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THE 50's
In the uncertain times following the end of World War II, tradition and conservative values made a big comeback. As men returned from battle reclaiming their jobs, women left their work-clothes behind and felt the need (fashion dictated) to be feminine again. After a long and costly war, sales were strengthened through advertisements illustrating what one should buy to become a better, happier and more desirable wife. It was a Mid-Century Conservative, and women were told that their primary goal was to catch a man and have a family. The effect was the creation of popular 50's image of the glamorous woman at home, able to attend to all domestic chores without a hair out of place.
Rule number one was that women were never supposed to leave the house looking sloppy. As a result, an extreme amount of time was spent living up to this ideal of beauty. The hourglass body type was highly desired, typified by the curvaceous movie stars of the time such as Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly. Corsets and girdles became the obligatory underwear of all well-dressed women. They were used to press, lift, pull, and support the body in all the right places to give a smooth, but dramatic figure. In spite of their discomfort, advertisements of these garments promised a better life. A typical 50's silhouette had the "wasp's waist", full skirt or pencil skirt, three-quarter-sleeve tops and coats, full belted skirts, button-downs, and prim sweaters. Women were taught to dress to allure, but rarely showed a great deal of skin. The makeup-trend of the time was the "doe eye," created with shadow on the lids, eyebrow pencil, mascara and heavy eyeliner, along with a flawless pale, peaches and cream complexion and intensely colored lips. Women's hair suffered immense abuse, as it was teased, styled, sculpted and sprayed into a helmet of perfectly formed curls, waves and bouffants. It was usually kept short at just below the shoulders, worn in soft, curly, or wavy styles. Since straight styles were considered undesirable, rollers became a girl’s best friend.
The 50's was the decade of the Pin-up, the era that gave us the launch of Playboy magazine and the idolization of the soft, coquettish woman with overt sexuality. The 50's was about the extreme opposites of gender roles, with an emphasis on what the perfect woman or man should be. The cause and effect was an unattainable ideal created by the advertisement industry to entice people to buy more products. Comically, this unnatural attention to perfection still keeps a large amount of people nostalgic (for a better time), decades later. SOME FASHION ICONS OF THE 50s Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Elisabeth Taylor, Betty Paige and Jayne Mansfield.
DID YOU MISS THE SEVEN OTHER POSTS IN THE BEAUTY IDEAL OVER THE DECADES SERIES? CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW. "The Beauty Ideal Over The Decades", is a big subject. I divided the different eras into a series, looking at the many different ideals that has been considered as beautiful and attractive in the past. The next post is: BEAUTY IDEAL OVER THE DECADES part 9 : THE 40's (Photos in this post are random pictures from Tumbler or Pinterest or borrowed from Google. Unknown source.
Information collected from several sources including Wikipedia, Thefashionspot.com and diet-blog.com, historicalideals.tumblr.com, http://comn4725blog.wordpress.com, dailymail.co.uk, uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_II/Psychologie/Psy_II/beautycheck/english/figur/figur.htm)
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        (All the photos of the fabulous 60's Icons in this post are random pictures from Tumbler or borrowed from Google. Unknown source.) THE 60's  The 60's was all about youth and rebellion. It was the era that brought us hippies, "mods", Twiggy, and the biggest change in ideals of the 20th century. It was the start of feminism and the hippie era. Designers started producing clothing more suitable for young adults, which lead to an increase in interest and sales. Jackie Kennedy introduced the pillbox hat, Mary Quant invented the mini skirt, and the bikini came into fashion in 1963 after being featured in the musical "Beach Party". The ideal was super skinny and girly or ultra feminine and curvy. Women were once again moving out of the domestic sphere and into the workplace, pursuing careers as well as an education. As a result, in the early to mid-60's women reacted against the time-consuming, complex hairstyles of the 50's and went for more practical short styles. Mimicking the popular skinny models of the day (such as Twiggy), women became obsessed with being rail thin. In terms of fashion and beauty, two polar opposites emerged: the androgynous hippie flower child and the modern swinging 60's woman. The very modern "Twiggy-girl" put time into her appearance and favored things like high boots (go-go boots), A-line coats, miniskirts, short shift dresses, culottes, PVC clothes and box shaped dresses. She also opted for short pixie cuts and dramatic eyes. There was only one makeup look throughout the 60's, and it is famous for it's black bold eyeliner, fake lashes and lighter lips. Mascara was applied to achieve the popular tarantula lashes. The hippie movement started late in the decade, having a strong influence on ladies' clothing style, with emphasis on casual materials and shapes like bell-bottoms, tunics, and platform shoes. It also featured long no-maintenance hairstyles and typically avoided makeup. Popular culture, especially rock 'n' roll, had a big influence on the standards of fashion and beauty. In 1964, The Beatles created a revolution in men's hairstyles with their their "mop tops", making long hair fashionable for the first time since the 18th century. The British youth culture "Mods", focused on fashion and music, and was known for driving around on scooters wearing well-tailored suits. Social movements such as Black Power and the anti-Vietnam War campaign also helped shape the perception of beauty in the 60's. Many African-Americans rejected white-influenced styles such as the conk, and adopted the Afro as a sign of black pride. The silhouette was straight, boxy, fluted and A-line. Some of the main styles were, lady like, preppy, girly innocence, ultra feminine elegance, and the hippie look. Accessories were less of an importance and the focus was on colors and tones. Lots of bold prints, stark contrasts and bright colors. SOME FASHION ICONS OF THE 60s Super skinny model Twiggy were in stark contrast to the actresses of the time, Jane Fonda (Barbarella), Sophia Loren (the “perfect” hourglass), Catherine Deneuve, Ann-Margret and Ursula Andress. Jackie Kennedy was also an important fashion icon.
 DID YOU MISS THE SIX OTHER POSTS IN THE BEAUTY IDEAL OVER THE DECADES SERIES? CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW. "The Beauty Ideal Over The Decades", is a big subject. I divided the different eras into a series, looking at themany different ideals that has been considered as beautiful and attractive in the past. The next post is: BEAUTY IDEAL OVER THE DECADES part 8 : THE 50's (Photos in this post are random pictures from Tumbler or Pinterest or borrowed from Google. Unknown source.
Information collected from several sources including Wikipedia, Thefashionspot.com and diet-blog.com, historicalideals.tumblr.com, http://comn4725blog.wordpress.com, dailymail.co.uk, uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_II/Psychologie/Psy_II/beautycheck/english/figur/figur.htm) |
ETHICAL AND PERSONALIZED STYLE, FOR A "GOOD FOR YOU" WARDROBE.Idealist style is a website and "slow blog" dedicated to ethical fashion and personalized style, including tips on how to find your very own "slow fashion" style by using color analysis, the body types system, and other slow fashion tips.» Archives
January 2020
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