The Time Traveller's Closet ( THE 50's)

I promised you a huge post about the 50's so here i am doing my best, i wasn't gonna post it so soon but since my exams start i will be a bit occupied so i figured better now than never ahha..

                                                          

Underwear

Stockings

The Second World War saw the use and development of new materials like nylon so we have new materials and improved methods of mass production. Woman began to wear much less under their top layer of clothing. At the spotlight was the rise of the light and very fine sheer nylon stockings.The lack of seam line on a leg was associated with bare legs. Bare legs in the 40s and 50s were considered undignified and common.

Petticoats 

 Petticoat was also made by this new wonder fabric nylon, many petticoats still continued to   be made from good quality cotton poplin or broderie Angaise cotton. They boiled it in order to stay white,while nylon had the tendencey to yellow quickly.The petticoat has slowly lost ground and in the end you could only find simple bras , panties , strings and camisoles, bustiers and boyduits-teddies.now they are available in limited only basic ranges of black , white and natural flesh tone.

Adds for petticoats and nylon stockings of the time

Accessories

Glasses

One unexpected facial accessory of 50s was spectacles. Frequently these were inlaid with diamante or scattered glitter dust. The exaggerated wings at the outer corners flared in the style of butterfly wings. 

Hats

Hats added the final touch of 1950s glamour to a woman or girl's outfit, particularly in the early fifties.   Last year's dress or suit could be updated easily with a new hat .Balenciaga had first shown the pillbox and it became the hat of the fifties ..

Balenciaga pillbox hat

Some designs consisted solely of bomb like shapes covered with flower petals, almost like a more full blown version of the swimming cap.Later hats consisted of folds of tulle, organza, nets or swirls of georgette.

HairStyles

Generally hats began to lose favour in the fifties as they were unsuitable for the new hairstyles.   Women spent more time at the hair salon and the last thing they wanted to do was spoil their latest hairdo with a hat.  Fashionable hairstyles began with simple ponytails and ended the decade with complex beehive arrangements. 

               

Gloves 

Gloves were worn everywhere in the 1950s and completed a woman's grooming.  Without gloves she was not properly accessorised.  Clean gloves were also the hallmark of a lady and white or cream were the most favoured gloves. Dents and Pittards were popular glove names, but women could also make their own gloves using a McCall's pattern 

Bags

Bags in the 1950s were literally handbags and usually held by the hand or over the arm in the fashion followed by Grace Kelly who used her Hermes bag to hide her pregnancy. Larger bags to hold possessions were also popular when women travelled using public transport some distance into towns.

Grace Kelly with the Hermes 'Kelly bag'

Shoes

By the mid 1950s pointed toe shoes called winkle pickers with stiletto heels up to 5 inches were a common sight. There is no doubt that the trademark of the fifties was the stiletto heeled shoe, first seen in 1952 at a Dior fashion show.Many a floor was ruined by stilettos .So stilettos became banned in many buildings and remain banned in National Trust properties and stately homes. 

Patterns 

    By the mid 50s dressmaking patterns made by pattern companies like Butterick, McCalls, Simplicity and Vogue were vastly improved.  The little dressmaker had all but vanished, so middle class women began to take up dressmaking as a useful hobby.                                                                         Just like now checks, spots, stripes, abstract designs, small flowers and large florals all came in and out of fashion and as the styling that followed on from Dior's New Look survived for 10 years and more, change was shown mostly by the fabrics used. Wide range of skirt styles existed too, but almost always the top was darted and fitted to show off a small waist but with the skirt varying from flared to full and roomy to straight. 

Vogue magazine , patterns for night dresses

Fashion Designer's of the 50's 

The names that really changed the 50's was Dior , with his new look.In 1947 Dior presented a fashion look with a fitted jacket with a nipped in waist and full calf length skirt.  It was a dramatic change from wartime austerity styles. 

Hermes, with his leather bags later named the ''Kelly bag'' from Grace Kelly

Coco Chanel with her all time attribute and contrast to the full skirted New Look,she had reopened her fashion house in 1954 began to produce boxy classic Chanel suit jackets and slim skirts in braid trimmed, nubbly, highly textured tweeds.

Jacque Fath

with that late 1940's swing coat , which was a great shape to cover up full skirts and an ideal silhouette for the post war high pregnancy rate. 

Fashion Icons of the 50's

Many names can pop to my head right now but i will just name these three ladies that pretty much can describe all the different types of woman in the 50's :Grace Kelly , Marilyn Monroe , Audrey Hepburn.

I'm sure you all know their stories , so i won't tire you by writting that i will only do a short focus on their style and image they presented to the public cause sometimes people confuse that.

Grace Kelly

Grace Kelly is matched with the word fairytale ,she always had a preppy yet kinda royal -princess look . Always wearing pearls , perfect hair and fashionable coats and bags.If you ask me Grace Kelly was soemething between Chanel and the first lady . Always stylish , preppy .Simple, uncluttered and unpretentious – and always  with dignity and confidence.

Marilyn Monroe

Monroe was the sex-symbol of the time, and she wasn't afraid to show it through her fashion choices . Monroe was soemthing like the today's 'it -girl' wearing latest fashion clothes , daring to try new cuts and fabrics. Long neck lines and open back...Monroe was defenatelly not afraid to show who she is ...

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey is my personal favorite, Audrey had this magical thing she had the talent to take something really fashionable , something really new and sometimes daring and transform it to classic and chic. She gave this image of the woman that can do anything , solve a financial problem or help the needy and then go out and party. Basically you can describe Audrey with this sentece'' classy at whatever she did ''

My point of view...

This is my idea of a today's 50's inspired dress, hope you like it 

This is it for today , hope you find my post informative yet not tiring. I just have to say i love love love the fifties ,don't forget to ''follow'' me on http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/3009277/cherry-on-top Bloglovin' and i will return with (volume 2) , about the 60's , 70's, 80's and 90's . If you are a 50's addict like myself you will adore this book http://www.amazon.com/50s-Fashion-Vintage-Beauty-Icons/dp/3822849332, .

xxx, 

Anthie