1950's Fashion » Formal Gowns

1950s Evening Wear

admini — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:43:43 +0000

Not all women could afford to wear couture designer clothes in the fifties and the majority of women wore mass produced goods. Yet fresh ideas and fashion concepts trickled down from the French salons to Madame dress shops and department stores throughout the world.

Miss and Mrs. Average were soon seen in looks that captured the essential style set by Paris. These are the clothes most vintage pickers find today. They were produced fairly rapidly by improved production methods in a post war economy boom for a society desperate for “new” goods of every description.

Clothes worn in the day were very feminine and designed to remind women they were women. Women also still craved luxury in dress after years of deprivation during the Utility period. Evening wear produced in the 50s even for the masses was often ultra glamorous. Aspects of 50’s vintage clothing to collect are clothes with tiny waists, shown often as glamorous, feminine, luxurious, low necked evening dresses or boned strapless dresses in taffetas, tulle, lace, nets, chiffon and satin or even nylon.

A wide range of net and nylon hoop crinoline style petticoats were produced to support the full bouffant skirts. Vintage under slips of the era are very collectable. You may even find a well designed vintage strapless bra of the era or wasp waist corset, but stiffened boned areas were often built into bodices and that forced a specific shape when on the wearer. Net and lace were both used extensively to make many mid priced dresses.

Link the page to:

Shorter Cocktail Dresses

admini — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:37:04 +0000

Shorter cocktail dresses with higher necklines were never worn before 6pm and they were often of shot silk, brocade, lace net, grosgrain, chiffon, tulle, lustrous satin and even floral or abstract prints. The LBD or little black dress as we know it today evolved from this period.

The trapeze dress was a high busted swinging dress, whilst the waistless chemise look of 1958 was a forerunner of sixties styles and really began to catch on with a simplicity of shape welcome after the rigor of belts.

Link the page to:

Prom dress

admini — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:32:40 +0000

A true 1950s ballerina length vintage bouffant style party formal with extra details. Net tulle and lace dress was probably a prom dress and it is perfect for dancing. The skirt is frothy layers of stiffened net and lace and is extremely full. Sweet pink paper flowers accent the bust. This item also includes a matching net stole not shown.

Link the page to: