1960's Fashion

The decade of the 1960s saw advancements in space exploration, pop culture becoming more prevalent in high forms of art and haute couture fashion, youth culture driving the market as children of the Baby Boom became teenagers, and an era of social unrest for Civil Rights and student protests against the Vietnam War. This rebellion towards the traditional and simultaneous advancements in science and technology are reflected in the fashion and clothing of the era.  Demonstrated by silhouettes that reject the restrictive undergarments of the 40s and 50s, showing off more of the body in “body conscious” fashions such as the mini skirt, loud colors, bold prints, and the increased use of synthetic fabrics, futuristic and rebellious styles were pervasive during the era. Pant suits for women and trousers in haute couture fashion made the staple in women’s casual attire pushed for more androgynous styles on the runways in Paris as well as in the hair salons as women’s hair became shorter and men’s hair became longer. The mass consumption of the 1960s and increasing demand for quality clothing made high fashion available to larger audience with the advancement of mass culture and use of man-made materials.  

This exhibit also features a number of hats, handbags, and shoes from the decade.

Sources 

Nii, Rie  (2015). The Age of Technological Innovation – Fashion of the Second Half of the 20th Century. In Kyoto Costume Institute (Ed), Fashion: a history from the 18th to 20th Century. Taschen.  

Jenss, H. (2015). Icons of Modernity: Sixties Fashion and Youth Culture. In Fashioning Memory: Vintage Style and Youth Culture (pp. 37–64). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Retrieved May 03 2020, from http://dx.doi.org.libaccess.hccs.edu:2048/10.5040/9781474262002.ch-003