DIY 60s Look Dresses

Recreate the look of 1960s dresses for yourself.

The retro look of 1960s dresses is a fashion-fun look into the past. Recreating 1960s styles for yourself today can be labor intensive since the look of 50 years ago is usually not easy to find in modern-day stores. However, taking time to recreate 1960s dresses can provide an interesting fashion history lesson, as well as an old-is-new wardrobe made up of fashions that are still as stylish today as they were then.

Instructions

1. Include in your wardrobe a 1960s staple, the shirtwaist dress, which tended to be shorter during that decade --- more like a long shirt than a dress --- and sometimes more billowy in cut and bolder in color. Add an A-line cut dress --- made popular by First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy in the later 1960s --- a tent dress and a shirtshift. The tent dress, a longish-sleeved, upside-down V shaped dress with a high collar, also is typical of later 1960s style. The shirtshift was essentially a long button-down shirt with a belt in the middle. Complete your dress wardrobe with the three main styles of 1960s skirts: swing (the full skirt), pleated and pencil. Pair the skirts with blouses with three-quarter or full-length sleeves, typical for the decade.

2. Use fabrics and color tones for your dresses that reflect a 1960s palette. Early 1960s dresses, which tended to be similar to 1950s dresses, featured pastel colors, perhaps with stripes or dots. Later 1960s colors were an explosion of bright, vivid hues and eye-catching patterns. Select dresses with large flowers, blocks or stripes of color and ornate patterns (such as paisley), which also were common. For example, pair a turquoise, pink and orange shirtshift with a pair of orange tights.

3. Accessorize dresses with large bows at the neck or below the shoulder. Use large buttons, which were often plastic or cloth-covered. Belt skirts with either thin, skinny belts or wide belts with large buckles. Use belts in the same color or pattern as the dress, or in vividly contrasting colors. Feature chain-like belts with large, linked loops and bright contrasting colors found later in the decade. Also, accessorize with pillbox hats, silky scarves in bold colors or patterns and bold jewelry.

4. Use 1960s sewing patterns to sew your own clothes. Look in thrift stores and vintage shops to buy clothes and accessories.

References

• FiftiesWeb.com: Sixties Fashions

Resources

• PaperPast.com: 1960 Fashion