No matter what decade you grew up in, the '50's Youngsters' seemed to have a distinctive way of dressing that has been all their own.  The youth of the 1950's had a simple fashion of jeans and leather jackets all the way to the more detailed pencil skirts.

Leather Jackets:

Leather jackets were very famous for teenage boys during the 50's. The leather jackets they thought made them look cool and attracted the girls. The collar of the black leather jacket had to be turned up to be a “hep”.  The jackets were very expensive back then, but will worth it!

The big 'Image Makers' for the guys back in the 50's were their Leather Jacket, ducktail hairstyle, and comb in the back pocket!

The 'Good Guy' Look Was Alernative To The Rebel:

Not all the boys wore leather.  Some liked the 'Good Guy' look.  It was considered the 'Clean Cut' option that all the mom's of their girlfriends liked.  Most included the classic letter sweater and penny loafer. 

Skirts:

For girls the 'Poodle skirts' were very popular in the fifties and a must in every girls' closet.

Young teenagers and hip women wore them. It is a wide swing skirt with a fabric poodle placed on the right bottom part of the skirt.  It is well known and it was very popular.

Another type of skirt was the pencil skirt! No wardrobe was complete without a pencil skirt. Pencil skirts are long below the knee and not wide as the poodle skirts are. They were very tight together to your legs. They were a bit sexier than the poodle skirt. 

Hairstyles:

50's hairstyles were soft and curly. Long and straight was not in style back then. 

Lady's often tied their hair in a ponytail and circled it with a pink chiffon scarf. They usually used pin curling and rollers to curl their hair. They also slept in curlers and rollers. Ouch!

They used tons of hairspray to keep the curls in place, since they didn't have blow dryers or curling  tons  at the time. 

A popular hairstyle called the “poodle cut” was from the poodle frenzy of the Fifties. As most hair styles of the era, styling took considerable styling skills and loads of grooming time.

Men's hairstyle in the 50's were similar to the women's. Ya, ya, ya! Guys back then were known to spend tons of time on their hair too. 

Their favorite haircut was called the “ducktail” or more commonly known as the DA. To accomplish this look he would need a lot of grease or hairspray and prayed it wasn't raining outside!  Guys that were rebels would use this hairstyle hoping for the tuff guy image.  They never left home without a comb.

Saddle Shoes:

All the preppy girls would wear them!  Even though they were very heavy and rather stiff.  Regardless, the fashion seemed to endure with plenty of blisters and bandaids!



Also, there were definitely other shoes for the women. The spike or the stiletto heel was a fashion of fixture.  They were huge heels that looked like dancing shoes. 

Another fashion shoe was the ballet slipper.  It was the popular choice and was often worn with cutie white socks!

Dresses:

The groomed and tailored look for the sophisticated was the popular look of the older crowd.

Acting and looking “lady like” was taught virtually from birth.  Heels and gloves were basically required to complete the "lady like' outfit.

There were different kinds of dresses; one was a summery afternoon floral, it has a swing skirt attached to a top. 

A girdle was a necessary part of all ensembles even though you didn't see it.  A girdle was almost necessity with the pencil style. They wore these kinds of dresses to show their curvy bodies. 

They called this the 'figure eight'. Young teens or girls did not wear these types of dresses, because it was too provocative. The dress also boasts bolero sleeves, which were very popular.

Accessories:

A lot accessories were a must in the 50's.

Three most popular accessories were hats, gloves, scarves, and purses for ladies.  Women wouldn't look appropriate without her gloves.

They would be seen with them in fancy restaurants, parties, and all social occasions.  They came in many lengths and all kinds of colors and patterns.

Women always had several pairs. White and short gloves were most commonly worn.

Scarves! Scarves! were worn as different things.  They can be worn as a belt, as a hair tie, and around your neck as a simple scarf.  To wear it as a belt, they would wrap it around their waist and tie it.  To make it as a hair tie, they would do it like a babushka style; they would circle it around a ponytail. 

None the less..... Styles in the 50's were like no other.  The girls dressed to impress the boys and the boys to impress the girls.  The dress and style at that time were very structured, not like today.  That era presented a unique style that has lasted over the years in our memories and brings a smile to our faces.


Copyright. The Retired Generation