Vintage apparel of the 1950's was mainly the formal and the tailored  silhouette.

Women's fashion style was presented as mature, elegant, and sophisticated.

 It was popular to look  ladylike from head to toe, and this was the female norm in style that was conditioned in every young girl from a very young age. The authority figures in the movie world - the movie actresses - seen at the theatre on Saturday nights added to the acceptance of this feminine style.

The image of female sophistication in their vintage apparel wears was that of a shapely curvy one with distinct hip lines and prominent busts. And  because it was important that a women’s waist be small, many women wore girdles, waist cinchers and shapers underneath their clothing to achieve this desired hour glass image.

21st century women collectors of vintage apparel today will attest to the fact that the waist dimensions of vintage dresses and skirts they collect feel abnormally small in comparison to that of the hips and the bust.

FASHIONABLE VINTAGE APPAREL OF THE ERA

The vintage apparel style for the 50’s woman was to appear provocative in clothing such as the wiggle dress, or the skin tight figure hugging high-waist pencil skirt.

This was a time of practiced etiquette and sophistication. A time when every occasion demanded a studied attention to clothes and accessories worn. The way you dress up to have lunch with the ladies was different from the way you dress when you went out to the movies, go grocery shopping or attend children’s school functions.

Examples of vintage apparel of the day were:

• Tailored suits
• Dresses with bolero jackets
• Twin-sets
•  Shirt waist dresses with full pleated swing skirts
•  Full-length cocktail gowns with elbow length opera gloves
• Tight sweaters and cardigans worn over bullet bras
• Full circle skirts with stiff nylon petticoats underneath
• The full skirt and petticoat combination
• Poodle skirts were worn with Black with white saddle shoes
• Tight jeans and pants for both teenage boys and girls.
• Pedal pushers

 Its good to mention the fact that at this time, the use of make-up was heavy. Many women went through their day with a full painted face, compete with dark eye liner, bold eye shadow, jet black mascara, bright rouge and deep red lipstick A great time for cosmetics industry as they boomed beyond measure. Women revelled in their access to products that had been of short supply during the 2nd world war, and so, perfect grooming was important and essential.

Towards the late 50's, fashion designers began to design less structured vintage apparel. They started to drop the tight waist, tight fitting, full skirted styles of the post-war years and started promoting designs such as  Chanel’s relaxed sweater suit designs for women, great designs that was  gaining popularity.

Vintage apparel and fashion style was becoming more comfortable and wearable.  The fashion design of the sack dress towards the end of the 50’s was the prelude to some of the stylish shift dresses that became popular in the 60’s.  Hem lines went up!

The 1950's was a great decade in terms of a vibrant fashion activity that celebrated some of the best qualities of the traditional gender roles, including all things feminine for women.

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