60s Mens Fashion – 1960s Mens Clothing Styles
September 28, 2014In the Sixties the spending power suddenly switched to young people. Teens & Men in their twenties had their first jobs & indulged in 60s Mens fashion, and rejected long term savings plans and mortgages. They had more disposable income than ever before, and they wanted to spend it right now.
They didn’t want to make do and mend, and they didn’t want good quality clothing that would last, preferring to buy something new every week and throw it away the next month when they were bored of it.
60s Mens Fashion-mass production
They wanted to dress and behave in ways that were quite the opposite to their austerity stricken parents.Designers rushed to keep up with this, giving them cheap clothes and introducing daring new fashions that changed rapidly.
Rayon, Bri-Nylon (British Nylon) and other artificial fabrics rose in popularity in 60s Mens Fashion and helped to keep prices down, being used for underwear, shirts, ties, trousers, jackets, sweaters and even fun fur coats.
Unisex oufits were popular
London
Carnaby Street and Kings Road were the epicenters of mobs of youth in 60s Mens Fashion who squeezed into boutiques like Biba and Lord John and Lady Jane to buy new clothes and show off last week’s purchases.
The Kinks wrote their gently mocking song “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” in 1966 about one such imaged acolyte:
“They seek him here, they seek him there,
His clothes are loud, but never square.
It will make or break him so he’s got to buy the best,
‘Cause he’s a dedicated follower of fashion.
And when he does his little rounds,
‘Round the boutiques of London Town,
Eagerly pursuing all the latest fads and trends,
‘Cause he’s a dedicated follower of fashion.
Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
He thinks he is a flower to be looked at,
And when he pulls his frilly nylon panties right up tight,
He feels a dedicated follower of fashion.”
Which just about sums it up.
60s Mens Fashion – music
Men were influenced by pop stars: the neatly dressed Beatles in their matching suits, and the Rolling Stones, equally dapper. Initially these bands performed in business suits, only later branching out into outrageous outfits.
Even then,The stones added a subversive element to 60s Mens fashion by wearing tailor made suits with a leg and arm sleeve two inches shorter than the other, made by Hyme’s of Old street,mooted as the ‘worst tailor in London’.
60s Mens Fashion – Androgynous clothing
Men also dabbled in unisex and androgynous clothing, and in some cases dresses: the designer Mr Fish made a lovely Man Dress that was tailored to a man’s body, and worn in different versions by David Bowie and Mick Jagger.
The traditional suits were amped up by being produced in un-traditional colours and designs like loud stripes, paisley, flowers and swirling patterns, and unexpected fabrics such as velvet and diaphanous chiffon. 60s Mens fashion suits might feature exaggerated outlines or details such as wide lapels, ruffles or kipper ties, and, of course, flared trousers.
An intellectual. He doesn’t care about the naked woman, his ennui is great
A Mr Fish Suit
Mr Fish looks good
The very tidy Rolling Stones
David Bowie in his man dress
