Lauren+Lee


 * LAUREN LEE**


 * Question to think about:** What does the popular fashion of the fifties and sixties reflect about American society of the time?

The popular fashion of the 1950s and the 1960s reflected the changes made in the American society of the time. The 1950s was the beginning of many major changes in society as start of the civil rights movement and the turbulent 1960s continued the trend of changing the society. The development of youth culture was portrayed in the development of separate teen clothing and more concentration in children’s clothing. Women’s fashion represented the greater liberty and presence of women in the 1960s. The new hippie culture developed a whole new fashion trend as well.

Most Americans felt confident with their role in the world starting in the 1950s. They accepted the need for a strong stance against global Communism and supported efforts to share the benefits of democracy as widely as possible. At home, they were experiencing phenomenal economic gains and a shift to a service economy. Such economic gain produced a consumer economy with mass production of products. One of the main consumer product developments related the fashion industry. Mass production of clothes started resulting in great developments in style and lower prices. As more leisure itme was offered with the economic stability, people started developing accessories, travel clothes, and so forth. People started using new materials such as velvet and transparent fabrics such as chiffon and organdies. Many people started to get interested in accessories. People were big on hats, belts, and the color combination of white and black. The stable economy as well as the suburban development greatly contributed to the development of the fashion industry as well as resulting in a great increase in purchases.

An increase in job occupations and economic development was portrayed in the development of “smart clothes”. Office clothes were greatly developed for both men and women as economy developed. In the 1960s, lavish patterns were developed to make plain office clothes look good. Weightless materials were used to increase efficiency while maintaining a fashionable look. Along with the development of job clothes, travel clothes were developed together as more people desired to gain their freedom and own leisure times. It is also a cause that people were now able to gain leisure time. During the 1960s, many American women expressed frustration that they did not have the same opportunities as men. Led by writer Betty Friedan and journalist Gloria Steinem, they organized a movement that helped change laws and traditions to give women the chance to compete equally with men in business and education. As more women desired equality and acquired more work and job occupations, these changes were portrayed with increase in women’s work clothes as well as in development of styles in women’s clothing. Styles and fashion became much more feminine in the 1950s than before and figure flattering dresses portrayed the change in women’s status. Women’s clothing industry greatly developed in style, material, price, and abundance.

Many students became politically active to protest the war in Vietnam, which they believed was immoral during the 1950s and the 1960s. They organized large protests that eventually put pressure on President Johnson to begin peace negotiations such as the Free Speech Movement in UC Berkeley. Young people also began to reject their parents' cultural values. The most visible signs of the so-called counterculture were long hair, rock-and-roll music, and the use of illegal drugs. These social changes were represented in the fashion of the youth culture. People broke their traditional fashion trends and formed a new fashion culture of the hippies. The 1960’s brought many changes to the fashion industry, possibly reflecting the attitudes of the young people who wore the clothing. Clothes were less tight fitted and freely portrayed the ideas of the young people with symbols such as peace signs and mottos. The development of a separate youth culture resulted in separate developments of school and leisure clothes for teens and flower children. The great social changes of the 1950s-1980s grew out of an open, fluid, and diverse society. Fashion blended with the turbulent changes in the 1950s and the 1960s. Changes in each of the social class and gender were directly portrayed in their fashion.  Good job covering the main points we wanted to you get to: women, youth, etc. However, you have not mentioned the mass production factor. Good thesis, good arrangement of arguments, really. Nice job mentioning the women's rights movement leaders.

From our rubric: __**Thesis and Introduction**__ 8points/9points -Well-developed thesis statement -Takes a clear position -Directly answers the question -Introduces key elements

__**Supporting Paragraphs**__  8points/9points -addresses the question -provides analysis of the question -each paragraph has a topic sentence -provides factual information to support the thesis -interprets the factual information -shows an effective analysis
 * ties everything back to the thesis: logical transition to the thesis

__**Conclusion**__ 6points/9points -summarizes the essay shortly: synthesizes the topic sentences of each paragraph -directly answers the question