60s vibes

As every vintage and retro enthusiast’s story into mid-century fashion starts somewhere, mine started in the 60s. While nowadays I predominantly wear midi skirts with petticoats, I initially started at a whole other level. Or should I say ‘at another skirt length’.

In contrast to the modest skirt length of the 40s and 50s, hitting mostly below the knee, the 60s were more provocative. While during and after the World Wars women were generally assumed to being home, feministic movements in the early 1960s provoked women to become self-supporting and independent in issues like sexuality, workplace, reproductive rights and legal inequalities. Mirroring the social revolution during that period, skirt length decreased, colors and prints became bolder, shapes became geometric to represent the break with (fashion) traditions of the decades before.

Being essentially used to the look and feel of 50s skirts with petticoats, suddenly switching to a 60s dress again felt pretty awkward and I had to adapt to showing skin above the knee. But wearing this dress again reminded me of those very first vintage vibes that triggered my whole ‘fashion transition’.

I know these dresses might not be 100% true to 1960s fashion, but I think they capture most of the characteristics. The overall theme is bright, playful colors and prints.

Hairstyles in the 60s were often backcombed and big, set with large quantities of hairspray, popularized by 60s icons like Brigitte Bardot. The best known hairstyle from the 60s would be the beehive. I went for a moderate beehive and styled it with a bright scarf and ribbon to make it more playful.

As the 60s feminist movement primarily focused on the end of women’s discrimination, a group of women wore little makeup as they saw it as objectifying, others embraced makeup as a badge of honor breaking with the former traditions. Makeup in the 60s was all about the eyes. Mascara, eyeliner and even false lashes were key, exemplified by Twiggy. Lips were paler pink tones, to emphasize the eyes even more.

With this blog post, I wanted to show the versatility of mid-century fashion, where you cán experiment, switching from 50s petticoats to 60s mini skirts and swapping pincurls for a beehive, whenever you want, as long as it makes you happy and you are comfortable with it. I will definitely go for a 60s inspired look more often this summer.