Say It With Style: Fashion in the 50s.

The fashion of the 1950s was heavily influenced by Christian Dior's 'New Look' style: nipped in waists, full skirts and an emphasis on the feminine silhouette. After the rations of the war, many women embraced this pretty, lavish style. Have a look at some of the 'New Look' inspired fashions below.

Skirts and blouses were also in fashion but pants were still considered most unlady-like.

Popular accessories included rhinestone-embellished glasses, Bakelite purses, novelty brooches and umbrellas. On formal occasions women were expected to wear hats and gloves.

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The 'Bullet Bra' was a popular undergarment, adding to the feminine shape favoured at the time. The 50s mantra was 'I must I must increase my bust' and it is rumoured that Marilyn Monroe wore her Bullet Bra to bed every night until the day she died to stop her breasts from sagging!

Pantyhose wasn't available in the 1950s so women wore stockings held up by suspenders. Stilettos, kitten heels and Cuban heel shoes were fashionable, as were fur stoles ( only affordable for the rich).

In the 1950s, colour films made an enormous impact on cosmetics. The huge cinema screens illuminated the unblemished appearance of stars and led the make up artist Max Factor to invent an everyday version of the foundation he used called Pan Cake, a makeup to gloss over skin's imperfections. He also brought out a range of eye shadows and lipsticks. Later in the 50s titanium was added to tone down the brightness of products and this resulted in lips with a pale, shimmering gleam. The idea was extended to create frosted nail varnishes of pink, silver and a host of other colours.

In the early 50s the ponytail was a popular youthful hairstyle and it matured into the French Pleat. For the more sophisticated, a permanent wave in the styles then favoured by Elizabeth Taylor and the young Queen Elizabeth II were universally worn.

As products such as hair lacquer sprays came into general use, it was easily possible for ordinary women to create more and more complex hairstyles of height. By the late 50s,outrageous backcombed bouffants, beehives, and French Pleats led the way for the intricate coiled hairstyles of the 1960s.

Have a look at the great tutorials for vintage hair and makeup from Super Kawaii Mama. The blog is a great example of the ways in which 1950s fashion is still admired my today's young women and features some great retro-inspired style ideas from model Candice DeVille. Below is a tutorial on the popular 50s pin curl style.