1950s Fashion – Page 2 – Old Magazine Articles

The Basket Bags
(Quick Magazines, 1952)

They clogged the shelves of every thrift shop, church bazaar and Goodwill outlet throughout all of the 70s and 80s – and during that same period costume designers used them to signify how detached and estranged a feminine antagonist was in dozens of movies and TV productions. We are referring, of course, to the basket bags of the early fifties and their heavy presence in the bric-a-brac shoppes of yore only serve to testify as to how remarkably popular they were as fashion accessories in the land of the free and home of the brave. The attached article from 1952 is illustrated with six images of the various swells of old Palm Beach clinging proudly to their wicker trophies.

(We were delighted to see that basket bags enjoyed a small come-back in the fashion world during the summer of 2017.)

The Bolero Jacket
(Quick Magazine, 1951)

Pants in High Fashion
(Quick Magazine, 1953)

1953 was the year that designers from both Paris and New York included pants in their respective evening wear collections – even their homely little sister, Los Angeles – the new fashion capitol of sportswear, provided a pair of pants for dinner occasions.

The Shoes of ’52
(Quick Magazine, 1952)

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The Fad for Felt Fashion
(Quick Magazine, 1951)

The fad for skirts fashioned out of felt began with college girls when it was discovered that a flattering silhouette could be achieved when the fabric was cut on the bias; the attached article shows the color image of a felt ballet skirt as a case in point.

Sub-standard fabrics play a part in fashion’s march from time to time; in the Sixties there was a short-lived craze in some circles to wear dresses made from paper or vinyl.

The Look for Autumn
(Quick Magazine, 1952)

The ‘costume look’ has developed into a strong fashion idea for fall and winter. The news is in the mis-mated fabrics and colors used in this year’s go-togethers. Highly-textured (and often noisily patterned) coats and jackets are sold frankly as suits with solid color dresses or skirts… Mismatched colors as well as mixed fabrics were used by Vera Maxwell in her coat and dress team [pictured]… Ben Zuckerman offered another example of fashion’s new doubling-up with black hip-length coat over a two-piece red wool jersey dress [pictured].

Lace
(Quick Magazine, 1953)

Less dependent on the whims of fashion than almost any other fabric, lace blooms perennially in designers’ collections. Because it has an ageless quality, which makes it look well on women of any age, its uses are varied. This season it is treated in new ways by some of the top couturiers. It is embroidered, used as applique, beaded or scattered with sequins… There is variety in lace itself; it may be gossamer sheer or rich and handsome in design. But whatever its form, it is a universal fashion favorite [for now].

The College Fashion Forecast for the Spring of 1950
(The Diamondback, 1950)

A few words that anticipated fashion’s offerings for the Spring of 1950:

This Spring is predicted to bring a completely new point of view to the clothes-conscious American woman… Although the boyish figure of the 20s will not return as pronounced, the trend seems to be toward narrow shoulders with heavy exaggerated lines above the waist and slimness below.

Swank in the Cold
(Quick Magazine, 1952)

The slobs who run this website are a slovenly lot, so don’t take our word for it – but we believe this hooded turtleneck sweater that showed up on fashion’s catwalks during the fall of 1952 to have been the proverbial bees knees!