pink blush, striking lipsticks, and dark and thick eyelashes

Some of the top fashion models women aspired to during the 80's were: Brooke Shields, Christie Brinkley,

Dr Martins became very popular by both genders, during the late 80's they were associated with the punk look

During mid 80's fashion became more colourful.Clothes worn included:Long wool coats,

Flared skirts

Mini-skirts

Designer shorts,

Jumpsuits

Trench Coats

Mens Fashion:Athletic wear was more popular then jeans among men in the 80's

Popular colours were black, white, indigo, green,and different shades of browns,