1963 - The YearThat Changed Everything
This blog is part of a series where we look at the styles of the 1960s: A decade of change. As we analyze this transition we can see the 1960s started as a continuation of family values and fashion styles of the 50s. But that changed….
1963 started in the same manner as 1962. Jackie Kennedy’s style was really taking hold with designer Oleg Cassini. But I recently learned Halston (Roy Halston Frowick), a designer known for 1970s fashion, was the designer behind Jackie's signature pillbox hat. The pillbox hat was invented in the 1930s and worn in the 1950s but it was Jackie Kennedy that popularized this little hat. She wore one at her husband's presidential inauguration in 1961 and by 1963 they were all the rage.
But not everyone was wearing hats in 1963. Bouffant hairdos (where the hair is teased to create a fuller effect on the hair) and the Beehive (another hairdo) meant that if you wore a hat at all it needed to be small to fit on top. The Ronettes, originally the Darling Sisters, had the bouffant hairdo which was becoming popular and they helped that trend along. Good bye hat and hello Beehive!!
The beehive hairstyle was invented by a hairstylist in 1960. You needed long hair to back comb it for volume and then style it on top of the head in the shape of a beehive. The hair styles like these were becoming more and more popular as hats were becoming more and more unpopular. The higher the hair the better, as well! Some photos of a bouffant or beehive hairdo are laughable but these styles are still seen in tasteful forms by musicians like Adele and Amy Winehouse, who was known for her iconic beehive.
In 1963, as hats were losing popularity, we also saw a decline in the use of gloves. In the 50s and the 60s, gloves were worn by women when outside the home. There was actually glove etiquette which dictated when you wore and when you would remove your gloves. There were long formal gloves for evening wear and mid length and short gloves for daily wear.
Another interesting phenomenon was happening. Baby boomers were growing up and by 1963 we had a lot of teens and preteens with lots of busy moms and dads desperately trying to hold on to family norms and values. But teens have a way of shaking things up. I’m sure it was the same in any decade but because of the baby boom, the rush of teens was phenomenal. The baby boomer generation spans from 1946 to 1964. The 1950s return to family values had returned in spades as teenagers!!
Let’s add a touch of music to the mix. I mentioned the Ronettes and their impact on hairdos. Well, in 1963 The Beatles, a little foursome from Liverpool, England were starting to hit the airwaves in Europe. In March of 1963, the Beatles released “Please, Please me” with a second album released in August. North America had no idea what was to hit them. The youth was starting to take hold of the world.
In my opinion, we had a slow turn of fashion in 1961 when women wanted to look like Jackie Kennedy. She was the style icon that women were choosing to be. Her look was attainable. I realize that there were many movie stars that also had that allure, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Munroe to name just a few, but Jackie was realistic. The point I’m trying to make is that women were seeking out a look. Deciding the fashion statement they want to make. But with a generation of teens ready to take the stage, they were making decisions too.
It was on November 22,1963 that John F. Kennedy was assassinated in the back of a slowly moving limousine. Photographers captured unforgettable images of Jackie Kennedy, in a pink straight skirt and jacket suit and iconic pink pillbox hat, scrambling to protect her husband after the infamous shot rang out. Nothing would be the same again. Change is happening ... and for fashion, change is inevitable.
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