Mel's AICE Media Blog: Research On The 1950's (Day 4)

Hi guys! I'm back again!

Today I have a very exciting topic to work on, which is nothing more nothing less than the 50's!

I love so many aspects of the 50's! (except for human rights stuff, that's completely different)

But anyways; here is my research on it!

The Fifties!

- A little history first

The 1950's was considered the era of conservationism. Eisenhower had become president, which broke the pattern of Democrat presidents. This marked the offspring of the end of WWII. Soldiers went back home, and birth rates went up dramatically. This was called the "Baby Boom Era". People also started wanting to move out of big cities and go to suburbs, mostly going south. The values were very traditional; women were expected to be housewives, families had to seem perfect, the husband was the bread winner, and talks of things like sex was taboo. It was a time of economic prosperity, where businesses were starting to flourish again and wages increased.

- Pop Culture

. Pop Culture from this era was very unique and bold. People listened to a lot of rock songs- including Elvis, Jerry Lee, Pablo Casals, Andre Kostelanetz, Chuck Berry- but other styles like Jazz and Blues were also present.

. Marylin Monroe was one of the most popular sex symbols of the era. She was an American actress, model, and singer. She took part in really famous movies such as "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", where she sang the famous song "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend"; as well as being an actress in "The Misfits", "The Seven Year Itch", etc.

. Shows like I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, The $64,000 Question and December Bride were popular.

- Fashion

Now this is a very important topic since I have to incorporate it into my video. Making a historically accurate dress requires some good research.

Women's

The new beauty standard was to have an hourglass shape. Christian Dior in 1947 changed the history of fashion when he introduced a new collection of clothes that offered the opposite of what the 40's had given.

The new look of fashion was in flattering, blodly feminine styles. Dress skirts were very full and voluminous; patting on busts was used to increase an hourglass figure and petticoats to provide fullness. You could see those in simple, cotton solid colors to checks and stripes. These were considered to be "house dresses". Women would many times wear it with an apron to keep it clean while doing house chores. They could also leave the house with their house dress, but usually adding a few fancier accessories. These could be pearl necklaces, earrings, high heels, a purse, and even gloves!

Along with the dress, inside the home, women would wear solid color flats or lower heels.

* Since I am only doing scenes indoors, I will most likely utilize only this information. I will add some more info though, just to give readers a full experience.*

Fancy dresses in the 50's were tighter. They could be 2 pieces as well. Some women even had difficulty walking in these, because the skirt would usually by shoulder lengh or lower, which would make their legs really close to each other.

Diamonds also became a thing in the 1950's. They weren't something so expensive and valuable until Hollywood stars started wearing them as a signal of status.

Men's

Men would wear a lot of coats; in occasions like sports, working, etc. In more casual occasions they would wear leather jackets with cotton shirts and even cotton vests.

Hair

Women's

Now, let's talk about the hair. The hairstyles of women in the 1950's varied with their hair lengh. However, shorter hair was way more common and represented. Short hair was usually associated with the housewives; Medium for younger girls, and long for Hollywood pin ups.

Short Hair:

The Italian Haircut:
Soft Bob:
Bouffant
Short Bangs
Pixie Cut
Poodle Clip / Curly Bob (this is the one seen in the picture)

Medium Hair:

The Side Part
Pageboy

Long Hair:

Pony Tail
Headbands & Scarves Hair Accessories
Hair Flowers
Hollywood Pin Up
French Twist
Chignon

- Hair colors were natural; women started to dye they hair, but with only natural-looking dyes. Some also bleached their hair to achieve a blonder look.

Men's

Most of men's hairstyles were very sleek and pushed back. They were very fresh looking and used a lot of gel. These are some of the hairstyles:

Middle Part Slick Back with Pencil Mustache
Side Part Slick Back
The Johnny Cash Pomp
Forward Swept Gelled Hair
Peter O'Toole Wavy Hair
Gary Cooper Widow's Peak
Gelled Hard Part with Contour

Women's Makeup

Makeup was influenced by Hollywood stars such as Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. The classic makeup trend would be to emphasize the eyes by using eyeliner and mascara, while maintaining a natural look. The eyeliner could be subtle or even a cat eye look. Eyeshadows varied between tones of blue, green, purple and rouge. The eyebrows were quite bold, strong and arched. This look could be achieved by using a brow pencil. The color rouge was also very popular, they could add a healthy aspect to pale faces. Lipstick was usually consumed in brighter colors like pinks, corals or reds. An oval face was considered the beauty pattern, and many women would contour their faces with a brown-ish pigment to create that illusion.