Atestat Clasa A 12

COLEGIUL NATIONAL ,,SILVANIA” ZALAU
ATESTAT LINGVISTIC

THE 60’s FASHION STYLE IN UK

Contents Title Page

Argument….………………………………….3
Introduction……………………………..…….4
Early 1960s ………………………………......6
Late 1960s ……………………………………8
The mini skirt ………………………………...9
The mod style ………………………….……10
Womens pants ………………………………11
Hairstyles…………………………………....11
Hippy style ……………………………….....12
Single girls ……………………………….....13
Clothes ……………………………………...15
Paper dresses ……………………………......23
Bibliography ………………………………..24

Argument

I have choosen this topic because I am fascinated by fashion in general. Since I was a child I have been passionate about fashion, art and clothing in particular. Almost every week I invited my friends to me, and we all dressed our mother 's clothes, shoes and jewelry. 60`s fashion was a real shock everyone. At that time everything changes, influences were everywhere. The musical bands at that period influenced fashion and the person 's way of getting dressed. I believe that the 60`s have an extraordinary importance on fashion even today.

Introduction

Fashion went through a revolution in the 1960s. Mary Quant decided that young women needed their own style when she opened her first store, Bazaar, on the King 's Road as early as 1955. She popularised the mini skirt and shift dress which became the foundation of 'the look ' for the mid sixties. Vidal Sassoon 's geometric hair styles completed the image. A new type of store, the boutique, colourful and trendy with pop music filling the air, became the place to buy these new clothes. Men 's fashion also changed enormously. John Stephen, who opened his first shop in the environs of Carnaby Street in the late 1950s, catered to the growing Mod movement. Groups such as the Beatles and later more purist Mod bands: the Who, the Small Faces and the Kinks helped popularise the style throughout the country.
In the second half of the 60s, young people discovered the past and searched for Victorian and Edwardian military uniforms in shops such as 'I Was Lord Kitchener 's Valet ' in Portobello Road. Change came again at the end of the decade when the hippy style - beads, kaftans and long hair replaced the look of the mid 60s. The style reached its peak in the Summer of 1967, but continued to influence fashion well into the 1970s.
Unisex clothes were tried in the late 60s. The older generation were already complaining that it was difficult to tell young men and women apart. The one universal legacy of the 60s was the jeans and T-shirt, worn by both men and women.
Of course this fast pace of change was only for the young. Full employment and a school leaving age of fifteen meant that teenagers had money to spend on music and clothes. They were often married by their early twenties, so this period of freedom was short lived. Music and television programmes such as Ready, Steady Go and later Top of the Pops, helped to spread the new styles throughout the country, but different regions and different generations moved at a different pace. Some groups did not adopt the same styles. Many working class youths in the late 60s saw nothing for them in the hippy style and went to the opposite extreme. The Skinhead movement derived from the Mod style of the mid sixties added ultra short haircuts and rather than a constant changing look became a distinct uniform.
Older people also tended to be slower to adopt new styles and there was a marked generation gap in the 1960s.

The 1960s featured a number of diverse trends. It was a decade that broke many fashion traditions, mirroring social movements during the time.In the middle of the decade, culottes, go-go boots, box-shaped PVC dresses and other PVC clothes were popular. The widely popular bikini came into fashion in 1963 after being featured in the musical Beach Party.
Mary Quant invented the mini-skirt, and Jackie Kennedy introduced the pillbox hat, both becoming extremely popular. False eyelashes were worn by women throughout the 1960s, and their hairstyles were a variety of lengths and styles While focusing on colors and tones, accessories were less of an importance during the sixties. People were dressing in psychedelic prints, highlighter colors, and mismatched patterns.The hippie movement late in the decade also exerted a strong influence on ladies ' clothing styles, including bell-bottom jeans, tie-dye, and batik fabrics, as well as paisley prints.
In the early-to-mid-1960s, the London Modernists known as the Mods were shaping and defining popular fashion for young British men while the trends for both changed more frequently than ever before in the history of fashion and would continue to do so throughout the decade.

Designers were producing clothing more suitable for young adults, which led to an increase in interest and sales.

Early 1960s

Until the 1960s, it was high profile designers from Paris and London who dictated styles worn by people. However, during and after the 1960s it was young, common people who dictated fashion. They would influence style and designers would attempt to keep up with the trends that they created. One such group of young people were known as mods and rockers. The women wore very short skirts, tall, brightly colored boots, and tight fitted, sleeveless tunics. The young men dressed like rock star Pete Townshend of the rock band the Who.
Fashions in the early years of the decade reflected the elegance of the First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy. In addition to the pillbox hat, which is discussed in detail below, women wore suits with short boxy jackets, and over-sized buttons. Simple, geometric dresses, known as shifts, were also in style. For evening wear, full-skirted evening gowns were worn; these often had a low décolletage and had close-fitting waists. For casual wear, capri trousers were the fashion for women and girls.
Stiletto heel shoes were widely popular. As the suits drifted away from pale, toned shades, menswear was now bright and colourful. It included frills and cravats, wide ties and trouser straps, leather boots and even collarless jackets. Ties were worn even five inches wide, with crazy prints, stripes and patterns. Casual dress consisted of plaid button down shirts with comfortable slacks or skirts.
For women 's fashion in the first half of the 1960s the look of the late fifties remained. It was all about the glamour of American movies. By 1963, when this photograph, (right), was taken, the wide skirts of the 50s had all but disappeared, but the look was still formal. The two girls in this picture look very grown up. The look was adult and glamorous, there was no real attempt to look that different from the older generation. This style can be seen in films such as 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning ' (1960).
The young man in this picture is in Mod gear: a smart suit with narrow lapels and tapered trousers, a slim tie and winklepickers. Fashion was very regional in the 60s. Styles adopted in the Capital took some time to reach the whole country. In the film 'Kes ' (1969)about Billy, a boy growing up in Barnsley in Yorkshire, his older brother, Jud, still wears this style right down to the winklepickers. In the early sixties in some towns, the Teddy Boy style was still in vogue, whereas in London the Mod movement was beginning.
For most men over thirty the smart suit remained the only way to dress for going out. Many went to tailors, such as Burton or John Collier to be fitted out at least once a year. Burton 's suits were good value for money and lasted reasonably well.
Footwear for women included low-heeled sandals and kitten-heeled pumps, as well as the trendy white go-go boots. Shoes, boots, and handbags were often made of patent leather orvinyl. The Beatles wore elastic-sided boots similar to Winkle-pickers with pointed toes and Cuban heels. These were known as "Beatle boots" and were widely copied by young men in Britain.
By 1968, the androgynous hippie look was in style. Both men and women wore frayed bell-bottomed jeans, tie-dyed shirts, workshirts, and headbands. Wearing sandals was also part of the hippie look for both men and women. Women would often go barefoot, and some went braless. The idea multiculturalism also became very popular; a lot of style inspiration was drawn from traditional clothing in Nepal, India, Bali, Morocco and African countries. Because inspiration was being drawn from all over the world, there was increasing separation of style; though clothing pieces often had similar elements and created similar silhouettes, there was no real "uniform".
Late 1960s

Fringed buck-skin vests, flowing caftans, the "lounging" or "hostess" pajamas. These consisted of a tunic top over floor-length culottes, and were usually made of polyester or chiffon.
Another popular look for females which lasted well into the early 1970s was the suede mini-skirt worn with a French polo-neck top, square-toed boots, and Newsboy cap or beret. This style came back in the early 2000s. Long maxi coats, often belted and lined in sheepskin, appeared at the close of the decade. Animal prints were also popular for women in the autumn and winter of 1969. Women 's shirts often had transparent sleeves. Psychedelic prints, hemp and the look of "Woodstock" came about in this generation. he Chanel suit, originally designed by Coco Chanel in the 1920s, was still popular with many women in the 1960s. Jackie Kennedy was a role model for older women in the 60s. She is pictured right with John F Kennedy in the pink Chanel suit she wore on the day of his assassination. Later stained with JFK 's blood it became one of the most famous pieces of clothing in history.
The Chanel suit remained a classic fashion item throughout the 60s.
A more casual look was creeping into fashion for younger women. Calf length boots were becoming popular. This long leather jacket, illustrated far left, is quite unusual, but in the spirit of the more fashionable art school types.
The young woman with short hair, pictured middle, looks like she might have had a part in 'The Avengers '. John Bates designs for Diana Rigg 's clothes in the Avengers allowed a mainstream audience to see the latest styles.
The mini skirt

The mini skirt was the fashion phenomenon of the sixties. Hemlines rose to seven to eight inches above the knee. There is some debate over who invented the mini. Mary Quant 's boutique, Bazaar, on the King 's Road, Chelsea was one of the first places that sold them in 1965. French fashion designer, André Courrèges, also added mini skirts to his fashion collection in 1965.
The mini skirt slowly caught on throughout the country in the years following 1965. Most women took a couple of years to accept the new look. For the mini to work, the old fashioned underwear and stockings of the fifties had to go. Women now wore tights or panty-hose. A new male fantasy ousted an age old one!
Mary Quant opened a second Bazaar in Knightsbridge and Sally Tuffin and Marion Foale opened Tuffin and Foale in Carnaby Street. Tuffin and Foale 's clothes, like Quant 's, had a huge influence on the style of the decade. Carnaby Street became a centre for men 's as well as women 's fashion in 1960s.
London in the mid sixties was awash with boutiques with names like Countdown, Blast Off, Top Gear, Change Down, Glad Rags, Clobber, Quorum, Ad Hoc, Palisades, Barricades etc . There a girl could get the latest fashion, which according to 'The London Spy (a sophisticated guide book) in 1966, was a buttercup-yellow satin gymslip worn with orange boots!
Most of these boutiques were fairly expensive. A simple shift dress cost around £10 (read at least £100 in today 's money). For those with smaller pockets there were Wallis, Neatawear and Top Shop. Top Shop 's range in the 60s included designs by Mary Quant. If Swinging London was not to your taste, then Jaeger made sweaters, suits and coats that lasted forever. Marks and Spencer was known for quality and value, though some of their dresses and suits were a little too classic. M&S was also considered the best place for underwear.
This shift dress, above left, is typical of the Swinging London style of the mid sixties. The bright colours and geometric patterns epitomise this period. This look lasted into the latter years of the sixties for those not ready to join the hippy revolution.
The Mod style
The Mods of the early sixties took the suit to new levels of style. The tapered trousers and thin lapels of the Italian style, became a new youth cult in the early to mid sixties. To this look they added striped blazers, Fred Perry shirts and the Mod scooter, a Lambretta if possible.
Carnaby Street was their fashion centre. John Stephen had several shops there. His male boutiques became the equivalent of Mary Quant 's Bazaar.
In the mid 60s, the London Mods congregated in Carnaby Streetfor a regular fashion parade. Pop music poured from the boutiques and men 's shops along the small, narrow street. By the mid 60s, boutiques catering for girls as well as boys were common on Carnaby Street; the Mods usually brought their girlfriends along with them. Shops on Carnaby Street often came and went. Shops that were on Carnaby Street in the 60s included:
The rise of pants for women

The 1960s were an age for new fashion innovation for women. With it came the rise of women’s pants. Traditionally, pants had been viewed by western society as masculine. However, by the 1960s, it became acceptable for women to wear pants as well. Women loved pants because of their practicality, comfort and versatility. Women wore pants with tunics, shawls, and jackets. The women’s pants came in a variety of styles: narrow, wide, below the knee, above the ankle, and eventually mid thigh. These mid-thigh cut pants evolved around 1969, and became the modern shorts. By adapting men’s style and wearing pants, women voiced their equality to men.
Hairstyles

The most important change in hairstyles during this period was that men and women wore styles that resembled each other. It was the new fashion for women used to cut their hair short and close to their heads. Head coverings changed dramatically towards the end of the decade as men 's hats went out of style, replaced by the bandanna, if anything at all. As men let their hair grow long, the Afro became the hairstyle of choice for African Americans. This afro was not just a fashion statement but also an emblem of racial pride.They started to believe that by allowing their hair to grow in its nature state without chemical treatments, they would be accepting their racial identities. Mop-top hairstyles were most popular for white and Hispanic men, beginning as a short version around 1963 through 1964, developing into a longer style worn during 1965–66, eventually evolving into an unkempt hippie version worn during the 1967–69 period which continued in the early 1970s. Facial hair, evolving in its extremity from simply having longer sideburns, to mustaches and goatees, to full-grown beards became popular with young men from 1966 onwards. Women 's hair styles ranged from beehive hairdos in the early part of the decade to the very short styles popularized by Twiggy and Mia Farrow just five years later to a very long straight style as popularized by the hippies in the late 1960s. Between these extremes, the chin-length contour cut and the pageboy were also popular. The pillbox hat was fashionable, due almost entirely to the influence of Jacqueline Kennedy, who was a style-setter throughout the decade. Her bouffant hairstyle, described as a "grown-up exaggeration of little girls ' hair", was created by Kenneth. Hair styles were very big and used a large quantity of hair spray, somewhat like ours today.
Hippy style
Mod fashions were mainstream youth culture by 1965. In 1966 the scene was changing. In January 1966, Granny Takes A Trip opened at 488 King 's Road, London; the wrong end of the street, known as the World 's End. Granny Takes a Trip was run by Nigel Waymouth, his girlfriend, Sheila Cohen, a fan of vintage clothes, and former tailor, John Pearse. They decorated the shop with red Art Nouveaux lettering on a black background. It looked very dark and mysterious. Inside were Aubrey Beardsley prints and blow-ups of French postcards from the naughty nineties (the 1890s that is).
Granny Takes A Trip marked the end of Mod and the beginning of Hippy style. The shop sold clothes for men and women, some vintage, some new. It also sold floral shirts, jackets with wide lapels, the opposite of the Mod style, velvet and brocade flares, and skirts and dresses in velvet and lace.
Granny 's became a Mecca for the pop world. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals and Pink Floyd were all customers.
Following on from Granny 's, Hung On You had a shop front painted by pop artist, Michael English. He choose bold Art Deco inspired lettering in red over bright yellow sun rays on a black background. It timed in beautifully with the late 1960s Art Deco rival which inspired Biba and films such as 'Bonnie and Clyde '.
Also in 1966, Michael Fish, opened his first shop 'Mr Fish ' in Clifford Street. Michael Fish is credited with the invention of the kipper tie. All his clothes were labelled 'Peculiar to Mr Fish '.
Bridging Mod and Hippy style was this smart, double-breasted style, right. This was the way for a fashionable young man to look hip without being scruffy. It was taken up by many of the Mod bands in the late 1960s, often combined with elements of the Hippy style.
For mainstream youth fashion, everything changed again in the Summer of 1967. The smart look of the Mods was replaced with long hair, beads, beards and kaftans. Flower power was in the air. The look was psychedelic swirls and paisley patterns. Full on Flower Power was short lived, but its influence was long lasting.
The Single Girl

Fashion photography in the 1960s represented a new feminine ideal for women: the Single Girl. The Single Girl represented ‘movement’. She was young, single, active, and economically self-sufficient. Although the Single Girl was economically and socially self-sufficient, the ideal body form; that of the adolescent was difficult for many to achieve. Therefore, women were constrained by diet restrictions that seemed to contradict the sense of the empowered 1960s
Fashion Photography in the 1960s
The 1960s photography was in sharp contrast to the models of the 1920s, which photographers carefully posed for the camera, and portrayed as immobile. To represent this new Single Girl feminine ideal, many 1960s photographers shot models outside, often having them walk or run in fashion shoots. Models in the 1960s now promoted sports wear and working wear. This sports wear trend exemplified the trends of the 1960s: the modern fascination with speed, and the quickening pace of the 1960s urban life.
Fashion photographers also photographed the Single Girl wearing working wear, calling her the Working Girl. The Working Girl motif represented another shift for the modern, fashionable woman. Unlike earlier fashionable periods, when formal evening gowns and the European look trended, the 1960s Working Girl popularized daywear and “working clothing”. Now, new ready to wear lines replaced individualized formal couture fashion. The Working Girl created an image of a new, independent woman who has control over her body.
Additional fads and trends
The 1960s also gave birth to the drainpipe jeans, worn by Audrey Hepburn, which again became popular with young men and women in the 2000s (decade).
Jeans were only one of several leg wear trends that found traction in the 1960s. Hosiery, and tights in particular, became very popular. Hosiery manufacturers of the time like Mary Quant (who founded Pamela Mann Legwear) combined the "Flower Power" style of dress and the Pop Artschool of design to create fashion tights that would appeal to a wide and emerging audience.
The late 1960s produced a style categorized of people who promoted sexual liberation and favored a type of politics reflecting "peace, love and freedom". Ponchos, moccasins, love beads, peace signs, medallion necklaces, chain belts, polka dot-printed fabrics, and long, puffed "bubble" sleeves were additional trends in the late 1960s.
New materials other than cloth (such as polyester and PVC) started to become more popular as well.
Starting in 1967, the Mod culture began to change musically and the culture altered to a more laid back hippy style including psychedelia. the following years became known as the summers of love, with festivals etc.
1969 and after
As the decade ended, hemlines started to drop. The maxi and midi lengths offered women an alternative to the mini.
Working class youths, unable to join the beautiful people, opted for short cropped hair and Dr Marten boots. The Skinhead was born.

Clothes

The 1960s was a decade of sweeping change throughout the fashion world generating ideas and images which still appear modern today. Whereas fashion had previously been aimed at a wealthy, mature elite, the tastes and preferences of young people now became important. At the beginning of the decade, the market was dominated by Parisian designers of expensive haute couture garments. Formal suits for women underwent a structural change resulting in looser lines and shorter skirts.
Yet the shape of clothes was soon transformed by new ideas emerging from the London pop scene. In Britain, musical taste and styles of dress were closely linked and it was the mod look which first popularised the simple geometric shapes typical of the 1960s. By the mid-sixties, the flared A-line was in style for dresses, skirts and coats. Slim fitting, brightly coloured garments were sold cheaply in boutiques all over 'Swinging London ' and had tremendous influence throughout Europe and the US.
Men 's suits became sleeker and were often accessorised with bright, bold shirts and high-heeled boots. The flamboyant look was in, signalled by wider trousers and lapels, like those belonging to the blue checked Tommy Nutter suit seen below. Designers experimented with shiny new waterproof materials with a modern look like PVC and perspex. Paco Rabanne pioneered dresses made from plastic discs and metal links which looked more like sculpture than clothing.
Later in the decade the hippy look, which originated on the West Coast of America, crossed the Atlantic. This was a time when designers of dress and textiles experimented with colours, patterns and textures borrowed from non-Western cultures. As ethnic influences took over, the most fashionable people wore long layers of loose clothing in vivid, clashing colours, typified by Thea Porter 's kaftans and Pucci 's dazzling prints.
Couture

Suit, John Cavanagh, 1963. Museum no. T84+A-1974. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
The clothes of French designers like Balenciaga and Dior represented sophisticated elegance and were worn by women in high society. Public figures like Jacquie Kennedy began to favour less formal items such as shorter skirts. Fewer people now wore accessories like hats and gloves.
Another important Continental influence was Italian design, which from the mid-1950s had inspired a smart, sleek look particularly in menswear. Mods in Britain insisted on tailor-made attire, choosing materials and cut for maximum impact. As this younger generation began to develop a distinct style of dress, demand grew for less traditional, more affordable outfits. The exclusive attitude of the couture houses seemed dated.
Eventually, haute couture was forced to imitate popular clothing in a reversal of the usual 'top downwards ' movement of fashion. Courrèges, Cardin and Yves Saint Laurent were among those who adapted brilliantly to these new circumstances. Most well-known designers started to sell their own off-the-peg ranges through department stores.
Street Style

Mini dress, Mary Quant, 1964. Museum no. T.353-1974. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Young people 's income was at its highest since the end of the Second World War, creating the desire for a wardrobe which did more than simply copy adult dress. The clothes aimed specifically at young people which Mary Quant had been designing since the late 1950s became popular.
Boutiques, like Quant 's Bazaar and Barbara Hulanicki 's Biba provided inexpensively made clothing suited to a busy, urban lifestyle. Instead of buying outfits designed for specific occasions or times of the day, people preferred separates which they could combine in different ways.
The miniskirt was the most eye-catching garment of the decade, designed for an ideally skinny female form. Women wore pale foundation and emphasised their eyes with kohl, mascara and false eyelashes. Hair was long and straight or worn in a shaped bob or wedge, as invented by the hairdresser Vidal Sassoon.
Designers of clothes and textiles celebrated modernity. Space-age silver was mixed with primary coloured prints taken from Pop and Op Art. Novel fashion materials were introduced, including shiny, wet-look PVC, easy-care acrylics and polyesters.
The Peacock Revolution

Suit, Tommy Nutter, 1969. Museum no. T.75 :1-3-1996. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Perhaps the most remarkable development in 1960s dress was the dramatic change in menswear. For the past 150 years, clothing for men had been tailor-made and plain and dark in appearance. Now, following trends which first appeared in gay fashions, colourful elements were introduced, such as the collarless jacket, worn with slim-fitting trousers and boots.
During the mid-1960s frills and cravats came back in, together with vividly printed shirts. Finally, lapels and trousers took on exaggeratedly wide dimensions. Clothing became increasingly unisex as men and women shopped at the same boutiques for similar items.
Textiles
Heal 's, Hull Traders and Conran Fabrics all bought patterns from young freelance designers who took their inspiration from contemporary art and graphics like Andy Warhol 's Pop images and the dazzling Op art paintings of Bridget Riley.
Brightly coloured large-scale geometric repeats were favourites for both dress and furnishing fabrics. Later in the decade, floral patterns were seen everywhere. Victorian decor was rediscovered and motifs borrowed from Art Nouveau and Art Deco were given a new lease of life by the addition of psychedelic colours.
Counter culture

Kaftan, Zandra Rhodes, 1969. Museum no. T.358-1974. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
During the late 1960s, there was a reaction against the mass production of mod clothing and pop products which had brought bright new styles into European and American homes and wardrobes. Some people became disillusioned by this materialistic mood and turned to Eastern cultures and mythologies which appeared more in tune with the 'natural ' world.
North American influences dominated during the later part of the decade. Journalist Tom Wolfe 's 'The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test ' and the film 'Easy Rider ' examined a counter culture which had its roots in the West Coast of America. The end of the decade saw worldwide anti-Vietnam War protests. Meanwhile in France, students and workers united in violent uprisings against De Gaulle 's conservative government.
A cosmopolitan view was reflected in fashion by Ossie Clark, Jean Muir, Thea Porter and Zandra Rhodes, all of whom experimented with non-traditional tailoring and colourful prints, showing an interest in ethnic garments. Secondhand attire was sought after and even items like military dress were worn for their decorative qualities.
Shopping

Boots, Barbara Hulanicki, 1969-70. Museum no. T.67+A-1985. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Shops played an important part in popularising new fashions. Whole areas of London like the King 's Road and Carnaby Street were transformed as boutiques took over. Boutiques sold an inexpensive range of rapidly changing outfits and offered an informal atmosphere and self-service, unlike traditional clothes shops.
At the same time, quirky interior decorations and pop music lent the boutique an individuality which was lacking in the newly built chain stores which were taking over the high street.
John Stephen was one of the first to open a boutique selling menswear on Carnaby Street. Demand was such that he ended up owning eight more shops in the same location. Meanwhile, Michael Fish established Mr. Fish, selling psychedelic-inspired outfits provocatively close to Savile Row. Exotically named outlets opening their doors on the King 's Road included Bazaar and Michael Rainey 's Hung On You. Other Chelsea shops were Nigel Waymouth 's Granny Takes A Trip, where fashionable hippies shopped for antique clothing, and Quorum run by Ossie Clark and Alice Pollock. Biba 's first premises were an old chemist 's shop in Kensington, but the business eventually expanded to take over a huge 1930s-built department store on Kensington High Street, where Barbara Hulanicki held parties in the roof garden.
Another new approach was taken by Terence Conran in his shop Habitat. Inspired by furniture shops he had seen in Scandinavia, he displayed goods in a minimal pine interior, stacked in piles as though they were in a warehouse. Conran was successful in marketing well-designed domestic goods, including home furnishings, at relatively low prices.
Media and Society

'Lunar Rocket ', furnishing fabric, Eddie Squires, 1969. Museum no. CIRC.45-1970. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Marshall McLuhan 's 1964 book 'Understanding Media ' charted the rise of new technologies like television which had the potential, he claimed, to transform the world into a 'global village '. It was now possible for media images of the US Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War to be transmitted worldwide within hours, leading to greater political awareness.
Attitudes towards class and sex were also affected by greater coverage in the media. At the beginning of the decade, the programme 'That Was The Week That Was ' with David Frost and Jonathan Miller and the magazine 'Private Eye ' edited by Peter Cooke, satirised British politics and society. They highlighted the class divisions in Britain, underlining the fact that power was in the hands of a small circle of wealthy families.
British working class life was portrayed in films like 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning ', 'A Taste of Honey ' and 'Alfie '. The main character of Antonioni 's 'Blow Up ' was said to be based on the photographer David Bailey, immortalising the legend of Swinging London. London was portrayed as a city in which talented young people could succeed, regardless of their background. Pioneers like Mary Quant and Barbara Hulanicki showed that women could be professionally successful. The 1960s is often remembered as an era of sexual freedom. The pill provided women with a reliable method of contraception while abortion was legalised and homosexuality was decriminalised.
TV provided fashion role models like Cathy McGowan, famous for her mod outfits, who presented the weekly chart hit show 'Ready Steady Go '. 'The Avengers ' was notable for the sexy clothing worn by Diana Rigg 's character Emma Peel. 'Nova ', 'Honey ' and 'Petticoat ' magazines were created to appeal to teenage girls interested in clothes, while the 'Sunday Times ' published the first weekend colour supplement with articles on lifestyle and interior decoration.
Music

'Royal Engineers ', Jacket, Unknown, 1914. Museum no. T.829-1994. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
The 1950s music scene had been dominated by US rock 'n roll, but from the start of the 1960s, bands like the Beatles and the Stones, the Kinks and The Who revitalised British pop. Musicians often pioneered alternative ways of dressing, as can be seen from photographs of these bands as they began their careers attired in mod outfits, complete with straight-combed hairstyles. By the latter part of the decade most had swapped these for psychedelic gear, facial hair and a growing interest in music from other continents like India.
Important American musical contributions came from Bob Dylan and West Coast groups associated with the folk and hippy movements like the Mamas and the Papas, Peter, Paul and Mary and the Jefferson Airplane. The decade ended with the free festival 'Woodstock ' held in a rural part of New York state and headlined by progressive rock musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead.
Celebrities

Evening dress, Leonard Joseph, 1968. Museum no. T.297-1974. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London
This was an era when those who wore and photographed clothing for a living could become famous overnight. Lesley Hornby, known as 'Twiggy ', was a sensation at fifteen years of age when her large eyes, and rake-thin, under-developed figure were hailed as the most extreme version of the mod look.
David Bailey and Jean Shrimpton transformed the fashion pages of women 's magazines as Bailey snapped Shrimpton in informal poses. Others who photographed top models included John French, Terence Donovan, Brian Duffy and Ron Traeger. They filled the pages of 'Vogue ' and 'Elle ' with images of Celia Hammond, Penelope Tree, Verushka and Marisa Berenson (the granddaughter of Elsa Schiaparelli). Ideals of beauty became more inclusive as black models like the Americans Donyale Luna and Naomi Sims starred in fashion shoots.
Paper Dresses
Paper dresses were a brief but spectacular Sixties sensation. They were cheap and disposable, and their simple 2-D shape was ideal for the bold graphic prints that were so fashionable. Some were produced as free gifts to promote paper products, and though prone to tearing and creasing, they were marketed as 'instant fun from London '.

Bibliography

www.wikipedia.com www.wam.ac.uk www.retrowow.uk www.ukhistory.uk www.fashion.uk www.outwear.uk

Bibliography: www.wikipedia.com www.wam.ac.uk www.retrowow.uk www.ukhistory.uk www.fashion.uk www.outwear.uk