Wayback Wednesday – Sights, Sounds and Styles of the 60’s

Wayback Wednesday ~ Fashions of the 60’s

I am a proud Boomer, born on September 20, 1961. The 60’s was the decade known for free love, drugs, Go-Go Girls, Rock and Roll and the Vietnam War.

Americans were fighting for Civil Rights, integration and freedom. Hippies, Birth Control, and The Peace Corp headlined the news. Democrat John F. Kennedy won the U.S. Presidential Election after defeating Republican Richard Nixon. Kennedy became the first president and was the youngest person to have been elected to the highest office at the time.

Dr. King, Malcolm X and President Kennedy all were assassinated in the 60’s.

We were looking skyward with space explorations and almost went to war with the Cuban Missile Crisis. We tried to escape the real world by watching the ‘boob tube” with shows like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits and The Beverly Hillbillies.

The minimum wage was a $1.00 per hour and the price of gas was .31 cents per gallon. Natural hair, Afros, Crew Cuts, and of course the vibrant, bold and colorful world of fashion.

Clothing styles have always mirrored the attitudes of the times and this was certainly true of fashion in the 1960s. The decade was marked by sweeping social change and the domination of youth culture – baby boomers were growing up and demanded their own fashion style.

Designers responded with a much more liberal, daring approach to fashion, boasting colorful fabrics and bold designs.Clothing broke with social traditions that dictated what could be worn when and by whom.

In the past, clothing attire had been divided into ‘formal’ and ‘casual’ wear, and separations were made between the styles of clothing worn by men and women. The 1960s, however, there were more unisex clothing such as dungarees (denim jeans), which were worn by both sexes.

I was too young to fully understand it all but do remember that I loved the vibrant colors and styles of the ’60’s, the bell bottoms, platform shoes, neon colors, color blocking and pattern mixing…hey, isn’t that still the style of today?

Clothing styles and fabrics were inspired by non-Western cultures, they were more Indian and African prints. Natural fabrics and tie-dyed and paisley prints were also popular.

SMLXL

Many people created their own clothing with accessories and personal items such as purses and bags decorated with beads and fringes. Bare feet or leather sandals were typical hippie fashion and flowers and peace signs became symbols of the movement.