1950s Fashion: Top Styles, Designers And Clothing Trends

Full skirts, nipped waists, teddy boys and the first proper teenage wardrobe.

Below: the clothes, the hairstyles and the accessories of the 1950s, then the fastest way to put together a costume if you are going to a themed night.

Useful for a decade party, a school project, a reminiscence session or working out what someone wore when they were young.

Years covered in the 1950s

• 1950 - Petrol came off the ration, the Festival of Britain was being built and there was no chart yet. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1950
• 1951 - The Festival of Britain, a Conservative return and still no singles chart. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1951
• 1952 - A new Queen, the Great Smog and the first ever singles chart in November. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1952
• 1953 - The coronation, Everest, the Matthews final and sweets off the ration. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1953
• 1954 - Rationing finally ended and Roger Bannister ran a mile in under four minutes. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1954
• 1955 - ITV launched, rock and roll arrived and Britain got its first television adverts. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1955
• 1956 - Suez, Elvis arriving in the chart and the start of skiffle. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1956
• 1957 - You've never had it so good, the Munich disaster still to come and skiffle everywhere. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1957
• 1958 - Munich, the first motorway and Cliff Richard's 'Move It'. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1958
• 1959 - The Mini, the M1 and the last year before the sixties. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1959
• That is every 1950s year we have written up so far: 1950 to 1959.

What people wore in the 1950s

• Full circle skirts over stiff net petticoats.
• Pencil skirts and wiggle dresses for the other silhouette.
• Twinsets and pearls - cardigan and matching jumper.
• Teddy boys: drape jackets with velvet collars, drainpipe trousers, bootlace ties.
• Jeans and leather jackets arriving via the films, worn by teenagers and disapproved of by everyone else.

Hairstyles

• Set and lacquered curls, done weekly at the salon and slept on carefully.
• The poodle cut and the short, curled Italian cut.
• Ponytails with a scarf tied round for younger women.
• Men: quiffs, DAs and Brylcreem; short back and sides for everyone else.

Accessories and finishing touches

• Cat-eye sunglasses and winged eyeliner.
• Kitten heels, saddle shoes and white ankle socks.
• Short white gloves and a structured handbag.
• Headscarves tied under the chin.
• Men: bootlace ties, crepe-soled brothel creepers.

Designers and labels of the 1950s

• Christian Dior, with a new line almost every season until his death in 1957.
• Cristobal Balenciaga - the sack dress (1957) and the beginning of the end of the corseted waist.
• Coco Chanel returns in 1954 with the collarless suit.
• Hubert de Givenchy and the Audrey Hepburn look from Sabrina (1954).
• Hardy Amies and Norman Hartnell for British formal dressing and royal occasions.
• Teddy boy tailoring off the peg from Burton and the Fifty Shilling Tailor.

Dressing up as the 1950s

• Circle skirt, wide belt, neck scarf - the easiest era to dress up as.
• A net petticoat underneath is what makes the skirt look right.
• For men: white tee, jeans with a turn-up, slicked hair.

Where to find the clothes

• Charity shops first - the later decades turn up constantly and cost almost nothing.
• Your own loft or a relative's wardrobe beats any fancy dress shop for authenticity.
• Buy the accessories new and the clothes second-hand; the accessories are what people recognise.
• Fancy dress versions of an era are usually a cartoon of it - one real garment looks better than a whole costume.

Shop cards

How to write it so it lands

• Photographs date an outfit faster than anything - look at family albums from the era before you shop.
• Hair and accessories carry a decade better than the clothes do.
• Pair this with the 1950s playlist for a themed night that hangs together.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1950
• Look back to 1951
• Look back to 1952
• Look back to 1953
• Look back to 1954
• Look back to 1955
• Look back to 1956
• Look back to 1957
• Look back to 1958
• Look back to 1959
• 1950s books, films and TV
• 1950s calendar: year by year
• 1950s trivia: fun facts
• The 1950s: the whole decade
• Retro gift guide: the 1950s
• 1950s party playlist
• Wartime and 1950s party games
• Playground games by region
• Clapping games and skipping rhymes
• Seaside and beach games
• Sweets that disappeared
• Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Retro party supplies
• Decade-themed birthday parties
• Guess the year quiz
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What did people wear in the 1950s?

Full circle skirts over stiff net petticoats. The full list above covers the everyday clothes as well as the going-out ones, because the two were rarely the same.

What was the 1950s hairstyle?

Set and lacquered curls, done weekly at the salon and slept on carefully. The other styles above ran alongside it - no decade had only one haircut.

Who were the big fashion designers of the 1950s?

Christian Dior, with a new line almost every season until his death in 1957. The designers section above lists the rest of the names and labels that set the decade's styles.

How do I dress up as the 1950s for a party?

Pick one silhouette and one accessory that everyone recognises, and stop there. The dressing-up section above gives the shortcuts for this era.

Do you sell clothes?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read and free to copy.