Today, the influence of 60's retro clothing can be seen everywhere.
Designer fashion houses, high street outlets, and fashion conscious
trendsetters all take inspiration from this decade. The 1960's was
responsible for revolutions in music, film, and fashion, which may be
why it is so well loved by vintage clothing aficionados.
The
1960's was an era of innovation and new thinking. Fashion was heavily
influenced by the younger generations who were spending their wages on
clothes and music. A school leaving age of fifteen meant that most
teenagers over this age had full time jobs and an income to facilitate
this spending.
Fashion followed three main phases but there were
several popular sub genres too. In the early part of the 60's fashion
followed similar trends to the late 50's such as the full skirt and
Chanel suits. This was followed by the up rise of mini skirts, the Mary
Quant and Vidal Sassoon looks. It was these that formed the 'definitive'
60's look and by the end of the decade, the hippy look was more
prevalent with long hair, and kaftans.
The most iconic looks of
the 1960's can be split depending on your sex. For women, it was the
almost Carnaby chic look with mini skirts, short angular haircuts, and
knee length boots. For men, the 60's brought the mod look with Italian
slim fitting suits and skinny ties. These were the looks that defined
the era, for many are still popular today, and still influence British
fashion and style.
Even if you take a look at the popular movies
from the 1960's, these styles can be seen. Music too influenced the
fashion and vice versa. Many of the major bands during this decade
helped set the trends, which again were largely bought by the younger
generations.
The late 60's gave way to the hippy style, which was
heavily influenced by the music culture. Long hair, beads, and kaftans
were the order of the day and flared trousers and jeans were being worn
by anyone who had a real eye for fashion. Not everyone however favoured
this style. For some it was too scruffy therefore, a blend of this and
mod style emerged where double-breasted suits with wider leg trousers
bridged the gap.
60'S style keeps on coming back. You only have to
look at the late 70's and early 80's, to see this when Two-Tone music
and fashion became popular with 60's inspired monochrome fashion and a
new take on the mod look.