1960s Fashion: Top Styles, Designers And Clothing Trends

Mods, minis and Mary Quant, then the whole thing goes psychedelic by 1967.

Below: the clothes, the hairstyles and the accessories of the 1960s, 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 1960s

• 1960 - Coronation Street began, national service ended and the sixties had not started yet. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1960
• 1961 - The Beatles started playing the Cavern and Yuri Gagarin went into space. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1961
• 1962 - Love Me Do, the first James Bond film and the Cuban missile crisis. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1962
• 1963 - The big freeze, Beatlemania, Doctor Who and the assassination of President Kennedy. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1963
• 1964 - Top of the Pops, pirate radio, mods and rockers, and BBC Two. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1964
• 1965 - Churchill's funeral, the 70mph limit and the Beatles at Shea Stadium. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1965
• 1966 - England won the World Cup, and then Aberfan happened in October. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1966
• 1967 - Sgt. Pepper, Radio 1, colour television and the summer of love. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1967
• 1968 - Manchester United in Europe, Dad's Army and a year of protest. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1968
• 1969 - The moon landing, the Beatles on the roof and the end of the decade. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1969
• That is every 1960s year we have written up so far: 1960 to 1969.

What people wore in the 1960s

• The mini skirt, popularised by Mary Quant on the King's Road from the early sixties.
• Shift dresses in bold blocks of colour and geometric prints.
• Mod suits: slim lapels, narrow trousers, parkas over the top for the scooter.
• PVC and space-age white from Courreges and the boutiques copying him.
• Late sixties: kaftans, paisley, velvet, Afghan coats and flares starting.

Hairstyles

• Beehives and backcombing, held with clouds of lacquer.
• Vidal Sassoon's five-point cut - sharp, geometric, no setting needed.
• The Twiggy crop.
• Men: mop tops early, then longer and shaggier every year.

Accessories and finishing touches

• Go-go boots, white and knee high.
• Thick false eyelashes and painted-on lower lashes.
• Big plastic earrings, wide hair bands, op-art prints.
• Round wire-framed sunglasses by the end of the decade.
• Men: desert boots, slim ties, fishtail parkas.

Designers and labels of the 1960s

• Mary Quant on the King's Road - the mini skirt and a whole youth market.
• Andre Courreges with the space age collection (1964) and flat white boots.
• Yves Saint Laurent - Mondrian dress (1965), Le Smoking (1966) and Rive Gauche ready-to-wear.
• Paco Rabanne's metal and plastic dresses.
• Barbara Hulanicki's Biba, from a postal boutique to Kensington High Street.
• Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell, whose prints defined the late sixties in London.

Dressing up as the 1960s

• Shift dress, white boots, heavy eyeliner.
• Backcomb the crown and smooth the top for a quick beehive.
• For men: a parka over a slim suit reads as mod straight away.

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 1960s playlist for a themed night that hangs together.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1960
• Look back to 1961
• Look back to 1962
• Look back to 1963
• Look back to 1964
• Look back to 1965
• Look back to 1966
• Look back to 1967
• Look back to 1968
• Look back to 1969
• 1960s books, films and TV
• 1960s calendar: year by year
• 1960s trivia: fun facts
• The 1960s: the whole decade
• Retro gift guide: the 1960s
• 1960s party playlist
• Playground games by region
• Knock down ginger
• Conkers rules
• Marbles rules
• School dinners we all remember
• 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
• Sympathy and bereavement cards
• Sympathy cards guide
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What did people wear in the 1960s?

The mini skirt, popularised by Mary Quant on the King's Road from the early sixties. 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 1960s hairstyle?

Beehives and backcombing, held with clouds of lacquer. The other styles above ran alongside it - no decade had only one haircut.

Who were the big fashion designers of the 1960s?

Mary Quant on the King's Road - the mini skirt and a whole youth market. 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 1960s 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.