How to Buy Retro Sixties Clothes

Only one of the choices

The sixties was a decade of change, perhaps more than most time periods. Because of the changes in society, clothing styles ranged from quite conservative, just like the fifties, all the way to skirts eight or nine inches above the knee and dresses made of plastic. Shopping for sixties clothing will require knowing how a garment will be used and what appeals to the shopper from the array available.

Things You'll Need

• Internet access
• Vintage clothing stores

Instructions

1. Learn to know the styles of the sixties. Both the Internet and a very savvy vintage dealer can show what styles turned up in the sixties. Decide which ones are suitable for the purpose, or decide to try them all. Visiting more than one vintage store and website is going to be helpful, and be certain to ask women of the right age to remember their sixties clothing. They may have photographs or the original garments.

2. Consider conservative clothes. Many women in the sixties still wore the shirt dress, usually styled with a full skirt hemmed just below the knee, a fitted and tailored shirt top, and a small waist defined by a belt. There were many variations of this style in skirts and blouses, but the essential style was the same as the shirt dress. This style persisted throughout the decade and beyond. It was considered "ladylike."

3. Look for Jackie Kennedy clothes. Chanel-like suits, collarless boxy jackets, and straight skirts were a mainstay. She also made simple sheath dresses, no waist, few frills, very popular too. Her lengths were at or below the knee. To complete her look, find a pillbox hat, usually an unadorned cylinder about three to five inches tall.

4. Find the next trend from Jackie: the A-line skirt or dress. Her outfits were often sleeveless and she liked an overblouse shape. Nearly everyone's skirts were creeping upward by the mid-sixties. At the same time, shirt dresses sometimes lost their waistlines and became shifts, and A-line dresses became fuller, almost like tents.

5. Discover some of the less conservative trends such as mini-skirts. They were worn with oversize sweaters, tights or boots, overblouses. High fashion said they must be so far above the knee as to be immodest; school rules, mother's rules often denied the extremely short.

6. Uncover more of the influences such as the "peace movement." These designs led to bell-bottom jeans and pants on both men and women. This was not universal trend, but it was common even for mothers and daughters. This trend included "flower power" prints, psychedelic prints, very bright, unusual color combinations. Tie-dye became common.

7. Have even more fun finding the influence of space exploration on both women's and men's clothing. The most unlikely materials, such as white vinyl, were sometimes used for jackets or dresses. Thigh-high boots under very short dresses were high fashion. Tights and stockings were seldom plain but were patterned as fishnets or printed with brilliant designs.

Tips & Warnings

• Many sixties styles would be acceptable today. If the purpose of the clothing is to get attention, stay away from the conservative, and look for the trends that are not common today, such as bell bottoms that measure 20 or more inches wide. Maxi-skirts almost sweep the floor, and a maxi left open all the way from waist to hem shows "hot pants" to great advantage. Find a jumpsuit made of something very shiny to stand out in a crowd.

References

• Fifties Web: 1960s Fashions
• Robin's Web: 60's Clothes
• People History: 1960's Fashions Including Prices