Simply NEL

Fashion Blog

Posts tagged history

Nov 10

Fashion History: Early 1960s

Sixties fashion was not just about hippies, world peace, and drugs; it was about class. Hippie fashion didn’t hit the scene until the late 1960s, and it was the early 1960s when women everywhere copied the Jackie O look.

Yes, the first lady of the United States was a fashion icon. Jackie Kennedy wore large square or round sunglasses, the pillbox hat, and dress suits. It was Jackie O who popularized the Chanel suit and embodied the class and elegance of the early 60s.

Much of early 60s fashion was slowly weaning away from the 1950s. Yet, you could still spot a dress with a circle skirt and pinched in waist line, but in the early 60s the skirts were not as full and not as long. Shift dresses were always seen in the early 60s, as well as capri trousers and stiletto heels.

No one knows these early 60s styles better than Janie Byrant, the costume designer for AMC’s Emmy award winning show Mad Men. The show has sparked an interest in vintage fashion and has given the fashion world new inspiration. Michael Kors 2008 fall collection was derived from Mad Men, and Banana Republic has launched a Mad Men inspired collection as well.

The fashion-forward women of the early 1960s had Jackie Kennedy as a reference. Today we have Mad Men referencing a bygone era, while offering inspiration for modern fashion-forward women everywhere.

Sep 13

Fashion History of the Month: The Roaring Twenties

I’m sure you’ve heard of the time in history called the roaring twenties. So why was it roaring? Well, for many reasons, but one was the fashion.

The first woman to roar at the current fashion trends of the early 20th century was Coco Chanel. She was the first woman to cut her hair, throw off her corset, and wear trousers. Yes, trousers. Only men wore the pants back then. Chanel parted the red sea for women to follow, and they did.

Not only did Chanel provide a radical example for women, but coupled with World War I the timing was just right. While the men were away at war many women had to take over in the work force. Women couldn’t wear big frilly hats and dresses; they needed to move freely and breathe easily (exit the corset) in order to work.

Liberation in women’s fashion was just one of the many new liberation’s in society at the time. Many women and men were letting their hair down, dancing, drinking (even though it was illegal at the time), and wearing what they wanted. Women’s dresses and skirts were at the knee (which was scandalous back then), tight fitting with low waistlines, and they wore tighter smaller hats with short bobbed hair underneath. The boyish figure was also a trend; women wanted to hide their breasts and hips.

As the 20’s rolled forward these trends and liberties became less radical and more apart of everyday life. What was once taboo became a must.