60s fashion and style
Like pop music, fashion went through a revolution in the 60s, but for most women little changed in the early years of the decade. The styles of the late fifties, the Chanel suit and the full skirt were still popular. By the middle of the 60s, the mini was in and short hair, in the geometric style of Vidal Sassoon, was the in look. By the end of the sixties, the look was long, flowing hair, hippy beads and kaftans.
For most men in the 60s, fashion still meant a trip to Burton, John Collier (formerly The Fifty Shilling Taylor), or Hepworth for the classic suit.
For younger men though, men's fashion also went through several transformations in the 60s. In the early years of the decade suits had changed little from the 50s, but the Italian look quickly took off: narrow trousers, narrow lapels and a thin tie. For the very fashionable, flares were in, lapels on jackets were wider and the kipper tie was hip by the end of the decade.
Full employment and a school leaving age of fifteen meant that teenagers had plenty of money to spend. They spent it on music, clothes, scooters or motorbikes. They were often married by their early twenties, so this period of freedom was short lived. The short term nature of the 'teenage' period meant fashions and styles quickly changed. There were several youth cults in the sixties, each quickly succeeding the other. First the Rockers with their leather jackets and motorbikes, then the ultra stylish Mods, who clashed with the Rockers at seaside resorts. Then the Hippy look, based on a growing drug culture and finally the Skinheads.
See also:
Early 60s
In the first half of the 60s, for women's fashion, the look of the late fifties remained. It was all about the glamour of American movies. By 1963, when this photograph, right, was taken, the wide skirts of the 50s had disappeared, but the look was still formal. The two girls in this picture look very grown up. The look was adult and glamorous, there was no real attempt to look that different from the older generation. This style can be seen in films such as 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' (1960).
The young man in this picture is in Mod gear: a smart suit with narrow lapels and tapered trousers, a slim tie and winklepickers. Fashion was very regional in the 60s. Styles adopted in the Capital took some time to reach the whole country. In the film 'Kes' (1969), about Billy, a boy growing up in Barnsley in Yorkshire, his older brother, Jud, still wears this style, right down to the winklepickers. In the early sixties, in some towns, the Teddy Boy style was still in vogue, whereas in London the Mod movement was beginning.
Detail: Winklepickers
Winklepickers (also known as winkle pickers) were sharp shoes, quite literally, with a pointed toe. Winkle pickers were popular mainstream fashion for young men in the early 60s. The pointed toe was also fashionable for young ladies' shoes, which were also known as winklepickers.
The photograph, above, from 1962, shows a selection of more casual styles. They range from a sports jacket and tie complete with hat for the man on the left, to open necks for the two in the middle. The hat was on its way out in the sixties and was mainly worn by older men.
Slim fitting trousers were also popular casual wear for women in the early sixties. This shot, right, is also from 1962.
For most men over thirty the smart suit remained the only way to dress for going out. Many went to tailors, such as Burton or John Collier to be fitted out at least one a year. Burton's suits were good value for money and lasted reasonably well.
See also 60s mens suit
Mid 60s fashion
By the middle of the decade little had changed in women's fashion. The Chanel suit, left, a hangover from the 50s was still very popular in the 60s. Hemlines might have been slightly higher. The bouffant hairdo (as worn right) dated from the middle years of the sixties. It needed a considerable amount of back combing and hair lacquer.
The smart suit and fairly formal look remained popular, certainly for women over thirty.
Hair styles
Below are some more popular hairstyles from the 60s. The flip was a classic 60s look that remained 'in' for most of the decade. The beehive was popular in the early to mid 60s; this girl has a typical 'Audrey Hepburn look'. The pixie was a short hairstyle, which was popular in the mid 60s, before long hair came back in the hippy era.
Flip
Pixie
Beehive
More fashion from the mid 60s
A more casual look was creeping into fashion for younger women. Calf length boots were becoming popular. This long leather jacket, right, is quite unusual, but in the spirit of the more fashionable, art school types. The young woman with short hair, left, looks like she might have had a part in 'The Avengers'.
The mini skirt
The mini skirt was the fashion phenomenon of the sixties. Hemlines rose to 7 to 8 inches above the knee. There is some debate over who invented the mini. Mary Quant's boutique, Bazaar, on the King's Road, Chelsea was one of the first places that sold them in 1965. French fashion designer, Andr Courrges, also added mini skirts to his fashion collection in 1965.
The mini skirt slowly caught on throughout the country in the years following 1965. Most women took a couple of years to accept the new look. For the mini to work, the old fashioned underwear and stockings of the fifties had to go. Women now wore tights, or panty-hose. A new male fantasy ousted an age old one!
London in the mid sixties was awash with boutiques with names like Countdown, Blast Off, Top Gear, Change Down, Glad Rags, Clobber, Quorum, Ad Hoc, Palisades, Barricades etc all in the wake of Mary Quant's original. There a girl could get the latest fashion, which according to 'The London Spy (a sophisticated guide book) in 1966, was a buttercup-yellow satin gymslip worn with orange boots!
Most of these boutiques were fairly expensive. A simple shift dress cost around £10 (read at least £100 in today's money). For those with smaller pockets there were Wallis, Neatawear and Top Shop. Top Shop's range in the 60s included designs by Mary Quant. If Swinging London was not to your taste, then Jaeger made sweaters, suits and coats that lasted forever. Marks and Spencer was known for quality and value, though some of their dresses and suits were a little too classic. M&S was also considered the best place for underwear.
This shift dress, left, is typical of the swinging London style of the mid sixties. The bright colours and geometric patterns epitomise this period. This look lasted into the latter years of the sixties for those not ready to join the hippy revolution.
The Mod style
The Mods of the early sixties took the suit to new levels of style. The tapered trousers and thin lapels of the Italian style, became a new youth cult in the early to mid sixties. To this look they added striped blazers, Fred Perry shirts and the Mod scooter, a Lambretta if possible.
Carnaby Street was their fashion centre. John Stephen had several shops there. His male boutiques became the equivalent of Mary Quant's Bazaar.
In the mid 60s, the London Mods congregated in Carnaby Street for a regular fashion parade. Pop music poured from the boutiques and men's shops along the small, narrow street. By the mid 60s, boutiques catering for girls as well as boys were common on Carnaby Street; the Mods usually brought their girlfriends along with them. Shops on Carnaby Street often came and went. Shops that were on Carnaby Street in the 60s included:
Men's shops/male boutiques:
- John Stephen
- Lord John
- Adam W1
- Tre Camp
- Carna B Hive
- Paul's Male Boutique
- Domino Male
Ladies' boutiques
- Palisades
- Tuffin & Foale
Carnaby Street also had a junk shop called Gear. It sold furniture from the Victorian past and reminders of the then fashionable Art Nouveaux era. Also on Carnaby Street in 1967 were a couple of old fashioned pubs, a health food shop, a toyshop and Button Queen, which sold old buttons.
For more on Mods see Mods and Rockers and 60s Mods
Hippy style
Mod fashions were mainstream youth culture by 1965. In 1966 the scene was changing. In January 1966, Granny Takes a Trip opened at 488 King's Road, London; the wrong end of the street, known as the the World's End. Granny Takes a Trip was run by Nigel Waymouth, his girlfriend, Sheila Cohen, a fan of vintage clothes, and former tailor John Pearse. They decorated the shop with red Art Nouveaux lettering on a black background. It looked very dark and mysterious. Inside were Aubrey Beardsley prints and blow-ups of French postcards from the naughty nineties (the 1890s that is).
Granny Takes a Trip marked the end of Mod and the beginning of Hippy style. The shop sold clothes for men and women, some vintage, some new. It also sold floral shirts, jackets with wide lapels, the opposite of the Mod style, velvet and brocade flares, and skirts and dresses in velvet and lace.
Granny's became a Mecca for the pop world. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals and the Pink Floyd were all customers.
Following on from Granny's, Hung on You had a shop front painted by pop artist, Michael English. He choose bold Art Deco inspired lettering in red over bright yellow sun rays on a black background. It timed in beautifully with the late 60s Art Deco rival which inspired Biba and films such as 'Bonnie and Clyde'.
Also in 1966, Michael Fish, opened his first shop 'Mr Fish' in Clifford Street. Michael Fish is credited with the invention of the kipper tie. All his clothes were labelled 'Peculiar to Mr Fish'.
Bridging Mod and Hippy style was this smart, double-breasted style, left. This was the the way for a fashionable young man to look hip without being scruffy. It was taken up by many of the Mod bands in the late 60s, often combined with elements of the Hippy style.
For mainstream youth fashion, everything changed again in the Summer of 1967. The smart look of the Mods was replaced with long hair, beads, beards and kaftans. Flower power was in the air. The look was psychedelic swirls and paisley patterns. Full on Flower Power was short lived, but its influence was long lasting.
1969 and after
As the decade ended, hemlines started to drop. The maxi and midi lengths offered women an alternative to the mini.
Working class youths, unable to join the beautiful people, opted for short cropped hair and Dr Marten boots. The Skinhead was born.
More about sixties fashion
60s fashion: Reference and further reading
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Revolt into Style: The Pop Arts, by George Melly
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Len Deighton's London Dossier, published 1967 (Penguin)
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The New London Spy by Hunter Davies, published 1966 (Blond)
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The Look: Adventures in Rock and Pop Fashion by Paul Gorman
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The Sixties Source Book: A Visual Reference to the Style of a Generation by
Nigel Cawthorne
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The Sixties Art Scene in London by David Mellor
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Up the Junction (Virago modern classics)
60s fashion on the web
There is quite lot about 60s fashion on the internet. I would highly recommend www.fashion-era.com. This site has a huge amount of information about fashion from the 60s and other decades. The Wikipedia article about mini skirts, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniskirt is also very good.
For hairstyles have a look at www.hairarchives.com. There are number of 60s styles, including the bouffant, the beehive and some very strange looking unisex haircuts.
You might also like this video. The tone is bit condescending, but fairly typical of reporting in 60s. It covers most of the late 60s London fashion scene from Granny Takes a Trip, Hung on You, to Carnaby Street. It asks the question, does London really swing?
Your comments
"The 60s were great times for mods I was living in peckham and used to dress in tonic mohair suits camel coats long leather coats. Also hush puppy shoes then raul shoes very italian.
Used to have my hair cut in a college boy cut or french crew cut.
Used to wear brut after shave.
Go to brighton or margate for bank holidays on scooters. Also used to go to hastings all the girls loved you if you were from london and a mod. Used to go to the triangle at the end of peckham high street to meet all the other mods on scooters.
Great times anyone from peckham remember them there"
j holden
"I loved it. I still have my Mr. Fish shirt & my jacket from Harrads Way In. Very switched on." Jeffrey Beuglet
"This has been such a help. We are putting on a show and doing 'Da doo ron ron' by the Crystals. Now I have some idea how we should look. Thanks" Marilyn Mead
"this is really helpfull as im doing a project for enlish and i need 50's 60's 70's 80's and 90's so thanks for the help xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" alicexx
"thanxs so much this really helped me on my homework about the 50's and 60's XxXxxXxXxXxXxXxX" Nadia Boatswain
"I Really Think Dat Da 60z Itz All Wired" justina Smith
"doing a progect for school this really helps" charlotte lock
"Randi T! it can't be the same mr. becker...?" sarah e
"i wish i was there in the 60s y dont we bring the fashion back...i know i wud be the 1st to actually want to wear it.XD" sami
"i'm doing a project at school so it's great. thanks for the website." millie
"this website was the best becaue me and my friends needed it for a DT project and it had all the best info. x" lizzy
"love your website" lucie
"I am also doing a project for school BUT I am not a loud to copy and paste anything so i dont know what to do that much cos if i put anything it will be basically like copying so i dont htink this helps me much and i want to know about what they actually wore more not about the history and stuff :( i dont like it i'm afraid :(:(:(:(:(:(:" Mollie
"you should have more pictures" claire
Check out 60s fashion pictures
"I WAS DOIN A SKL PROJECT AND THIS WESITE HELPED ME OUT SOOOOOO MUCH SO THANKS :)" Aisha
"i think that all the 60's fashion was really stupid and if i were in the 60's i would be so inbarised because their hairstyles looked so stupid and ugly so whatever u weirdo's bye" sam
"the fashions in the 60's is really groovy! i just wish this generation could wear stuff like those mini skirts to school without getting in trouble! peace love happiness... " stephanee
"This gave me alot of info!! Thankss (y) In Drama right now... :D" Kirstaayy
"These fashions were very interesting. But some of them are really cute. They are not like what we wear now." Megan Dale
"it doesnt give enough detail or deffinition thats what im looking for :L but it is god really helpful :)" clodaaagh
See also:
Retrowow
Retro furniture, style and fashion
Obviously, other sources will have better information if you require further reading, but the site was good for general 60s knowledge, a good source, just passing by for trend forecasting and it was appreciated." Nym1 02/05/2010
xxx" myzterioousss 04/06/2010