Fashion in the 1950s varied greatly from the beginning to end. Maybe not quite as extreme as the 60s, 1950s fashion saw the introduction of many new styles as well as many styles that paid homage to the 1920s.
The waistline was a major issue in the 1950s. Some women really like the snug fit of the Dior dresses while others liked the dresses with no waistline, often referred to as “sack dresses.”
The important thing is that people were beginning to feel a little more freedom when it came to their fashion choices. No longer did people feel like they had to conform to a certain look for certain situations.
The first years after World War II might be regarded by fashion historians as a period of transition, a period of groping after the lines into which fashion would settle for an 8-year or 10-year span.
No final answer to questions about the waistline was given in 1952. The phrase “the wandering waistline” was coined at the Paris spring collections and the waist continued to wander to the point of disappearing, throughout the year.
1953 ushered in a mood of sleek, slender elegance — at once young and sophisticated. Hemlines, waistlines and hairlines all grew shorter in 1953. Buzzwords at the time were “shape” and “sheen.”
1957 was the year in which Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (at age 74) became “an adjective in her own time.” Sort of like “Googling,” Chanelisms were ubiquitous.
To read more about a certain year, click on the plus sign next to the year below.
