Sixties Sketchbook

Here are a few pages from my Sixties sketchbook...

1950s Greasers

THE GREASERS

The Greasers were a 1950s youth sub-culture, mainly in the working-class neighbourhoods of North America. They loved hot-rod cars, Rock and Roll and Doo Wop music. The name 'greaser' came from their greased-back hairstyle which was inspired by James Dean, one of the main influences of the greasers (along with Marlon Brando). In the UK, the equivalent of these 'dirty trouble makers' were the Rockers who were pretty much the same except they loved motorbikes rather than cars. 

MUSIC

Rockabilly and Doo Wop music was what the Greasers listened to. Stars of the music scene were Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Danny and the Juniors, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran and Dion and the Belmonts. 

 FILMS

Popular movies included:

• The Wild One, 1953
• Rebel Without a Cause, 1955
• Love Me Tender, 1956
• Jailhouse Rock, 1957

The Greasers would have gone to the drive-in to watch these movies in their hot-rod cars.The main Film stars were Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Audrey Hepburn and Marlon Brando. James Dean's most successful films, Rebel without a Cause and Giant, were both released after Dean's death in September 1955 when he was killed in a car accident. Some argue that James Dean only became a pop culture icon because of his death rather than his acting.




PLACES
Greasers were out constantly out whether it be with their friends or on dates. Popular hangouts were malt shops and diners similar to the one on Grease (1978). Drive-in's are also iconic of the greaser culture.

FASHION
In retrospective, the greaser look is probably the most iconic style of the 1950s. Black/white T-shirts with the sleeves rolled up, leather jacket and either boots or converse all stars were the uniform. Greasers' wardrobes would also consist of blue jeans, flannel shirts and denim jackets. They slicked their hair back with wax and styled it into the pompodour or duck's tail.
                   

Sixties Dress

I cut out the pattern pieces for the dress and the facings. The front dress piece and front neck facing has to be cut on the fold so it opens out.

Once I'd cut out the pieces for my dress I started to work on the daisies that were to be appliquéd on. I drew the shape on sheets of different coloured foam with pencil to make sure I got the right shape and then cut them out carefully. The white dots in the middle were stuck on with the glue gun. 

Then, I cut out the strips of felt and pinned them into place before sewing them on with the machine across the straight edge. The scalloped edges were sewn on using embroidery thread to make them stand out. The daisies were also sewn on with embroidery thread round the edge of the petals.

 

My inspiration

My 1960s dress is simple in silhouette, an A-line shift dress, but with lots of detail. My garment features scalloped edges, daisies and psychadelic colours- all iconic trends of the era. The psychadelic colours are a nod to the hippie trend whereas the daisies and scalloped edges are what mods would of worn in the mid-sixties. Clean lines were a key feature of mid-sixties fashion with simple shapes, eg. circles and daisies.

My dress would have been worn in the mid-sixties. I chose to base my dress mainly on mid-sixties fashion because I think the clothes of this part of the decade were very fun and youthful, more so than the early or late sixties. I think if I was around in this time, I would have dressed like a mod because I love how they just played around with fashion and were experimental with shapes and materials. Unconventional materials like PVC and plastic became popular in the sixties because it was new and exciting as it hadn't been available during the war. Paco Rabanne used metal discs in his iconic dress of 1967.

Daisies were a key feature in a lot of Mary Quant's dresses, even her logo was just a simple daisy. I decided to make the daisies the main aspect of my garment with the scalloped strips just to separate the top row of daisies from the bottom.

Psychadelia was a massive trend which stemmed from the use of hallucigenic drugs like LSD and acid. Psychadelic colours are an iconic part of 60s fashion. My garment features vivid colours that clash with each other- orange, pink, yellow and green.

1920s Fashion

The 1920s was a time of independence and freedom for women in terms of fashion. Hemlines rose and

silhouettes were baggy and almost boyish. It was known as the 'Jazz Age' and the time of the Flappers. Flappers were young women who, at the time, were not typical. They smoked, danced, drank alcohol- all things that were frowned upon for women. The dresses they wore were a lot more comfortable and allowed them to move more freely, this was important as the dances of the twenties were very energetic and lively.

The boyish look of the Flapper was kickstarted by Coco Chanel, who by 1920 was already a huge fashion leader. Chanel introduced the loose, jersey fabric into mainstream fashion which made everyday clothing more comfortable and easy to wear. The typical evening flapper dress was very opulent and heavily embellished with beads, feathers and often they would also have tassles which looked amazing when these women would dance. Waistlines dropped to around the hip which created the boyish figure. Short hair was the uniform for flappers and they would often wear a little hat or a headband to match their dress.

The Original It Girl, Clara Bow, was a huge film star of the 1920s. She is a perfect example of the flapper, with her wavy bob, thinner than thin eyebrows and cupids bow lips.