By the beginning of the 1930s, fashion design and haute couture clothing stepped down a few marks to become more compromising. The times called for a balance between preserving the feminine look and re-discovering simple elegance.

Women’s fashion softly evolved from the boyish look of the previous decade into the feminine silhouette of the early thirties.

Fashion designers created clothes that felt more romantic with their soft feminine looks. Waistlines returned once again, a deviation from the flapper style dresses of the 20s, and while the hemlines became longer and the slim-fitting backless evening gowns were once again appreciated, the bust-line re-appeared, accentuating woman’s silhouette.

This decade soon moved into war times, and as fashion was regarded as frivolity and therefore became the least of a woman’s problem, the utility range of clothing evolved.

Clothes of the 1940s

This came as a surprise to those who lived through the era and remembered it for its shortages and difficulties, as well as some drabness. Wartime fashion presented a challenge, and everyone rose to that challenge as they did with the much larger global one – with stellar results.

Because of the war, it was trendy to appear in smart uniforms as uniformed men and women were a common sight on the streets, at home, and at work.

Fashion in the 1940s was thus a good mix of comfort and glamour. There were specific outfits that were meant for specific times of the day. Some of their designs look downright modern even by today’s standards.

Men were pretty dressed up too, with suits, ties and hats becoming commonplace in public.

Women wore dresses and skirts, with no slacks yet. These clothes were often very bright and colorful; the brighter it was, the better. Women’s shoes for example were in one of three popular color choices: red, white or blue.

Another thing women always wore were- gloves. Preferably it was a pair that matched the outfit. Fur too was very popular, as were animal skins. Crocodile purses, wombat collars, lambskin lining, and leather sleeves, no animal was off limits.

Fashion Design of the 1950s Women

Fashion in the 1950s saw a clear gender divide. While men and boy’s fashion moved towards a more casual day-to-day style, women and girl’s fashion prioritized elegance, formality, and perfectly matched accessories.

Couture women’s wear saw rapid change with new designers such as Cristobal Balenciaga and Hubert de Givenchy disrupting the overtly feminine silhouette popularized by Christian Dior, while novel prints and colors marked a playfulness in fashion for both men and women.

Christian Dior’s new look influenced softer shoulders, corseted waists, and fuller long skirts held in place by flared stiff petticoats. A corset was essential in a woman’s wardrobe because the ideal body shape for the era was the hour-glass (figure eight) shape. Provocative and sexy strapless gowns demanded the use of strapless brassieres and every woman of style had them. Daytime styles were very feminine, designed to remind every woman that she’s a woman and because she had “gone without” during the preceding decade, she deserves the luxury. It was “death to utility clothing”, and the years of deprivation. The 1950s were also a decade of youths against adults. The growing youth culture would become the first distinct decade where teenagers differed from their parents in the way they dressed but also lived. During the 1950s the teenage culture would be inspired by Hollywood stars and their work: music or movies. School cliques as in Greasers, Jocks and Preppy are strongly associated with the decade, including teenage things like high school prom, drive in restaurants and the American high school dream. The so called Greasers would approach a more edgy style with denim, leather jackets and of course greasy hair. Style icons were Elvis Presley and James Dean. 1960s Clothing Styles

Fashion was initially carried over from the 50s, but they only seemed to look great on older and mature women, a style that meant drab to the young and upcoming “fashionistas”. Soon, little shops called boutiques promoting fashion design clothes started to spring up, and suddenly, haute couture took on a different perspective.

Designers introduced bold and loud colours into their creations; the skirts became shorter, thus culminating in the mini clothes and the quintessential girlie look of the 1960s and designer clothes of a decade earlier that were slim-line and tubular gave way to flared skirts and tentative beginnings of the A-line skirts.