Shatter Tradition: A look into the innovation style of in the 1960s








Fashion in the 1960s was a rebellion against the formality of the 1950s.  During this time, there was a population of nine million young adults (those who are 24 and under). This brought about time where fashion had embodied the free, experimental,  and passionate spirit of young people. Young people were the leading authority at this time this was referred to as the "Youth Quake" (because young people disrupted fashion). The embodied a deviation from the 1950s' focus on Haute Couture and a shift to ready to wear clothing. Looking good did not come at a high price, fashion became more affordable; allowing innovation in personal style. 


Mod Fashion vs. Hippie Culture

Mod Fashion and Hippy culture reminds me of the West Coast vs East Coast dispute between rappers of the '90s.  They were at opposite sides of the spectrum yet they shared some commonalities.

Mod fashion was radiant in the way that embraced the boldness of the young people it represented. Mod Fashion originated in the streets of London and sought to add a more playful and fun-loving spirit. It threw out the muted pastels of the 50s and exchanged them for a bold color palette with brights yellows, lime greens, and neon pink.

"Twiggy" AKA Leslie Hornby was the face of mod fashion. Twiggy began modeling at the age of 17, since then she appeared on the covers of Vogue. She commonly wore shift dresses,  the trend amongst young adults.  Her pixie cut represented the defiant spirit of young people. A major key to understanding the 60s' is this: " the shorter the better"


Women's Liberation and "short-tempered" fashion
All things short were in style in this age of political dissent and the rejection of social norms.  The skirts were mini but the tempers of those who wore then are even shorter. A mini skirt was seen as a way to reject the modesty and the daintiness of fashion from the previous decade. The baby doll dress was seen as flipping off traditionalists because of it's "offensively" short length.  As a fashion continued to evolve, there is experimentation with shape due to the fast pace of the Race for Space. 




 Mod to Modern

With the rise of the space age, fashion became fascinated with the future and its innovations. Futurist Fashion of the sixties focused on Modern Architecture, adapting new lines and shapes in order to fit the image of the future of fashion. This was embodied by an obsession with all things that shine and the experimentation with new shapes and forms on the body. All things weird were embraced.


Far out: The  Hippie Culture's Beginnings 


Counterculture, aka the Hippie Culture, was a total rebellion to the formality of the current culture that embraced this facade of perfection. Being hippy meant loving others and protesting the hawkish nature of American politics. This culture was also linked to drugs and activism. These passionate people were not afraid to let their hair down. In doing so they broke the norms of sexual purity and shattered their own facades of perfection to embrace their imperfections; in order to feel free.


Hippies divvied out flowers to strangers and soldiers to represent their want for peace over war. Their free-flowing hair and the bell-bottom jeans became the common garb for this movement.

Floral prints were donned to embodied the Flower Power Movement ( fostering non-violence ).

😊A Groovy Outro
The sixties encouraged young people to take risks to passionately pursue their aspirations. They questioned social norms and adeptly rebelled against them. I hope that you are able to against tradition to develop a truly unique personal style. 









Musical Inspo for this week:

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 29, 2019 at 8:38 PM

    I find this blog post very interesting as it is a topic that I myself do not know much about but you did a very successful job in explaining a topic to a novice like me. When I think of the sixty's I think of the hippie movement and rebellion but I never put into thought the meaning behind the clothing and their choice to push social rules. I look forward to learning more in future blogs!

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