Fashion 19502

Britany jaskiewicz
Period 2
Fashion in the 1950’s Research paper
10/6/10
How Fashion has Changed
“If you take a look at the 1950’s fashion history, you will see what an impact the trends from this era have had on the clothes we wear today” (Nair, Talika). It is known that men and women’s appearance have changed since the 1950’s like, the way people dress, how our hair is cut or styled, also how women wore their make-up.
Men and women’s clothes is now starting to become popular again; in the 1950’s, “Women wore poodle skirts, for younger women the circle skirt, also for older women, the pencil skirt” (buzzle). The fuller skirts also became popular for swing dancing. Another dress they wore was the “chemise dress which was straight cut and did not have a defined waist” (buzzle). Woman began wearing long coats, knee length instead of shawls. The coats for evening were silk and trimmed with fur. School clothes were dresses every day, at least knee length. To church it was dresses and gloves or petticoats; even for little girls. Party dresses were pretty and made women feel like a princess. Women’s fashion was “Smart dressing, impeccable grooming, and well- tailored feminine silhouette” (buzzle). As for men, tweed jackets or flannel was popular. “Suit jackets with stripes became as much in demand as plain colored jackets” (buzzle). Men also wore fitted trousers. Sleeves were well fitted, with a light or white color. Instead of bow ties, men began wearing neck ties. Clothes are not the only thing that has changed since then, haircuts and styles have too.
Hair styles in the 1950’s for women were short, soft, and curly; not straight. There were no blow dryers so women often did the pin curling process, or slept in curlers or rollers. Many women got a perm, but you would still have to roll or curl the wave. A popular cut, was the poodle cut, it was short with curls, like Lucille Ball.