Teddy girls in the 1950s

Google the Hemline cycle, there’s loads on it.

I think short skirts are fun, so when the country booms there is more fun to be had. When they drop they are more sombre.
They were really high just before the Wall Street Crash and then dropped after it.

It doesn’t happen straight away, there’s a lag of a few years or so.

The 80’s had the rara, the mini crin, puffball, and plain mini skirt, the city short, hot pants, lots of different styles After this come the Grunge droopy look of the early 90’s when the dropped again.

What do you think of trainers? Women didn’t wear them 10 years ago except for sport despite frequently reading that they are fashion staples. Converse were ok but that was it.

Women certainly wore them for comfort (not necessarily sport') way before that. But not for fashion - women would wear them to walk to office work and change into heels when they arrived.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow this is fascinating! What is the reason behind longer hemlines in recession/depression if you don't mind explaining please? I'd have thought shorter = less fabric = cheaper so more common when people and businesses have less to spend. Or is there a particular book or site you'd recommend me to read up on to find out? Thank you.

Yeah, you do need some space from an era to get it properly.

I think women have always worn trainers. I used to wear them during the rave scene in the 80’s.

Trainers as a shoe indicate the increasing informality of society. I’ve taught entire lessons on trainers!

They really took off with the Michael Jordan Air in the 89’s, when he wouldn’t conform to the footwear rules of a certain colour when he was playing. And Nike supported it.

Do you need some distance on an era to understand it’s fashions properly? In the moment is there a danger of getting caught up in what might only be fleeting trends rather than the bigger picture?

What do you think of trainers? Women didn’t wear them 10 years ago except for sport despite frequently reading that they are fashion staples. Converse were ok but that was it.

I love that book😍

Mossleybrow that looks like a Biba jacket

Long skirts still around as we are in a recession

Oversized silhouette, waistline back in fashion. It’s been concealed by skinny jeans and long tops for ages. The fact that these 2 are going off at the same time is normal.

The main thing is the calf length skirts/dresses. This started creeping in about 5 years ago. Brexit, recession....

I really like 1940s style, read an interesting book about the Land Girls and their uniform recently. Wide legged trousers are so comfy.

"They got stuff done in the 1940s- they invented the NHS and had a nice cup of tea."- Mark from Peep Show

1920’s first wave of gender benders. Loss of men in war and women’s new freedoms meant genders swapped roles a bit. Men wore make up for fist time and women had short hair

Check out the "Bright Young Things".

Love this thread! Placemarking to come back later

Great thread, thanks OP! Really love the photo and the look especially because I always feel the 50's must have been suffocating and horrible for women. Just the fashion alone seems so constricting. But this teddy girl look is still amazing today.

I spent a lot of my teens in jeans and ben sherman shirts (this was early 90's)

Here you go, one of my favourite shops. All UK made too!
www.freddiesofpinewood.co.uk/

That’s how I dress! 1950s rockabilly, sweater girl look

I love that Teddy Girl look, and the This Is England style, except those collared t-shirts are so expensive. I need them to come back into fashion so I can buy cheap knock offs again.
The social history facts are fascinating, I never knew that about facial hair. Thanks!

Canning Town.

Also Kier Hardie leader of the first Labour Party was the first man not to wear a stiff formal collar in Westminster.

1890’s first wave of power dressing. Women dressed in tailored suits like men-rise of suffrage
1910’s. First non corset fashions appear- suffrage continuing
1920’s first wave of gender benders. Loss of men in war and women’s new freedoms meant genders swapped roles a bit. Men wore make up for fist time and women had short hair
1930’s- depression- long skirts ( hemlines go up in a boom down in recession)
1940’s; war, masculine silhouette, padded shoulders, women filling mens jobs
1950’s as above!
1960’s as above
1970’s. Mini , midi , maxi and trousers. This was a decade in flux for women, equal pay, women’s Lib etc, so fashions reflected this. Punk was important as women were leading rather than following or being told what to do (Siouxse, The Slits)
1980’s power dressing- masculine silhouettes, short skirts, gender benders
1990’s- dress down Fridays, men letting go of ‘work suit’ as women become more equal, long skirts again

First attemp to throw off corsets was in the 1850’s. At around the same time as the Married Woman’s property Act.

The biggest equaliser is jeans. The more freedom women achieved ( since the 50’s) the more men and women wore jeans

ArseInTheCoOpWindow Please do go on!

Ooooh well history of fashion is completely about women’s social history, repressions and freedoms.

Mini skirt sexual freedom
Trouser suit - fighting for equality with men
Power dressing-rise of females in the work place
1920’s boyish shape- post war freedom
1950’s exaggerated female shape, women back in the kitchen after the war

I could go on...

Mossley's posts are more of what is needed here.

And CoOp: your academic contributions. Past and Living history.

Thank goodness for UK museums over the past few years.