The women of the 1960s demanded equal pay and rejected the the more feminine times of the 1950s. She wanted to be free, to look young and have fun. It was a style reminiscent of the 1920s. At the beginning of the decade the hemline was at knee-level and rose steadily, until 1965 they emerged as the 'mini' brought in by Mary Quant. The mini in its turn gave birth to the tights, and underwear shrank into exiguous bras and briefs. This creates the start of the second feminists revolution. The trouser and trouser suit also increased in popularity amongst women. In this decade. creative talents, as well as fashion's leaders and style-setters, were young. They were lively, highly individual, inventive, gimmicky and greatly concerned with the creation of 'image'. The new women's ideal was the androgynous Twiggy.
Easy-care synthetic fabrics were much used during the 1960s. These materials were crease-resistant, could be permanently pleated, were easy to wash and needed little or no ironing. Their yarn also took dyes easily, giving rise to colours that were clear and bright. Leather-look and see-through plastic were also popular and used for a wide variety of accessories for women, including shoes, knee-high boots, shoulder bags etc. Which started a trend for space age influences using more zips and metals as well. This became such an influence that groups started turning to ethnic influences in rebellion and were more intrigued with natural dyes and hand-made garments. Making their main outlets small boutiques, selling clothes that were not quite 'one-offs' but were made by individual outworkers producing small quantities. |