1960s Costume Ideas
Because ‘decades’ do not sit in nice ten-year segments, many of the costumes and accessories that work for the 1960s, can also feature in the early 1970s. Of course, rising trends of the late 1950s developed and/or evolved during the 1960s.
The early part of the decade saw the continued influence of American music styles based on Rock n Roll and Jazz. Equally strong, however were the UK ‘home-grown’ genres such as Skiffle. Britain’s own take on rock ‘n’ roll would later evolve into the unique sound often known as ‘Mersey Beat’ but in fact featuring musicians from many other cities, each with an individual style.
The late 1950s had seen the growth of social rebellion amongst the young, fuelled by young adults with a disposable income and disinclination to dress like their parents. As the 1960s progressed fashion became both colourful and daring as skirts became shorter to reveal the existence of legs and males embraced a more unconventional style of dress, from pseudo militaria to flower-power.
The evolution of television, with more channels (and in colour) and the outbreak of pirate radio, following the lead of Radio Luxembourg and breaking the BBC stranglehold on listening habits, also helped promote the social upheavals of the Sixties.
We have tried to split the 60s down into different sections (see list on the left navigation) to provide you with lots of Sixties costume inspiration…