All Decked Out: December 2012

In the 60s, fashion reflected the social and political statuses by changing along with them. To save textiles for the war effort, clothes were made using as little fabric as possible. Clothing was typically simple and classic, but had small twists such as different colors.

Fashion was very much inspired by the music that was popular at the time, including British bands such as the Beatles, The Who, and the Rolling Stones. Since these bands are all male, styles became somewhat androgynous because women were interested in the styles as well. A British group called the Mods were the ones to really start mimicking the bands. Only once the Mods' group became publicly accepted did women start to wear this style as well. There was also an opposing group called the Rockers, who dressed like 50s rock and roll bands. They wore leather jackets and greased-back hair, and they rode motorcycles. They were the rivals of the Mods. The Mods were the more popular group.

The Beatles (top) and The Who dressed in Mods' fashion trends.

Mod fashion was pretty clean-cut, simple, and classic, just adding a couple of new elements such as bright colors and patterns. Boxy clothes became very common. Shift dresses are an example of this, as are men's suits. Clothes for women were typically loose. We see this in the shift dresses and also in cocktail dresses which were worn at night. Men's clothes were worn tighter. Button-down shirts were cut slim and pants fit tight as well. Although in the late 60s, bell-bottom pants did become popular.

Shift dresses

Bell-bottom pants

Different words were used to describe fashion in the 60s. Instead of our words such as "cool," and "hot," they used words like "fab," "groovy," and "funky." Also, if someone was dressed well, it was said that they were "all decked out."

There were several fashion icons in the 60s that made different trends popular. For example, Jacqueline Kennedy, the first lady during 1961-1963, introduced pillbox hats and suits that had large buttons, short and boxy jackets, and straight skirts. Other fashion icons were models like Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton, and actresses such as Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. Girls followed the trends that the models and actresses made big. They were generally good influences on young girls by trying to convey the message that beauty comes from the inside. Audrey Hepburn once said, "The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair." Even Jean Shrimpton herself once said, "If you take off the make-up, I`m ugly." Several aspects of 60s fashion impacted the fashion world in a big way and are still seen today.