Archive for May 20th, 2012

Retro Fashion for Women

Retro fashion for women includes all those clothes, accessories and jewelry styles that were popular among the women in the past few decades. Although, the word retro conjures up images of women in bell bottoms, wearing large sunglasses, holding a leather bag with over the top make-up, yet, retro fashion style is much more than that. Let’s check out the different retro clothing styles for women, right through 1950′s to 1980′s

Retro Fashion for Women: The 1950′s Style

1950′s style of dressing is all about being flamboyant and impulsive. High heels, lacy gloves, voluminous poodle skirts, silken wrap dresses, small floral prints – all these are the hallmarks of the 1950′s fashion for girls. A huge hit among women in this era were the chic pencil skirts. They were shapely, sexy, feminine and at the same time demure, with the hemline falling below the knees. Women in this era always wore corsets beneath their dresses to look more shapely.

Most of 1950′s clothing was made in fabrics like satin, silk, organza and tulle. Pearl jewelry, decorative brooches and woven clutches were the order of the day. As far as make-up goes, a fresh look with red lips and dramatic smoky eyes, ruled the roost!

Retro Fashion for Women: The 1960′s Style

“Flaunt what you got” that was the mantra for 1960s retro clothes for women. Be it Audrey Hepburn’s skinny jeans or Mary Quant’s mini skirts or the two piece swimsuits, 60s fashion clothing was all about revolution and rebellion, perhaps influenced greatly by the path breaking hippie movement.

Bell bottoms, long skirts with floral prints and polka dots – all became very popular as 60s clothes. Women began supporting headbands and head scarves to assert their individuality. Clothing became innovative and creative with materials like plastic and metal being used to create dresses. Shimmer and glitter were introduced in clothing as well as make-up. With beehive hairdos and kitten heel shoes, 1960s indeed was a fashion trend setter as far as women’s clothing is concerned!

Retro Fashion for Women: The 1970′s Style

The 70s clothing was all about wearing something which suits one’s personality rather than following some trend. There was “comfort clothing” such as the free flowing muumuu style, loose granny dresses which came with high necks and long sleeves as well as hippie styled clothes like gypsy skirts, kaftans and kimonos. For the women who liked to dress sexy, there were hot pants teamed with lycra tops. Empire waist dresses with elaborate sleeves, mini skirts, midi, full length maxis, wrap around skirts – women had a lot of retro clothing ideas to choose from in the 1970s.

The 1970′s also marked the advent of a bold look, with the bikini becoming ever so small! High waist banana jeans which came with a buckle on the back, capris, Elvis Presley styled bell bottoms, fabrics sewed with beads and sequins, leopard patterns – all became extremely popular as fashion clothing!

Retro Fashion for Women: The 1980′s Style

The 1980s fashion clothing was greatly influenced by the celebrity way of dressing. Flashy, attention seeking, in your face, are some of the words with which one can describe the fashion of this era. Tattoos, piercings, wearing shades at night as well as large hoop earrings as fashion jewelry – women would do anything to gain attention.

Stonewashed jeans teamed with studded jackets and fingerless gloves became very popular with both men as well as women. Mini skirts and leather jackets were extremely common too as women’s clothing. As far as footwear goes, see through flats and red high-heeled stilettos, were equally well liked and worn by women. Make-up was flashy with special emphasis on heavy eye make-up. Metallic clutch bags were a must have for all women during the 1980s.

As you can see, there is no single look that can define retro fashion for women. Each decade brought with it, its own share of innovations and creativity, which the fashionable women of that era embraced with immense confidence!