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
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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
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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!