50s Fashion

By Sonya Cheema, Rachel Norris,

and Mackenzie Cathcart.

Historical Events:Segregation Ruled Illegal

• In 1896, the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case determined that "separate but equal" was constitutional.

• Blacks and whites were legally forced to use separate train cars, separate drinking fountains, separate schools, separate entrances into buildings, and much more. Segregation was the law.

• It took many years, much turmoil, and even bloodshed to integrate the country.

Mackenzie Cathcart

First Playboy Issue• In December 1953, 27-year-old Hugh Hefner

published the very first Playboy magazine. • The first edition sold so well because Marilyn

Monroe was the "Sweetheart of the Month" (which was thereafter termed "playmate").

• On the front cover of the first edition of Playboy, Marilyn Monroe appeared waving her hand. Inside, Marilyn Monroe bared it all in the centerfold.

Mackenzie Cathcart

Color TV• June 25, 1951 – the very first commercial color TV

program.• This first color program was a variety show simply

called, "Premiere." The show featured such celebrities as Ed Sullivan, Garry Moore, Faye Emerson, Arthur Godfrey, Sam Levenson, Robert Alda, and Isabel Bigley -- many of whom hosted their own shows in the 1950s.

• Despite these early successes with color programming, the adoption to color television was a slow one. It wasn't until the 1960s that the public began buying color TVs in large quantities.

Mackenzie Cathcart

Rosa Parks• On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a

42-year-old African-American seamstress, refused to give up her seat to a white man while riding on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

• Rosa Parks' refusal to leave her seat sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and is considered the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement.

Mackenzie Cathcart

Death of James Dean• On September 30, 1955, actor James Dean was

driving his new Porsche 550 Spyder to an auto rally in Salinas, California when he was involved in a head-on collision.

• Dean became a virtual model of the new American youth, which included his distinctive, slurred mumbling, his facial expressions, his hairstyle and his clothing. Dean sent thousands of American kids hunting for the same red windbreaker jacket and black engineer boots.

Mackenzie Cathcart

End of WWII• The mass involvement by women

and blacks in the military/industrial effort laid the groundwork for the civil rights movements of the 60's and 70's.

• Women went to work in jobs traditionally held almost exclusively by men.

Mackenzie Cathcart

Everyday Society

Rachel Norris

Everyday Shoes and Accessories

Rachel Norris

Influential Event that Shaped Fashion in the 50s

• For 10 years before the war, many people faced poverty as a result of the Great Depression. After the war, however, America’s economy was booming. This gave people a sense of pride and hope for the future. Women who previously had jobs working in factories could now stay home and greet their husbands. Leaving their masculine jobs behind meant leaving behind simple work clothes for dresses with full skirts worn with high heels. It was a way to get back their femininity and step aside to allow their husbands, brothers, and fathers to continue with their roles before the war.

Sonya Cheema

• The New Look was an aristocratic look. A woman wearing a corset, petticoat, full skirt, and heels looked like an elegant lady. Her successful husband took care of her and she did not have to do anything other than taking care of children and shopping. The fashions developed after the war reflected a hopeful and optimistic view of the world.

Sonya Cheema

6 Ladies Fashion Trends

Long, A-line skirts

Sonya Cheema

• Strapless, boned tops

Sonya Cheema

• Floral prints and other abstract designs

Sonya Cheema

• Dress coats and knit sweaters with beading and buttons

Sonya Cheema

• Beachwear

Sonya Cheema

• Cat-eye glasses

Sonya Cheema

Charles James

Rachel Norris

Charles James• Charles James was born on July 18, 1906 in Sandhurst• Charles is known as America’s first couturier• When he was 19, he opened his first hat shop in

Chicago• He began his first dress designs after opening another

hat shop in New York• He was famous for his sculpted ball gowns and his coats• His collections were shown in Paris and New York City

many times until he retired in 1958.• Charles died on September 23, 1978 in New York City

Rachel Norris

Charles James Style• Charles’ elegant and architectural

style influenced the way women dressed in the 1950s. Women wanted interesting and attention-drawing dresses and Charles James satisfied that need. His ballroom dress designs were outspoken yet eye-catching, and beautiful.

Charles James Trends • Long ballroom

dresses• Hip-length jackets• Capes

Rachel Norris

Coco Chanel

Mackenzie Cathcart

Mackenzie Cathcart

Biography• Fashion designer Coco Chanel, born August 19, 1883, in

Saumur, France, is famous for her timeless designs, trademark suits, and little black dresses.

• She had a brief career as a singer before opening her first clothes shop in 1910.

• In the 1920s, she launched her first perfume and introduced the Chanel suit and the little black dress.

• She opened her first shop on Paris’s Rue Cambon in 1910. Chanel started out selling hats. She later added stores in Deauville and Biarritz and began making clothes.

• In the 1920s Chanel launched her first perfume, Chanel No. 5.• Coco Chanel died on January 10, 1971, at her apartment in

the Hotel Ritz.

Mackenzie Cathcart

Trends• Chanel debuted the

little black dress in May of 1926, with a pen and ink drawing in Vogue Magazine.

• Chanel suits are considered to be the first suits for women during the revolution when they were presented on markets in the fifties. They have become one of the most stylish trends among all working women.

• The chunky, layered pearls are also a signature Chanel trend.

Mackenzie Cathcart

Influence• Coco Chanel influenced

women’s fashion in the 1950’s when it came to suits for the working woman. Her style was very classy and elegant.

Mackenzie Cathcart

Christian Dior

Sonya Cheema

Sonya Cheema

Biography• Christian Dior was born in the town of Granville

on the coast of Normandy in 1905• He was the son of a wealthy fertilizer

manufacturer and had four siblings. • At the age of five, he moved with his family to

Paris.• His parents wanted him to be a diplomat, but he

started selling fashion designs on the street for pocket money.

• In 1947, Dior named his debut fragrance Miss Dior as a tribute to his sister who survived imprisonment at a concentration camp.

• Dior established one of the first luxury ready-to-wear house in New York in 1948.

• Christian Dior suffered a fatal heart attack on October 24, 1957.

• 2,500 people came to his funeral including all of his staff and famous clients led by the Duchess of Windsor

Sonya Cheema

Influence• Christian Dior was one of the most

influential designers of the 1950s.• He dominated fashion after World War II with

the hourglass silhouette of his voluptuous New Look.

• His “New Look” was extremely feminine with long, gown-like skirts. The success of his post-war designs led to a rapid rise in popularity, and also a re-establishing of Paris as the center of the world of Haute Couture design.

Sonya Cheema

Trends• Curvy shapes

and lines/hourglass figures

• Round, natural shoulders

• Full, mid-calf skirts made of nylon.

Sonya Cheema

Thank You!