1950s Shopping Guide: Fashion, Home And Tech

Circle skirts and teddy boy drapes, early Penguins and Puffins, rock and roll 45s, and a radiogram.

Below: what to buy for a 1950s theme, a 1950s birthday or someone who grew up then - clothes, books, records and gadgets, with what to check before you pay.

Straight answer first: we don't sell clothing, books, records or technology. We draw and print cards, art prints, pin badges and stickers in the UK, and we stock party decorations. Everything else here is advice on where the genuine items come from.

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.

1950s clothing and accessories

• Circle and swing skirts with a net petticoat, plus a fitted cardigan.
• Polka dots, gingham, a headscarf and cat-eye sunglasses.
• For men: teddy boy drape jackets, drainpipe trousers, brothel creepers and a quiff.
• Saddle shoes, kitten heels and white ankle socks.
• Reproduction 50s wear is the best served of any decade - the shape matters far more than authenticity.

1950s books worth buying

• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis (1950).
• Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien (1954-55).
• Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis (1954).
• Casino Royale, Ian Fleming (1953) - early Pan paperback covers are a gift in themselves.
• Ladybird books from the 1950s, which cost pennies then and still cost very little now.

1950s music and records

• 7 inch 45s arrive in Britain in 1952 and take over - the safest format to buy for a present.
• Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Lonnie Donegan, Tommy Steele.
• 78s persist through the decade, so check the label speed before buying.
• A Dansette record player is the definitive object; working ones command real money.
• A single from the week they were born is the cheapest personal gift on this page.

1950s home and interiors

• Formica-topped kitchen tables with chrome legs and vinyl chairs.
• Pyrex casserole dishes, Tala measuring cones and a Kenwood Chef from 1950.
• Ercol and G Plan light wood furniture, and a room divider unit.
• Atomic and starburst patterns: clocks, wallpaper, curtains, lampshades.
• The first television in the corner, bought or rented for the 1953 Coronation.
• Homepride, Hornsea and Midwinter tableware, still easy to find secondhand.

1950s tech and gadgets

• Radiograms - furniture-sized, beautiful, and enormous to get through a door.
• Bush TV22 televisions and similar - display pieces, not working ones.
• Kenwood Chef mixers from 1950, still usable and still repairable.
• Early transistor radios arrive at the very end of the decade.

Where to buy and what to check

• Charity shops and car boots for the small things, specialist dealers for the Dansette.
• Check 45s for the centre dinking - a punched-out centre lowers the value but not the fun.
• Buy the shape, not the label: a modern circle skirt reads as 1950s instantly.

How to shop a decade without overspending

• Set the budget before you start; period shopping is where budgets quietly double.
• Reproduction for clothing, genuine for the small objects - it looks the same in photographs and costs a fraction.
• One real item plus three cheap nostalgic bits beats one expensive present every time.
• Check the year, not the decade. Plenty of what people file under one era actually arrived in the next.
• Music last: a single from their year plus the 1950s playlist covers the whole evening.

Shop prints and posters

Milestone birthday cards

Blank inside, kraft envelope, printed in the UK.

Decorations for a decade party

Banners, balloons, cake toppers and confetti, plain enough to take any era theme.

How to write it so it lands

• Buy for the year they turned eighteen, not the year they were born - that is the era they actually remember.
• Photograph the label or the pressing before you buy online; reissues and reproductions are rarely described as such.
• Leave the clothing to last. The objects are harder to find and the outfit can be sorted in an afternoon.

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 history: events, politics and culture
• 1950s calendar: year by year
• 1950s music: songs, genres and trends
• 1950s films and directors
• 1950s books, films and TV
• 1950s books: novels and authors
• 1950s art: artists and styles
• 1950s fashion: styles, designers and trends
• 1950s food: dishes, restaurants and trends
• 1950s travel: destinations and holidays
• 1950s technology: gadgets and computers
• 1950s games: board, card and video
• 1950s trivia: fun facts
• 1950s quiz: questions and answers
• 1950s party playlist
• The 1950s: the whole decade
• Retro gift guide: the 1950s
• The decade before: the 1940s
• The decade after: the 1960s
• All decade guides in one place
• Decade history by era
• Decade calendars: every year from 1920
• Decade music: songs, genres and trends
• Decade films: best movies and directors
• Decade books: novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade art: artists, styles and trends
• Decade fashion: styles, designers and trends
• Decade food: dishes, restaurants and eating trends
• Decade travel: destinations and holidays
• Decade technology: gadgets and computers
• Decade shopping guides
• Decade games: board, card and video games by era
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Decade quizzes: questions and answers by era
• Decade trivia game: play for points
• Decade quiz: test your memory
• Shop art prints and posters
• Shop greetings cards
• Shop birthday cards
• Shop funny cards
• Milestone birthday cards
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Retro party supplies
• Wartime and 1950s party games
• Playground games by region
• Clapping games and skipping rhymes
• Seaside and beach games
• Sweets that disappeared
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What 1950s homeware is worth buying?

Formica-topped kitchen tables with chrome legs and vinyl chairs. The home and interiors section above lists the rest, from furniture to kitchen kit.

What should I wear for a 1950s theme?

Circle and swing skirts with a net petticoat, plus a fitted cardigan. The clothing section above covers the rest, including accessories and where to buy.

What are the best 1950s books to buy as a gift?

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis (1950). Every book listed was published in the decade, so the date on the title page does half the work.

What 1950s records are worth buying?

7 inch 45s arrive in Britain in 1952 and take over - the safest format to buy for a present. A single or album from the year they turned eighteen is the most personal option and usually the cheapest.

Do you sell 1950s clothing, books or gadgets?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints, pin badges and stickers, and we stock party decorations. For the rest, charity shops, car boots, eBay and independent record shops are the honest answer.