The 20th Century Fashions

The 20th Century Fashions during the 1950s consisted of conservative clothing. This era's fashions are repeatedly marked as Dior's New Look. At the time, the post war Baby Boom was at its highest point. Television influenced the way people dressed. The profusion of teenagers in the later half of the decade and the beginning of Rock 'n' Roll profoundly predisposed the decade's fashions. As proven by the references below, there were many conservative fashions from this era, yet none of them were ever dull.

Conservative clothing was worn throughout the fifties. Women sported "pinched in waists and high heels," while the men wore "gray flannel suits" ("American Cultural"). With the "classic female figure" consisting of "tailored bust lines, slender waists, and padded hips," (Bowling, Beatniks,") some women appeared to have the smallest, most unrealistic, and undersized waistlines due to fat-squeezing corsets. The 1950s women also seemed to have oversized, bulky, and impractical hips due to the padding and stuffing worn to make their hips appear larger. This is demonstrated in the popular saying, "The smaller the waist, the fuller the skirt, the better the look" (Owen, Marna, and Prescott). Women also wore high fashion such as Christian Dior, and made other French designers such as Givenchy and Chanel so popular that they were "copied in America" ("American Cultural"). "Women's trousers usually had side fastenings, as front zippers for women were thought to be naughty" (Baker 48). Recalling that 1950's clothing was conservative, males were the only gender that actually needed a front zipper so women having an unessential front zipper would be considered mischievous, outrageous, or untraditional. "Pony tails for girls, flat tops and crew cuts for guys, and poodle skirts made of felt and decorated with sequins and poodle appliquйs," were all made fashion successes by designer, Bill Blass (http://kclibrary). However, poodles were not the only items used to embellish poodle skirts, they are just the best remembered. Levi's blue jeans took over the fashion industry (Bowling, Beatniks,"). Levi's jeans were such a hit because whether the jeans were worn by a male of female, girl or boy, any age could dress in them. James Dean, who wore blue jeans in Rebel without a Cause, created a fashion and attitude sensation when he represented the teenagers who were defined as a "separate generation" (http://kclibrary). "A lady wore gloves in the Fifties. Coming in many lengths and all colors, short white gloves were most commonly worn and women always had several pairs" (http://www.fitiesweb). Women had numerous pairs of white gloves because they were