1945–1960 in Western fashion
Fashion in the years following World War II is characterized by the resurgence of
General trends
Return of fashion
By 1947, the Paris
Beginnings of Asian fashion
During the early 1950s, designers in the
Casual clothing and teenage style
One result of the
Social changes went hand-in-hand with new economic realities, and one result was that many young people who would have become wage-earners early in their teens before the war now remained at home and dependent upon their parents through high school and beyond, establishing the notion of the teenage years as a separate stage of development.[10] Teens and college students adopted skirts and sweaters as a virtual uniform, and the American fashion industry began to target teenagers as a specialized market segment in the 1940s.[14]
In the United Kingdom, the
Young adults returning to college under the
Womenswear
New Look Revolution
On 12 February 1947, Christian Dior, aged 42, presented his first collection at 30 Avenue Montaigne, which was strewn with flowers by Lachaume. The Editor-in-Chief of Harper's Bazaar, Carmel Snow, strongly believed in the couturier's talent, which she had already noted in 1937 with the Café Anglais model that he designed for Robert Piguet. At the end of the fashion show, she exclaimed, "It's quite a revolution, dear Christian! Your dresses have such a new look!" A correspondent from Reuters seized upon the slogan and quickly wrote it on a note that he threw from the balcony to a courier posted on Avenue Montaigne. The news reached the United States even before the rest of France, where the press had been on strike for a month.[17]
With his revolutionary New Look, Christian Dior wrote a new chapter in the history of fashion. Furthermore, in order to write it, he literally constructed it with his own hands. The designer had to hammer away at a Stockman mannequin that was too tough and unyielding to bear the preparatory canvases of his visionary wardrobe, says his friend Suzanna Luling: "And so, with big, nervous blows of the hammer, he gave the mannequin the same form of the ideal woman for the fashion that he was to launch." His aim was clear; his hand did not tremble. "I wanted my dresses to be 'constructed', moulded on the curves of the female body whose contours they would stylise. I accentuated the waist, the volume of the hips, emphasised the bust, In order to give my designs more hold, I had nearly all the fabrics lined with percale or taffeta, renewing a tradition that had long been abandoned." Thus, on 12 February 1947, the announcer introduced "numéro un, number one". The first outfit was worn by Marie-Thérese and opened the show during which the audience saw 90 different creations file past, belonging to two principal lines: En Huit and Corolle. Bettina Ballard, Fashion Editor at Vogue, had returned to New York a few months earlier after 15 years spent covering French fashion from Paris: "We have witnessed a revolution in fashion at the same time as a revolution in the way of showing fashion."[17]
The "softness" of the New Look was deceptive; the curved jacket peplum shaped over a high, rounded, curved shoulders, and full skirt of Dior's clothes relied on an inner construction of new interlining materials to shape the silhouette.[18][19] This silhouette was drastically changed from its previous more masculine, stiff, triangular shape to a much more feminine form.[20]
Throughout the post-war period, a tailored, feminine look was prized and accessories such as gloves and pearls were popular. Tailored suits had fitted jackets with peplums, usually worn with a long, narrow pencil skirt. Day dresses had fitted bodices and full skirts, with jewel or low-cut necklines or Peter Pan collars. Shirtdresses, with a shirt-like bodice, were popular, as were halter-top sundresses. Skirts were narrow or very full, held out with petticoats; poodle skirts were a brief fad. Evening dresses were ankle-length (called "ballerina length"). Cocktail dresses, "smarter than a day dress but not as formal as a dinner or evening dress"[21] were worn for early-evening parties. Short shrugs and bolero jackets, often made to match low-cut dresses, were worn.[22][23] Meanwhile, in Israel, simple Biblical sandals, blue cotton shirts and utilitarian, khaki military-inspired dress remained popular choices for many women due to ongoing economic austerity and the need to feel prepared for war.[24]
Intimate apparel
Christian Dior's 'New Look' collection in 1947 brought a revolution to the fashionable silhouette of the 1950s. Dior's nostalgic femininity of round shoulders, full skirts, padded hips and tiny waists replaced the boxy style of the wartime period at WWII. The trend of hourglass silhouette brought by the popularity of Dior guaranteed the market for intimate apparel. Although intimate apparels are usually hidden by outerwear, intimate apparel is especially emblematic for the contradictory beauty in the 1950s as the silhouette was created depends on the type of foundation garments worn. Foundation garments became essential items to maintain the curvy silhouette, especially waspies, girdles and horsehair padding. For example, the sales of corsets doubled in the decade 1948-58 (Haye, 1996 p. 187).[25] Dior's 'New Look' collection brought back the boned intimate apparels for women, even the young one, in order to create the feminised silhouettes that embrace feminity. Symington Corset Company of Market Harborough was one of the famous intimate apparel producers in the 1950s as they are the official producer of Dior's corselettes and girdles. "All the girdles were produced to the same design, in either black or white. The sugar-pink cotton velvet trimming was a particular feature of the range, and some were woven with Christian Dior's initials in the elastic panels on the side..." (Lynn, 2010, p. 106).[26] A brand new 'Bri-Nylon' fabric was introduced by the British Nylon Spinners. This fabric was popular fabric to be applied on intimate apparel in the 1950s because it was one of the first easy-to-launder and drip-dry fabric. There was a full corset advertisement in 1959 shows the popularity of 'Bri-Nylon' and the design of the corselet in the 1950s. 'This exquisite Dior corselet features jacquard elastic net with the down-stretch back panel of stain elastic. The enchanting front panel is in Bri-Nylon lace and marquisette highlighted with criss-cross bands of narrow velvet ribbon. It has side fastening - partly hook and eye with zipping extension. The very light boning is covered with velveteen.' (Warren, 2001, p. 30 )[27] From the above advertisement, it is not hard to find that the corselets in the 1950s were constructed in details with boning, panels, different fabrics in different elasticity.
While the corselets reshaping the women's body with tiny waists and big hips, a new shape of bra called 'cathedral bra' was introduced and became popular in the 1950s. It is called 'cathedral bra' because there would be pointed arches created by the bones over the breasts when the bra is worn. The bones also separate and define the shape of the breasts by pressing them into a pointed or bullet shape. Therefore, 'cathedral bra' was also called the bullet bra. This brassiere design was popularised by actresses like Patti Page, Marilyn Monroe, and Lana Turner, who was nicknamed the "Sweater Girl."[28] Although this brassiere design was designed for wearing strapless cocktail dresses and evening gowns and became popular during the 1950s, the market for this design was short-lived because it was 'likely to slip down or need adjustment throughout the evening' (Lynn, 2010, p. 152).[26] However, another brassiere design re-entered the market and grew popularity during the 1950s which even influenced the modern intimate design. Underwire bras were first introduced to the market in the 1930s, however, it was forced to quit the market because the steel supply was restricted in the 1940s for WWII. Underwire brassiere design re-entered the market as it helped to uplift the shapes of the breasts to form the trendy curvy silhouette with big busts in the 1950s. Made with nylon, elastic nylon net and steel underwires, the underwire bras helped to create fashionable high, pert bosoms. Underwire bras are still dominating items in the modern intimate apparel industry.
Clothes for the space age
From the mid-1950s, a new unfitted style of clothing appeared as an alternative to the tight waist and full skirt associated with the New Look. Vogue Magazine called the knitted chemise the "T-shirt dress." Paris designers began to transform this popular fashion into haute couture.[29] Spanish designer Balenciaga had shown unfitted suits in Paris as early as 1951 and unfitted dresses from 1954. In 1958, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior's protégé and successor, debuted the "Trapeze Line," adding novel dimension to the chemise dress. These dresses featured a shaped bodice with sloping shoulders and a high waist, but the signature shape resulted from a flaring bodice, creating a waistless line from bodice to knees.[29] These styles only slowly gained acceptance by the wider public.[30][31] Coco Chanel made a comeback in 1954 and an important look of the latter 1950s was the Chanel suit, with a braid-trimmed cardigan-style jacket and A-line skirt. By 1957, most suits featured lightly fitted jackets reaching just below the waist and shorter, narrower skirts. Balenciaga's clothes featured few seams and plain necklines, and following his lead chemise dresses without waist seams, either straight and unfitted or in a princess style with a slight A-line, became popular. The sleeveless, princess-line dress was called a skimmer.[30][32] A more fitted version was called a sheath dress.
Sportswear
Swimsuits, including the Gottex brand popular in Israel and America, were one- or two-piece; some had loose bottoms like shorts with short skirts.[37] High waisted Bikinis appeared in Europe and the South Pacific islands,[38] but were not commonly worn in mainland America until the late 1950s.[36][39]
Hats and hairstyles
Hair was worn short and curled with the New Look, and hats were essential for all but the most casual occasions., short or long.
Maternity wear
In the 1950s, Lucille Ball was the first woman to show her pregnancy on TV.[41] [42] The television show I Love Lucy brought new attention to maternity wear. Most of the maternity dresses were two pieces with loose tops and narrow skirts. Stretch panels accommodated for the woman's growing figure. The baby boom of the 1940s to the 1950s also caused focus on maternity wear. Even international designers such as Givenchy and Norman Hartnell created maternity wear clothing lines. Despite the new emphasis on maternity wear in the 1950s maternity wear fashions were still being photographed on non-pregnant women for advertisements.[43]
On September 29, 1959, the maternity panty [1] was patented which provided expansion in the vertical direction of the abdomen. The front panel of this maternity undergarment was composed of a high degree of elasticity so in extreme stretched conditions, the woman could still feel comfortable.[44]
Style gallery 1945–1950
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1 – 1946
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2 – 1946
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3 – 1946
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4 – 1947
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5 – 1948
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6 – 1948
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7 – 1948
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8 – 1948
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9 – 1949
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10 – 1949
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11 – 1949
- Dutch dress patterns, foreshadowing the New Look fashions, 1946
- Michele Morgan for The Chase, 1946
- Gilda, 1946
- Models wearing evening dresses designed by Dorothy O'Hara, Orry-Kelly, Al Teitelbaum and Howard Greer, 1947
- Berlin street fashion, 1948
- Actress Probable unidentified young actress in Cannes, 1948
- Tea length patchwork skirt by Tina Leser, 1948
- Argentine women in Mar del Plata, 1948
- Teacher in Raleigh, USA in 1949
- Argentine First Lady Eva Perón wearing a custom Christian Dior evening dress, 1949.
- Dutch model wearing the New Look style, 1949
Style gallery 1950–1954
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c. 1950
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1952
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1952
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1952
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1953
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1953
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1953
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1953
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1954
- Argentine fashion photograph by Boleslaw Senderowicz, c. 1950.
- Wide-legged trousers with cuffs (turn-ups) are shown with a short-sleeved, fitted sweater, Germany, 1952.
- Two-piece swimsuit, 1952.
- Fashion in vacation in Hungary 1952.
- Actress Audrey Hepburn, 1953.
- Actress Lucille Ball in cropped houseboy pants at a press conference, Los Angeles, 1953.
- Fashion illustration of a "corselette", showing the pointed bust and curvy hipline of 1953.
- Actresses Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell wear halter-top summer dresses, Hollywood, 1953.
- Actress Martha Hyer's hair is worn in a short and curly poodle cut in this publicity photo for Sabrina, 1954.
Style gallery 1954–1960
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1954
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1955
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1955
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1955
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c. 1957
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1958
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1958
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1958
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1959
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1959
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1960
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1960
- First Lady Mamie Eisenhower in bright blue day dress, 1954.
- Actress Diahann Carroll wears a full-skirted dress with a small Peter Pan collar, 1955.
- Fashion in summer in Florida 1955.
- Singer Patti Page wearing a "bullet bra" brassiere design in 1955.
- Actress Marilyn Monroe in The Prince and the Showgirl wears a fitted sheath dress with a sweetheart neckline, 1957.
- Short hair style, 1958
- Summer dresses of 1958 are sleeveless with high, wide "boat" necklines, Dresden.
- Suit and pillbox hat in an Argentine fashion spread from 1958.
- Princess Alexandra in a Princess Ballgown styled evening dress, 1959.
- Newspaper photo of "Miss Beatnik" contestants in Venice, California, 1959.
- Women wearing swimsuits in vacation in Hungary 1960.
- Summer dress in Hungary 1960.
Menswear
Suits
Immediately after the war, men's
Sports and leisurewear
Sport coats generally followed the lines of suit coats.
Hats and hairstyles
Men's hair fashion favoured the wet look, achieved by the use of products such as Brylcreem. Young men often grew their hair out and, with pomade or other hair treatments, coiffed their hair into pompadours.
Accessories
Browline glasses were commonly worn by men during the 1950s and early 1960s.[56][57]
Style gallery 1945–1949
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Pakistani leaderAstrakhan cap, 1945.
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Frank Sinatra wearing the pleated trousers fashionable in 1947.
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Taking delivery of a new car, 1947.
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Single-breasted summer suit with cuffed trousers and matching hat, Hot Springs National Park, 1948.
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Men's and boys' casual sports clothes for 1948.
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Trench coat, ca. 1949
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Insurance salesmen wear suits, hats, and patterned ties, Minneapolis, 1949.
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Australiantrucker Lindsay Booth, early 1950s.
Style gallery 1950–1960
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Double-breasted suit, New Orleans, early 1950s
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Formal wear remained essentially unchanged from previous periods, but was worn less frequently. The Duke of Edinburgh in formal morning dress, 1951.
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Emil-Edwin Reinert, Joan Camden, and Francis Lederer in a production of Stolen Identity, Vienna, 1952. Lederer (left) wears a broad-shouldered overcoat and scarf
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Walt Disney and Wernher von Braun in single-breasted two piece suits, 1954.
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Browline glasses for men.
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Belgian singers Jacques Brel and Bobbejaan Schoepen wear modified pompadour hairstyles, suits with sharply peaked lapels, and patterned ties, 1955.
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Actor Chet Allen wears "wet look" hair parted on the side, 1957.
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Harry Truman, and Hans Schweiger in overcoats, 1958.
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Young Hungarian men, late 1950s.
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"Continental" style suits of 1959: Cary Grant in North by Northwest.
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CanadianSchott Perfecto and Levi Strauss jeans, 1960
Youth fashion
Hepcats
- During and after the war, oversized pocketwatch chain, black and white spectator shoes, a wide brimmed fedora, and a brightly colored silk kipper tie.[59]
Greasers
- From the late 1940s until the mid-1960s, many bobby socks.
Teds
- During the early 1950s, Britain's own coolie hats.[65]
Ivy League
- The early to mid 1950s also witnessed the
Beatniks
- In the early to mid 1950s, the precursor to the 1960s horn rimmed glasses, and berets were popular among Beatniks of both sexes, and men often wore beards.[72] The Russian equivalent of the Beatnik, known as Stilyagi (style hunters), wore thick soled shoes, brightly colored socks, and exaggerated American style clothing in imitation of Western film actors and modern jazz musicians.[73]
Children's wear
- Due to the Elementary school. Many girls' and young women's dresses were styled after those of the older women.
- Originally everyday workwear in the Disney during the mid-1950s.[74]
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Child's dress, 1947.
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German girl's dress, 1953.
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Indian family, 1950.
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High school prom including a male (center) wearing Teddy Boy style suit withbootlace tie, 1956.
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Coonskin cap.
Hairstyles and cosmetics
See also
- Ducktail
- Hubert de Givenchy
- Jean Dessès
- Guy Laroche
- Roger Vivier
- Charles James (designer)
- Hardy Amies
- Grace Kelly
- Babe Paley
Notes
- ^ Brockman (1965), p. 54
- ^ ISBN 0-13-181214-9.
- ^ Brockman (1965), pp. 54–55
- ^ Tortora & Eubank (1994), p. 414.
- ISBN 9781563678066– via Google Books.
- ^ "The Mao Suit and the Nehru Jacket – Parisian Gentleman". 30 May 2014.
- ISBN 9780766035539– via Google Books.
- ISBN 9781402769764– via Google Books.
- ^ Brockman (1965), p. 75.
- ^ a b c d Tortora & Eubank (1994), p. 413.
- ^ "Stocking Series, Part 1: Wartime Rationing and Nylon Riots". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
- ^ "How Nylon Changed the World : 50 Years Ago Today, It Reshaped the Way We Live--and Think". LA Times. October 27, 1988. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
- ISBN 978-0756771720.
- ^ Tortora & Eubank (1994) p. 406
- ^ Brockman (1965), p. 76.
- ^ Caen, Herb. San Francisco Chronicle, April 2, 1958.
- ^ a b "Dior". www.dior.com (in French). Retrieved 2018-04-21.
- ^ Brockman (1965), p. 53.
- ^ See "New Look" jacket by Dior, "New Look" suit by Hardie Amies, V&A Museum.
- ^ Bigelow, Marybelle S. (1979). Fashion in History: Western Dress, Prehistoric to Present. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Burgess Publishing Company. p. 309.
- ^ Cumming (2010), p. 51
- ^ a b Tortora & Eubank (2005), pp. 420–426.
- ^ See Cocktail dress by Dior with matching shrug or bolero, V&A Museum
- ^ "The History of Israel, Best Told in Khaki and Sandals". 12 October 2011 – via Haaretz.
- ^ Haye, A. (1996). The cutting edge. London
- ^ a b Lynn, E. (2010). Underwear fashion in detail. London : V&A Publishing.
- ^ Warren, P. (2001). Foundations of fashion: he Symington corsetry collection 1860-1990. Leicester:,
- ^ "Lingerie from History We Would (Probably) Never Wear Again". 2 February 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- ^ a b Wilcox, R. Turner (1958). The Mode in Costume. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 417.
- ^ a b c Tortora & Eubank (1994), p. 427
- ^ See Balenciaga suit, 1954/55, V&A Museum
- ^ Brockman (1965), pp. 39, 50
- ^ Tortora & Eubank (1994), pp. 415–18
- ^ "Jeans from the year you were born". MSN. Archived from the original on 2017-03-05. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
- ^ "Sandra Milo". MSN. Archived from the original on 2017-03-05. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
- ^ a b Tortora & Eubank (1994), pp. 421–23
- ^ "Gottex swimsuit". Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
- ^ "The beach mermaids of the '40s - photos show what women wore to the beach in 1940s". 19 July 2016.
- ^ "What they wore on the beach in the 60s - a glimpse into the beachwear fashion of the 1960s". 12 July 2016.
- ^ Cumming (2010), p. 163
- ^ Tortora & Eubank (1994), p. 414
- ^ Scholarly Article. "Celebrate Women's History Month" Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. copyright 2008.
- ^ Tortora & Eubank (2005), pp. 432, 439
- ^ D. L. Rosenburg. September 29, 1959. United States Patent Office. Maternity Panty.
- ^ a b Walker (1988), p. 106
- ^ a b c d Tortora & Eubank (1994), pp. 432–33
- ^ a b Walker (1988), pp. 108–109
- ^ See "New Edwardian"-style suit Archived 2011-05-18 at the Wayback Machine, at the V&A.
- ^ Walker (1988), p. 116
- ^ Philipkoski, Kristen. "The Plaid Shirt: Rebellion, Grunge and a Touch Flamboyance".
- ISBN 9781458429148– via Google Books.
- ^ "Nov 1st Howard Hughes Makes One Off Flight Of The Spruce Goose".
- ^ "1930-1950s Western Wear for Women and Men". vintagedancer.com.
- ISBN 9781440225215.
- ISBN 978-2-08013-536-0.
- ^ "Looking Back": an illustrated history of the American Ophthalmic Industry, by the Optical Laboratories Association
- ^ Fassel, Preston. "Hindsight is 20/20: The Browline". The Optician's Handbook. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
- ^ "The zoot suit". Archived from the original on 2016-02-19. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
- ^ "Powerdressing: Zoot Suits". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
- ^ "1960's Britain: Rockers vs Mods – Battle of the Subcultures and Moral Panic".
- ^ "The Tokyo Subculture of 1950s Rockabilly Gangs". 7 January 2015.
- ^ "The return of motorcycling's cafe racers". HeraldScotland.
- ^ "The Edwardian Teddy Boy - The Teddy Boy's Attire". www.edwardianteddyboy.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2012.
- ^ "The Teddy Boy Movement". www.rockabilly.nl.
- ^ "The Forgotten 1950s Girl Gang". www.messynessychic.com.
- ^ "The Ivy Style Primer—Gentleman's Gazette". www.gentlemansgazette.com.
- ^ Stewart, Bob (1 December 1959). "How Girls Rate Boys". Boys' Life. Boy Scouts of America, Inc. p. 72 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Private Eye In Ivy Style". LIFE. Time Inc. 11 May 1959. p. 61 – via Google Books.
- ^ Elie, Rudolph (25 January 1954). "High School Set's New High Style". LIFE. Time Inc. p. 138 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Removing the Ivy League stigma
- ISBN 9788122413717– via Google Books.
- ^ "Tom Christopher - Art and Leisure Productions". www.tomchristopher.com.
- ^ "The Stylehunters of Soviet Russia". 25 May 2015.
- ^ JOHNSON, JOHN (23 August 2002). "Coonskin Cap Clings to 'Crockett'" – via LA Times.
References
- Brockman, Helen. The Theory of Fashion Design, New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1965, ISBN 0-471-10586-4,
- Cumming, Valerie, C. W. Cunnington and P. E. Cunnington. The Dictionary of Fashion History, Berg, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84788-533-3
- Samek, Susan M. "Uniformly Feminine: the "Working Chic" of Mainbocher." Dress 20 (1993): p. 33–41.
- Tortora, Phyllis G. and Keith Eubank. Survey of Historic Costume. 2nd Edition, 1994. Fairchild Publications. ISBN 1-56367-003-8
- Tortora, Phyllis G. and Keith Eubank. Survey of Historic Costume. 4th Edition, 2005. Fairchild Publications.
- Walker, Richard: The Savile Row Story, Prion, 1988, ISBN 1-85375-000-X
External links
- Patent to the Maternity Panty
- "The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947–57, museum exhibition". Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
- Dresses by Christian Dior, Indianapolis Museum of Art
- Children's clothing from the 1950s
- Examples of French fashion illustration
- "1940s – 20th Century Fashion Drawing and Illustration". Fashion, Jewellery & Accessories. Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived from the original on 2011-08-02. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
- "1950s – 20th Century Fashion Drawing and Illustration". Fashion, Jewellery & Accessories. Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived from the original on 2011-01-08. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
- Vintage Photos - art, life and fashion in the 20th Century.
- Madame Grès, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains a good deal of material on fashion from this period