Womens 1960s vintage clothing
August 29, 2015Most womens 1960s vintage clothing can be easily seen in the dark as it glows, radiates or crinkles with new man-made materials and Pantone colours.
Women’s clothing in the 60s
Silver Space Princesses
Silver and foil were a big deal (in case of nuclear war, emergency moon landing or a really hip party), in Womens 1960s vintage clothing, as were swirling rainbow colours in hypnotic patterns.
Like in the Austin Powers movies, people took a lot of drugs and had swinging parties in their Atomic Age lake cabins, waiting for the aliens or the end of the world.
Andrè Courrèges launches Space Age Collection in 1964
Inspired by the astronautics science and innovation, Andrè Courrèges launched his Space Age collection in 1964, marking the beginning of Space Age fashions that continued throughout the century.
The silhouette combined the avant-garde geometric shapes of the 20s and 30s with the use of synthetic fibres, PVC and metal.
Elsa Schiaparelli had already used synthetics in some of her designs, but now that the public imagination was taken by the space dream, new materials and clean-lined, sharply tailored clothes had their moment in Womens 1960s vintage clothing fashion.
Womens 1960s vintage clothing, The Introduction of Lunar Pantsuits
With such a futuristic outlook, it comes as a surprise that the general shape of womens 1960s vintage clothing remained much the same.Women continued wearing dresses as they were not admitted in many restaurants and public places wearing trousers; even the shortest of dresses was more acceptable than slacks.
Thankfully for contemporary womens 1960s vintage clothing aficionados, Courrèges introduced tunic pantsuits, which were later followed by jumpsuits and playsuits in shades of lunar white, silver or gold, worn with futuristic Barbarella boots.
Womens 1960s vintage clothing – The Barbarella Look
Remember Barbarella? The epic space heroine that fought aliens with the powers of seduction? Holding something that looks like an elaborate hairdryer and wearing plenty of chain mail, Jane Fonda created the vamp icon of the Space Age era of the free world, and then spent the rest of her career fighting the stereotype.
If you’re looking for more substantial garments of womens 1960s clothes, Paco Rabanne created the heaviest (but not necessarily more modest) outfits out of sequins, chain mail, beading and foil which was probably quite cold to wear.
Home of the Future
Unless you lived in the Futuro House, in which case you’d be fine. The Futuro House, designed by Matti Suuronen in Janesville, Visconsin in 1968, may look like a flying macaroon from the outside, but has all mod cons on the inside, including Star Trek-like seating in plush covers, a tangerine kitchen and possibly a friendly robot to bring you your slippers.
New Materials in womens 1960s vintage clothing
Along with metal and PVC, synthetic fibre was increasingly used in Womens 1960s clothing fashion. It was stretchy, more durable than most natural fibres and often stain resistant, and it picked up colours better than natural fibres. Nylon and Modacrylic were known from the 30s and 40s, and after WW2 Acrylic, Polyester, Spandex and Modal changed both fashion and the soft furnishings industry.
Today’s microfibers owe a lot to the boom of synthetics of the 60s in Womens 1960s vintage clothing, even if we’re more conscious of the fact that they don’t degrade as well.
