1969 - We’re Going to Make it After All
This blog is the final installment in a series in which we looked at the styles of the 1960s: A decade of change. As we analyze the transition, we can see the 1960s started as a continuation of the family values and fashion styles of the 50s. But that changed …
Bringing everyone back to the year 1969 seems easier these days as so many people have tuned in to Peter Jackson’s “Get Back” movie about the recording of The Beatles’ “Let It Be” album.
I watched this movie as soon as it was released and it totally screamed 1969 fashion. I loved it, including the famous rooftop concert. The Beatles had not done a concert since the mid 60s but wanted to come up with a spectacle for the conclusion of their album, not fully grasping it was to be their last concert. On January 30th, 1969, after much indecision about exotic locations, they simply decided to perform a free rooftop concert from the top of their recording studio. That show rocked central London and was ultimately shut down by the police.
The concert video shows the streets of London and you can witness the fashion of the day. That 70s orange we so love was making its appearance and we can see the mini skirt was still in and was the most common attire worn by women along with nylons, tights and knee socks.
We know the maxi dress and skirts made the runways in 1968 but they hadn’t made the popular fashion scene in London yet. The same was true of bell bottom pants. What is noticeable is the then-current liberal and relaxed fashions mixing with the more traditionally conservative and “buttoned-down” fashions. Men’s shirt, suit and overcoat mixed with turtle necks and sport coats and women’s buttoned up coats with head scarves to head bands and go go boots. It is neat to see the complete transition in one video! You even get to see the ruffle shirts that men were starting to wear as part of the late 60s rebellion to conservative dress.
In the late 60s we were well into the youth rebellion movement and one of those rebellious fashion statements was to wear styles from earlier decades. Items like ruffled shirts, round glasses, velvet jackets would complement your outfit.
A sweet store I would have loved to have perused in 1969 was “Granny Takes A Trip”. These types of throwback items would have adorned their shelves. The name says it all. Swinging London’s psychedelic drug scene was in full swing. Granny Takes A Trip opened its doors in 1966 as part of the burgeoning London scene and featured antique clothing and tailored clothing from antique upholstered fabrics. By 1969, the store was sold to a young fashion entrepreneur and the shop became popular for stars like Elton John, Rod Stewart and Edgar Winter.
When I look at the “Get Back” video I notice that, in London anyway, women were really still wearing skirts or dresses primarily. We saw the emergence of pants back in the mid 60s but even in 1969 they weren’t the staple. Just short months later though, from the early 1970s until now, pants for women have become ubiquitous.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which first aired September 1970, featured a young, Independent American woman focused on her career rather than marriage and children. The show’s theme song’s lyrics exemplify the movement of the day:
How will you make it on your own?
The world is awfully big,
Girl this time you’re all alone …
You’re going to make it after all
And … Mary wore pants! This did not just come out of nowhere. The women’s movement, which started in the 60s, picked up speed in the 70s and continues today.
As a performing group, however, The Beatles did not make it. That rooftop concert was the last The Beatles did as the “Fab Four”. In August 1969, the Beatles recorded “The End”, which was to be the last recording they ever made as a group.
As a musical era came to an end, the fashion scene of the 70s evolved into something completely different as well. The Beatles belonged to the 60s. So too the mini skirt, the go go boots, the psychedelic colours, and the dress sets. But do we want to see all this in today's fashion? I say an emphatic ‘Yes’. Just like swinging London’s Granny Takes A Trip, we have lots of shops selling vintage pieces to pair with current fashions today. Vivian Moderna is just one.
And, just as we enjoy watching The Beatles perform again in “Get Back” I believe the encore of the 60s fashion is what we need right now.
This is the last blog about the 60s!! But stay tuned because so much is happening at Vivian Moderna! We will be switching to a newsletter format so please stay tuned and keep a watch out. If you enjoy this blog, please pass it along to a friend who you think might also enjoy reading it and if you like all things 1960s join our facebook group Vivian Moderna’s Retro Rat Pack.
