1960's fashion

1960 began a decade which may well be recorded as one of the most fashion-conscious periods in recent history, challenging the 1890s and the 1920s. Even the American Presidential election campaigns made fashion an issue, when the wives of the two Presidential candidates became the storm center of a headlined controversy over the source and cost of their respective wardrobes, their taste in clothes, and their comparative rating among the international "best dressed."

Layered effects were important in fashion: tunic tops, tiered skirts, and hem flounces were strongly shown. Many designers used double layers of chiffon or print covered with organza to form a dress or a costume.

Day clothes remained simple and colorful. Sleeveless dresses dominated the smart collections, usually covered by jackets or coats to form a costume. Many clothes abandoned collars in favor of contrasting colored piping which also edged the jacket and pockets or cuffs.

Color was very important in the 1960's.  Like silhouette, color was feminine and mellow. Sugary pinks, salad greens, yellows, and candy colors were popular. For daytime wear, mellow neutrals were worn with flashes of blue, from marine to ice. Red, white, and blue punctuated combinations for morning, afternoon, and evening wear. Prints appeared predominantly in bold black and white and in tones of green. Silk prints appeared throughout the year, in "pretty'' rather than bizarre designs. Resist prints were :Also popular. Black, particularly in silk, returned as the loading basic. Fall prints were rich, vivid, and strange; Picasso blurs and greens, rids and oranges, odd browns, and black and white appeared in every fabric and most types of costume. Cashmere wool colors were bright, and spring and summer colors tinted winter-weight town-and-country clothes, Prominent were such out-of-season colors as pale green, sky blur, white, oyster, cream, dandelion yellow, and peppermint pink.

fashion show of 1960's fashion.