TABLE of CONTENTS - Cemetarian

and of course trousers for the Rosie the Riveter. Evening clothes were still in vogue, but
were simply styled and often redone older clothing.
By the late 40's hemlines were once more below the knee and stayed there until the mid
50's.........the emphasis was on the female form once again. Draping and pleating and
nipped waistlines were once more fashionable but on a softer and less rigid scale.
1950-1959
Ah! The 50's.........Eisenhower, Rock N Roll, Suburban Life. A car in every garage and a
chicken in every pot. What exactly were the 50's? Many things. In fashion it was the
NEW AGE look, which wasn't really NEW. Tiny waist, wide skirts (just shorter this
time), not much different from the 1850's. But WOW, did the designers know how to
capitalize on the affluence of the 50's. Extreme's is perhaps the thing that most
signifies this era. If one tuck or pleat was good then many were better. High collars,
asymmetrical bodices and big ruffles were all the rage. Most pattern companies took
advantage of this new decade and published Designer series.
Trends seemed to last about one or two seasons and then moved on to something else. In
the early 50's, the styles aren't much different from the very late 40's, except in
fabrics. Heavier brocades and cottons that held their shape. Hemlines were still low, but
petticoats were making a comeback.
By the mid 50's there were two extremes.............very slim and narrow sheaths or very
wide and full skirts. Dropped waists were once more in vogue, but this time it was to
accentuate the waistline not to hide it. Instead of being corset free, these styles
required heavy duty long line foundations.
The later 50's brought on extreme figure manipulation as shown with the Bubble Dress,
and other wild and crazy silhouettes.