1950's clothing for women is synonymous with female sensual elegance! The clothes of this period focused on imparting the hourglass silhouette to the person by replacing the short-skirt wide-shoulder silhouette with longer, fuller skirts which put focus on the middle and soft shoulder lines. End of the World Wars saw the cessation of rules on materials, which translated into the use of a variety of materials and lower hemlines for women's clothing! While older women want the subtler Pad Skirts, younger women often flaunted their moving Poodle Skirts with flamboyant elan! Highest importance was presented with to acting and looking "every inch the lady", hence impeccable grooming and a well tailored look were highly valuable. Pleated skirts were also very popular, which gave a good start to this much-coveted neat, elegant, tailored look. The hemlines usually ended just at the knee or a little below it.
A lot of variety was also noticed in women's tops and blouses, especially in the neckline, fleshlight sleeves and cut. Shawl collars, round collars, halter necklines and soft short collars were very popular as they softened and flattered the neck. Blouses with short fleshlight sleeves, puff fleshlight sleeves, kimono fleshlight sleeves and rolled fleshlight sleeves hit the zenith of fashion in the 1950's. Soft draping cuts and monogramming were very famous fashion clothing areas of the 50's designer clothing period.
Shorts and shorts were generally appropriated for very casual occasions like a barbeque or a use a picnic. The 1950's fashion was more about formal elegance and less about casual sportiness. However, though less popular, shorts, shorts and jeans (then, Dungarees) were given more stylish identities in the 1950's than their precursors. Culottes, Capri shorts and pleated shorts were acceptable fashion clothing, as were the tapered shorts and overall suits.
Evening and v-neck prom dresses were crafted to bring out the princess in every woman, but with subtler tones and softer outlines. The mass production of clothing, as a result of World War II efforts, meant that ordinary women could, now opt for designer evening dresses and dress patterns for the first time. The evening dresses were extensively designed to accentuate the bust and the middle of the woman and keep the focus off the body and the derrire, by the way they tapered down across the middle and then fanned out generously towards the hemline. Harem draping and balloon skirts attracted considerable attention during this times as modern age cuts which differed from traditional female silhouettes but speech of attractive elegance at the same time. Classic ball gown designs, fueled by fantasy and celluloid fashion, have been there throughout the 1900's fashion era and were very much around in the 1950's fashion scene, as were the Eu style A-line prom gown.
