How to Dress in the 50’s Style?

Throughout the history of fashion, every decade has very typical fashion trends and characteristics, and the 1950s is no exception. No matter from which angle you look at it, the 1950s was a time of renewal, and so were its fashion trends.

As the retro trend becomes popular, fashion items with the characteristics of the 1980s have become popular among modern young women. And now, the fashion of the 1950s has also recently begun to attract the attention of women. In the 1950s, even your parents were still children, so you may not know about the fashion at that time. But it doesn't matter, in this blog, we will clarify the fashion characteristics of the 1950s and the fashion items that can still be chosen now, and provide suggestions for your 50’s style outfits.

Typical Features of the 50’s Style

One of the most typical fashion trends of the 1950s was the popularity of fluffy skirts. At first glance, the shape of these skirts was somewhat similar to those worn by aristocratic women in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, in the last century, the bustle had long been abandoned, so the these skirts was still far less fluffy than those of hundreds of years ago. In addition, the most popular skirt length at that time was calf-length midi skirts, not maxi skirts. In order to emphasize the waistline, many dresses had a waist-hugging design, but corsets that are harmful to women's health were abandoned. More and more women began to dare to show their beautiful shoulders and neck lines.

Although women had already entered the workplace before World War I, due to the impact of the war and the subsequent global economic crisis, few people had the chance to consider what to wear to be more fashionable. Therefore, in the early days of women's social role transformation, women often directly inherited men's work clothes, and there were few commuting clothes made specifically for women. As the war ended and the economy began to recover, more sophisticated professional women's clothing emerged in the 1950s. Pencil skirts that are the opposite of fluffy skirts were popular among women in the workplace at that time. The advantage of pencil skirts is that they can better reflect women's professionalism and competence.

Don’t think that polka dots and plaids only became popular in the 1980s! As early as the 50s, they were already popular among women! Especially houndstooth. You can find this pattern on women’s blazers and tweed coats during this period. In addition, flowers, buttons and bows were also often used as decorations for women's clothing. After all, during that period, after people's desire to consume and dress up had been suppressed for a long time by the war, people's aesthetic taste was dominated by luxury.

In the 1950s, loose coats were far more popular among women than slim-fitting ones. During this period, large trench coats were also popular. Ladies liked to wear a fluffy dress under the large coat. You see, even the layering that is very popular now had already been practiced by the beauties 70 years ago.

Accessories You Can Choose to Complete Your 50’s Style

Since people in this period were keen on dressing up neatly and regarded gorgeousness as beauty, various accessories were definitely indispensable in the ladies' look.

No matter when, the most indispensable accessory must be shoes. The most popular women's shoes in the 1950s were stilettos, especially those with pointed toes. Although these high heels with narrow pointed toes were uncomfortable to wear, from the perspective of fashion, they were compatible with the puffy skirts and business suits that women often wore at the time. Now, if you don't want to sacrifice comfort for beauty, you can also choose a pair of square-toed wedge heels. They can also fully show the elegant charm of women.

In addition to shoes, hats also meant much more to the beauties of that era than you can imagine. And you'll find that there were even more types of hats in that period than ladies can find today. A variety of hats: pillbox hats, cloches, berets, wide-brimmed hats were very popular. They were decorated with feathers, veils, ribbons and flowers. It was the various cocktail parties that contributed to the appearance of so many hats. Among these various hats, wide-brimmed hats and berets are still very popular today. A wide-brimmed hat is a great choice for sun protection in the summer and for creating a relaxed and comfortable holiday look, while a beret is a stylish piece for warmth in the winter and a quintessential of retro style.

For ladies who often attended cocktail parties seventy years ago, an exquisite small clutch was also one of the essential accessories. Women at that time were more inclined to use small square or trapezoidal clutches. Nowadays, the styles of handbags you can choose from are more diverse. You can also choose a round handbag, a shoulder bag with metal buckles, etc.

Ideas for Ladies’ 50’s Style Outfits

A midi waist-hugging dress with polka dots + a pair of Mary Jane shoes

This is probably one of the most common looks worn by women in the 1950s, and is still in trend now. To make the overall look more sophisticated, you can choose Mary Jane shoes with embellishments such as bows. At the same time, to echo the polka dot patterns of the dress, you can also wear a headband with polka dots.

An oversized trench coat + a corduroy dress with plaids

The trend of layering is also in fashion now, so don’t forget to combine the 50’s retro style with the dressing way of layering! An oversized trench coat is suitable for creating the avant-garde temperament, while a corduroy dress with plaids is full of literary and artistic temperament. The two garments neutralize each other, completing a retro outfit of the 50’s style.

A blazer with houndstooth + a black pencil skirt + a pair of black high heels

This commuting outfit that was loved by ladies seventy years ago is also suitable for you now! These three garments are all suitable to create an elegant as well as capable outfit. With light makeup, you can effortlessly create a 50’s office lady outfit.

Makeup and Hairstyle Tips for Your 50’s Style Look

In the 1950s, women were scrutinized for their clothing and looks beyond your imagination. At that time, people generally believed that a woman's clothing could largely reflect her husband's work and financial situation. Therefore, some women even took pride in changing six or seven sets of clothes a day. Of course, corresponding to the frequent changes in clothing, hairstyles and makeup also needed to change accordingly. Nowadays, women are no longer subject to such harsh and morbid requirements, so you can try one of the hairstyles that are with typical features of the 1950s when you feel like it.

Hairstyle

The most representative hairstyle for women in the 1950s was big wavy hair. This hairstyle can be shoulder-length or tied into a bun, showing an elegant and noble temperament.

On formal occasions, women often put their hair up as an exquisite bun. In order to fix the bun, wigs and hair wax are also essential. At the same time, you can also use pearls or other hairpins you like to decorate the bun.

In addition to big wavy hair, BobHaircut was also once popular. This is a short hairstyle, the hair is usually chin-length and curled inwards to form a rounded arc. Compared with big waves, this hairstyle is cuter. If you are tired of long hair, you can also try this BobHairstyle! However, it is important to remember that shorter hair does not mean easier to deal with. When you wake up in the morning, you will often find that your hair is curling outwards instead of inwards. Therefore, you may need to spend more time and energy to deal with your hair.

Makeup

The overall characteristics of women's makeup during this period were gentle yet bold. Women at that time pursued a fairer skin tone, so they would use a whiter foundation to apply on their faces and cover up blemishes to create a flawless effect.

But at the same time, ladies were more willing to try novel eyeshadow colors, such as blue and green. Compared with the straight eyebrows in the 1940s, curved eyebrows were more popular in the 1950s. The popular eyeliner shape during this period was also quite delicate and charming, usually in the shape of an upturned cat eye, and smoky eyes was also very commonly seen. Eyelashes would be carefully painted with mascara to make them thick and curled, or false eyelashes would be worn directly to increase the charm of the eyes.

Additionally, fuller lip shapes were in fashion at the time. Many ladies even like to deliberately apply lipstick larger than their lips to create a fuller lip shape. Various bright red lipsticks such as red, cherry red, rose red, etc. are the most preferred among ladies.