1950s Fashion

1950s Coming Back

FASHION In Italy

In Spain

In Turkey

In United Kingdom

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This material reflects the views only of the author and the commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained herein.

Note: Countries listed in alphabetical order. ~1~

In Italy

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The voice of an expert journalist on fashion In the 1950 and 1960 decades, Americans were greatly influenced by Italian automobiles, film producers and fashion designers. Italian trendsetters dictated what Americans drove, what they wore and how they looked. The American public was buying items that originated in Italy. The First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, loved fashions by designer Oleg Cassini. People were greatly influenced by the hats, suits and jackets worn

by Jackie.

Elyssa da Cruz, The Costume Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of Art A New School of Fashion By the end of World War II, a lapse in overseas communications catalyzed a fragmentation in France's style dictatorship, allowing the global couture clientele recognition of several American designers who had by then built fortified wartime houses. By 1950, a strong dichotomy had developed between the refined yet overly structured elegance of French tailoring and the casual, sporty comfort of American design. This duality manifested most simply in the stark contrast between mid-century department store mass production and the more exclusive custom-made couture trade popular in the epicenters of Paris and New York. The resulting isolation of the respective sectors of society who solely patronized one or the other tradition fostered the need for clothing that incorporated the most appealing aspects of both industries. While French couturiers like Christian Dior and Jacques Fath were pairing down their couture designs and championing them as ready-to-wear garments for American department stores and New York boutiques alike, only Italian fashion artists understood the desperate need for more accessible, comfortable, and yet equally refined and tailored collections.

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The Italian prêt-à-porter industry developed by mid-century from a necessity for high-end mass marketing, and thrived on late-century global overconsumption.

While Italy had been an exporter of accessory fashion items and small leather goods since the early twentieth century, and moreover had a strong history of success with luxury textiles, shoes, and jewelry production since the twelfth century in Venice, Florence, and Rome respectively, a consistently insecure governmental structure resulted in the absence of a unified Italian fashion center, thereby estranging the country's fashion artists from competition in the mid-century global market. Florentine businessman Giovan Battista (G. B.) Giorgini repeatedly attempted to provide Italy's cognoscenti and the global fashion press with more access to Italian talent in the postwar years. The most successful of such attempts, his February 12, 1951, launch at his own Florentine residence, featured Emilio Schuberth, Sorelle Fontana (the Fontana sisters), Contessa Simonetta Visconti, Roberto Capucci, and Alberto Fabiani from Rome, Jole Veneziani of Milan, and Florentine-born Caprese designer Emilio Pucci. High-end American department stores I. Magnin, Bergdorf Goodman, and Saks Fifth Avenue each sent media representatives to review the collections, and found almost instant retail success with gowns from Simonetta, Fabiani, and the youthful sculptor Roberto Capucci.

The Success of the Prêt-à-Porter Emerging as new personalities in the perpetuation of jet-set leisure chic in America and throughout Europe, many Italians took their cue from early twentieth-century European avant-garde artists like the Bauhaus' Paul Klee, Sonia Delaunay, and Cubistinspired Russian Constructivist Liubov Popova, while others broke new ground with individual conceptions and creations of postmodernism. Though often attributed to 1970s designers Armani, Versace, and Missoni, the Italian prêt-à-porter industry developed by mid-century from a necessity for high-end mass marketing, and thrived on late-century global overconsumption. Italian fashion relies on an adherence to the markings of a rich cultural heritage (reflected most prominently in tributes to the luxury of the Italian Renaissance), an instinctive progression toward the globalization of fashion via various modernist aesthetics, and an ability to reinvent image ideals through advertising and promotion.

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Italian Fashion, Then and Now Demonstrated by the double cloth wool textiles of Simonetta as much as the brilliant kaleidoscope knits of Missoni and Caprese-manufactured "Pucci" prints, the textiles of Italy have been as relevant in the last fifty years to the success of the country's commerce as they were in the fourteenth century, as embodied by the scarlati1 wools of Venice, the twelfth-century Florentine feronnerie,2 and even the Renaissance-reminiscent velvets of Mariano Fortuny in the 1920s and '30s. Italy boasts the invention of eyeglasses, or roidi da ogli, as early as 1300, and currently promotes the largest conglomerate of licensed designer sunglasses worldwide. Italian manufacturers are undeniably responsible for some of the most professional and refined leather and fur craftsmanship of the twentieth century; Trussardi and Furla, both family companies founded in the early 1900s, are modeled after Italy's thirteenth-century calegheri3 guilds and promote the most coveted leather goods in fashion, while Fendi has been a longtime purveyor of intricately pieced and dyed furs, now to a nearly fiendish clientele.

Alongside a natural ability to reinterpret the artisanship of historic Italy, the design school of the last quarter century has exhibited a prolific capacity to modernize both image and product. Giorgio Armani became the face of gender equality and refined glamour with his unstructured men's tailoring and heavily built women's garments in the late 1970s.

Miuccia Prada reinvented her family's then-staid company with high-end sportswear and pioneered trends toward technology-inspired minimalism by the early 1990s. Tom Ford recreated the nearly deceased Gucci Company into an iconic brand name, promoting the house as the face of sleek modernity and an almost ruthless chic. With Milan and Tuscany as saturated production centers, and Venice, Rome, Sicily, and Florence as inspirational landmarks in the evolution of the Italian aesthetic, the growth and influence of Italian fashion is ever present and "Made in Italy" is one of the most recognizable stamps of quality and innovation in contemporary fashion.

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Baby boom!

Their best clothes ~6~

Filumane

Sisters ~7~

Friends

Grand Mam ~8~

Mam and daughter II corredo

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cerimonies

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cerimonies

Beach Time ~ 11 ~

Carnival

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In Spain

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1950 BALENCIAGA The golden age of Haute Couture in Spain began in the 50s. A series of salons opened in the 50s and subsequent years, figures like CristÓbal Balenciage returned to the forefront after the hiatus imposed by the Spanish Civil War. Barcelona and Madrid were the cities where all fashion-related activity took place.

The beginnings were difficult, and we should not forget the restrictions prevalent during the harsh post-war period. For these and other reasons, some designers moved to Paris.

The 50s was a very active, flourishing period in Haute Couture but also a period of sharp contradictions and contrasts. Excessive luxury was quickly criticised, but it was tolerated if suitably camouflaged.

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1951 BALENCIAGA Quality and creativity as well as culture and tradition were the distinguishing traits that brought Spanish fashion fame and prestige worldwide.

Spanish fashion was characterised by its very “Spanishness�, the weight of its tradition, its regional characteristics and its autochthonous and folkloric aspects.

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Above all, it was the work of masters like zurbarรกn, Velรกzquez and Goya that inspired the creations of the Spanish workshop.

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1952 BALENCIAGA

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1953 BALENCIAGA

1954 BALENCIAGA

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1955 PERTEGAZ

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1955 BALENCIAGA In “home economics” handbooks, the female ideal was that of a woman subject and submissive to her husband’s authority. Looking after one’s appearance was important, but without forgetting that grooming and adornment, both personal and around the home, were primarily designed to please the husband.

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1956 BALENCIAGA Haute Couture also played a decisive role in cinema productions, with some of the most reputable workshops providing costumes mainly for leading actresses. The projects themselves were widely varied, from the design of period costumes to contemporary garments. In this respect, Spanish designers followed what French and American designers were already doing in their own countries.

1957 BALENCIAGA

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1958 BALENCIAGA

1959 BALENCIAGA

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THE REALITY OF FASHION The Spanish magazines as well as foreign publications like Life, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar were indispensable in promoting Spanish fashion. Among the Spanish publications we might mention are Boletín de la Moda, La Moda en España, Textil, Alta Costura, Siluteas, El Hogar y la Moda, etc. By covering all the novelties, these magazines served as references for those women who did not belong to the elite social classes.

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In Turkey

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Post –war Period, 1950s

After the decade of the 1940s, which was filled with hardship and threats of war, women of the '50s were ready for fun styles and glamor. The 1950s had two primary fashion styles; the pencil skirt and the full skirt.

She was a young, determined teacher of outdoor clothing in 1950s in Turkey.

She is Nuray Uçkun.

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Nuray was wearing a summer dress with cap sleeves and floral prints that were popular in 1950s.

Nuray and his husband in 1950s.

Turkish women under black veils without any social rights gained a powerful legal and social status with the declaration of Turkish Republic in 1923. Large neck and shoulder lapel lines added a strong glamour to the Turkish women of 1950s.

Women wore full-skirted, calf-length dresses that highlighted small waists.

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Symbol of fashion in 1950s Circle skirts were designed as two half circles or one giant circle, depending on the length you needed and the size of your waist. Unlike a gore skirt, which was flat at the bottom, a circle skirt had a bit of a rounded edge, making it hang in waves.

Nuray’s friends

Mükerrem Pazarkuran, an ordinary young girl from Aydın in this era in 1950s.

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Crinoline puffed skirts that went below the knee are remembered as a mark of this era.

A scene from the “Hanımın Çiftliği”. It is adapted from the novel with the same title She was wearing a night dress with a circle

by Orhan Kemal. Pleated skirts; They were skirt having waves at its bottom. It had hand the highlights of this era by placing great made flowers to ornament it. emphasis on the narrowness of the waist.

Mükerrem Pazarkuran in 1950s.

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A scene from the film, “Hanımın Çiftliği”

Some scenes from “Hanımın Çiftliği”

A dress with pleated skirt had laces Boat neckline was another rising style in sorrounding hemlines and lapel lines.Gloves 50s. and heels were indispensable.

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M端kerrem in her 20s in a pleated dress made by herself.

Pencil Skirts and Two-piece Suits A pencil skirt is a slim-fitting skirt with a straight, narrow cut. Generally the hem falls below the knee and is tailored for a close fit. It is named for its shape: long and slim like a pencil. Again the narrowness of waist is emphasized. Women prefered to wear two-piece suits. Skirts were either pencil or full and worn at calf-length. ~ 35 ~

Pages from yearbook of Nuray Uรงkun in 1954 Women also dressed in straight dresses with pencil skirts. Often these dresses would be sleeveless or have cap sleeves.

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Rehersal of the music show by the students of İstanbul Girls High School

Fashion show of Nişantaşı Girls Institution

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The image of women in the women's magazines during the Democrat party period (1950-1960) by Dilara KOÇER

“EV-İŞ” DECEMBER 1950

EV-İŞ April 1950 It is argued that the magazines advise women a role model pulling backward them.

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In United Kingdom

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Fashion history would never be the same again after the 1950’s

Fashion history would never be the same again after the 1950s when teenagers became an emerging fashion voice. A new consumer driven society was born. The fashionable age of being between thirty and forty at the start of 1950 was soon knocked off its pedestal before the end of the decade, by the arrival of the teenage cult with its own development of style and spending. Until then, 18 year old girls often dressed and made themselves up to look as old as their mothers. ~ 40 ~

1950’s Glamour

The fifties saw the breaking of a mould that has stayed broken as those same baby boomer adults today strive to look as youthful as possible. The clear dividing line of the decade was 1956 when the fifties began to move away from the rigid controls of the 1940's into the more flexible hedonistic 1960s when youth movements influenced fashion and lifestyles. 1950s glamour had arrived.

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Dior's New Look 1947 A Post War Turning Point in Fashion History

In 1947 Christian Dior presented a fashion look with a fitted jacket with a nipped in waist and full calf length skirt. It was a dramatic change from wartime austerity styles.

After the rationing of fabric during the Second World War, Dior's lavish use of material was a bold and shocking stroke. His style used yards and yards of fabric. Approximately 10 yards was used for early styles. Later Dior used up to 80 yards for newer refinements that eliminated bulk at the waist. The New Look and new approach to fashion was a major post war turning point in Fashion History. ~ 42 ~

The Transition 1956 was the year that introduced visible changes

Dior's timing made his name in fashion history. After the war women longed for frivolity in dress and desired feminine clothes that did not look like a civilian version of a military uniform.

Dior's New Look dominated the fashion world for about ten years, but was not the only silhouette of the era. ~ 43 ~

Continental Continental alternative often described as chic

There were those in the 1950s that rebelled against the pristine immaculate groomed look, so often associated with Grace Kelly elegance. Leslie Caron and Audrey Hepburn both often wore simple black sweaters, flat shoes and gold hoop earrings coupled with gamine cropped short haircuts. They gave a continental alternative often described as chic and had many fashion followers seeking to embrace the modern look.

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New synthetic fashion fabrics Fashion history shows that styles and garments of the fifties and sixties were revolutionised by new fabrics.

Fashion history shows that styles and garments of the fifties and sixties were revolutionised by new fabrics. Many of the 1950's fabrics were synthesised from petrochemicals. They were promoted for their easy care wash and wear qualities which often meant a quick rinse and drip dry with minimal or no ironing required. Initially they were novel, but expensive materials. Crimplene at first could only be bought in high class Madame Shops. In the early fifties, America had easier access than the UK to really attractive man made fibre goods. Many UK people had their first nylon goods from America in parcels sent by American pen pals. ~ 45 ~

Popular hairstyles

Throughout the early 50s the ponytail was a popular youthful hairstyle and it matured into the French pleat. Fashionable hairstyles began with simple ponytails and ended the decade with complex beehive arrangements. Popular hairstyles in the 1950s and 60s were the poodle cut and the French pleat and later the beehive which began at the tail end of the 50s. ~ 46 ~

For the more sophisticated, a permanent wave in the styles favoured by Elizabeth Taylor and the young Queen Elizabeth II were universally worn. Their popular bubble cut hairstyles were easily copied with the advent of improved hair products, particularly home perms. Other stars that captured the look of the day were Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot and Doris Day. Hairdressing was so big, that by 1955 almost 30,000 salons had sprung up in Britain.

As products such as hair lacquer sprays and plastic rollers came into general use it was easily possible for ordinary women to create more and more complex hairstyles of height.

Women mostly bought their hair lacquer from their hairdresser and decanted it at home into nylon puffer spray bottles. By the end of the 50s, hair spray in cans, commercial shampoo, conditioner and rollers all became big business that boomed in the sixties.

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1950’s teenagers 1950's Teenage Consumers

Until 1950 the term teenagers was not in general use. Children were known as girls and boys were called youths once they displayed signs of puberty.

Then young people were grown up at 18 and fully adult legally at 21 when they often married and set up a home of their own even if it was rented room. Getting married was a way of showing the adult world that you belonged to their world and was a way of escape from puberty.

During the 1950s a range of influences including film, television, magazines and the rock music scene created a new market grouping called teenagers. Teen clothes that were specifically intended to be bought by teenagers now became available. ~ 48 ~

Accessories shoes, stockings

The pointed pre formed conically stitched bra was actually a fashion accessory as without one. the sweater girl look was certainly not right.

Seamless stockings were introduced in Britain in 1952, but the masses did not take to them as the early shaping was so poor compared to regular fully fashioned, shaped, seamed stockings. Only later in the fifties did they gain approval.

Early 1950's shoes were often very high, but with rounded or peep toes and low cut front uppers. Strapped sandals with finer heels were popular as were heavier thicker heels for lower shoes, but by the mid fifties kitten heels and metal tipped steel stiletto heels replaced styles that owed more to designs that had been brought out to compliment the New look of 1947. ~ 49 ~

1950s Fashion - Conclusion

The Second World War left women craving for glamour, style and swathes of fabric where scraps of material had once existed. Dior's full skirted and waisted designs fulfilled all the early dreams of the feminine woman in the early 50's. As a new, more liberated society evolved, women moved toward freer more relaxed clothes and began the move away from the dress rules and associated formality of decades. ~ 50 ~