PAS7: Shapely Revolution

The 1950s is an idealistic time in American history. Everyone thinks about the perfect family; husband with wife and their 2.5 kids outside of a quant house in the suburbs, when they think of this era. Further people always romanticize the fashion of this era. Well, why is that? Considering that the 1950s was a prosperous time in our history, it makes sense that the economic growth of the nation allowed for growth in fashion and the ability to better mass produce clothing.

Although many of the ideas of women in the workplace were put on the back burner during this time, that does not mean that the 50s was a bad time for women. The sexual revolution took place during this time and encouraged women to be more open about sex and better express themselves. This lead to two different styles of dress to come into popularity.

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The first being the goofy, poodle skirt look. This was popularized by actresses Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn among many others. When one thinks of these dresses, they are elegant and classy but nothing more. Most people would not associate this type of dress with the sexual revolution that came about during the 1950s. Therefore these looks instead are associated more with the idea of the housewife, or the sweet girl next door (i.e. Grace Kelly/Audrey Hepburn). When women emulate this 50s style they are often perceived as being like the pioneers of the style in being classy yet reserved.

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The second style of dress, which is closely associated with the sexual revolution, is the more form fitting semi-formal look. This was made popular by famous actresses Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor etc, who made their private lives public and drew much media attention. These women were flirtatious and comfortable embracing their bodies. The 1950s marked the beginning of fitted clothing, mostly due to its embrace of all different types of women and all different body types.

The second look is often associated more with trying to embrace and show off the body of the wearer, which is why it is often times thought of as less formal than the first style of dress. In contrast, wearing fitted clothing is sometimes viewed as being unprofessional.

Not only did the 1950s allow women to embrace different styles of dress based on their chosen lifestyle of beliefs, it also catered to their bodies. Women of different body types could rely on one of the two types of dress to make sure that they always looked their best. This is another reason why the 1950s are often romanticized, because unlike today fashion allowed for contrasting styles based on how flattering they were to a woman’s body.

Regardless of weather a woman is wearing a goofy skirt or a form fitting dress, she is emulating the 1950s and trying to express that no matter what her insecurities are, she is comfortable in her body and firm in her beliefs. Its amazing how fashion can allow people to be true to themselves!

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