Women's Styles - Decades of Inspiration

WOMEN'S STYLES
Decades of Inspiration

Some of us vaguely remember back to the 1940's when women wore ankle strap platform open-toe shoes, garter belts, padded shoulders, flared coats, sleek skirts with inverted pleats, bold plaids, Balmain sleeves, those wonderful man-tailored suits (as it was called back then), and trousers, shorts, halters and espadrilles -- The WWII years set women on an upward whirl and out-of-the house, clamoring for washing machines and dryers, and electric mixers and gadgets, cigarette cases and elegant compacts, and with lots more leisure and fun times.

The images of our grandmothers (or great-grandmother or great-great-grandmothers) either by memory or photos (they were the people who actually saw the flappers and first-run Katherine Hepburn movies) still linger as we think of them wearing the soft draped styles, clunky shoes and big, big coats of the 1930's. Their 1920's styles were soft, revealing (exposing ankles then legs and arms ), sometimes dainty and ultra feminine, and, uncorsetted (it was the time of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Jazz Age).

We cannot forget the 1950's that made popular the poodle skirts, flared skirts and crinolines, saddle shoes, and the conservative business look. It was a bit stodgy, but the skirts and saddle shoes, Elvis, and imitating the movie star look made young people scream for a change.

The 1960's heralded back the elegance and a trend toward fashion consciousness with pillbox hats, gloves and suits fashionized by Jacquelyn Kennedy. This era peeked into the faster paced decades of the 1970's and 1980's with mini skirts, bold colors and prints, the revisit of the empire style, bold hairdos, and lots of makeup.

The 1970's wild spiritual side, took aspects of the wild west, American Indians, and styles from India -- fringes, beads, soft thin material, long skirts, and sandals (though the beatniks of the late 1940's through early 1960's cornered that style first), hair down to there hair, and wild colors and floral designs. A tinge of an outrageous free style, art inspired beatnik times seemed to resurface with a different mood.

The 1980's onward evolved with a sense of maturity, relying on prime foundations of past trends and lines, but with new bold insight, fabrics, and color. The 1970's had opened the door to more freedom including freedom in fashion leading the way to exposing skin, and more and more skin. The bikini's of the 1960's and the soft and revealing fabrics and styles of the 1920's and 1930's were a mere blush compared to the styles of today.

It seems that fashion, like so many other parts to our current day, 21st century culture, has reached a point where a person decides what is best for his or her self, then seeks the source that fulfills this -- In fashion, the buyer, or wearer, decides what the look should be. The person sets the trend. It's a person's passion set against their figure, and budget.

Real vintage clothing and accessories keeps one in literal touch with wonderful classic styles of the past with the "real thing."

The vintage look keeps one in touch with eras gone by and one's own fashion sense and budget.

Fashion designers are ever mindful of this trend, and their artistic sense and genius bring it all to reality though they think they are setting the pace.

One important fact remains for the evolution of new trends and styles -- not only in fashion, but lifestyles, and values. It is what the current day youth like to wear and like to do. It is the colors, the fabrics, the informality, or formaliy, of their look and lifestyle, and their values. It is a statement that glides into the next era when the youth become adults and leaders...setting new trends.

BEATNIKS - late 1940's through early 1960's -- free loving, free living, free thinking creative people and intellectuals (such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg). The internet does not have much in the way of reference material -- check your local libraries or Amazaon.com for books on the subject.

PIERRE BALMAIN - famous French clothing designer very popular in the mid 1940's and 1950's; The House of Balmain was opened in Paris in 1945 and is still synonymous with French Haute Couture. Balmain developed a ready-to-wear line in the 1970's Oscar de la Renta has been the Artistic Director since 1993.