The 1960s was a time of freedom, experimentation and bold choices for women. The traditional approach to appearance has been replaced by self-expression, a rebellious even lifestyle. Neat hairstyles, long fluffy dresses and skirts are a thing of the past. Bright and swirling colors. Psychedelic shirts, long hair. Women wore incredibly short skirts. A real explosion of fantasy that only a decade earlier would have been unthinkable.
Table of Contents:
- The amazing 1960s
- Fashion of those years
- Twiggy – fashion icon
- Who was Twiggy?
- Lesley Hornby’s career
- Free-spirited beauty
The amazing 1960s
For the first time since the 19th century, London, rather than Paris, was the center of the fashion world. The British influence did not stop with the Beatles. It has spread to all areas of life, especially fashion. Although it transformed the appearance of women, it was not considered a revolutionary period, since everything was based only on the modification of existing trends. The 1960s were characterized by a wide variety of trends. It was a decade that broke many of the previous fashion rules, reflecting many of the social movements of the period.
Colorful clothes required equally colorful jewelry. Glamour reigned supreme with flashy gold patterns and pearls. The youth, obsessed with artificial plastics, vinyl and bright colors, preferred pop-art inspired jewelry. Geometric shapes appeared on large hanging earrings. Large thick bracelets or a dozen thin bangles clanking along bare arms. Shapes, rather whimsical in their expression, were still popular, albeit with brighter colors and more comical motifs. Hairstyles have also undergone a kind of metamorphosis. Very short, popularized by Twiggy and Mia Farrow. Boyish appearance. Later came hairstyles that were heavily elaborated thanks to the use of hairspray. The teased hair simultaneously diminished the outline of the face. The large volume made the faces appear smaller and more doll-like.
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Fashion of those years
A typical daytime look – consisting of a bulbous hat over a high buff hairstyle, a silhouette with deep armpits and wide sleeves, and a rounded jacket that tapers at the bottom. For the evenings, it was a slender look. Long-waisted dresses, often with a blouse, have replaced the fitted waist and loose skirt. A long dress made of sequins or crystal beads has replaced the bouffant dress. Fitted trouser skirts have become a fixture in travel, street wear and home parties. Short skirts worn with low-heeled shoes put more emphasis on the leg. Coats, suits and dresses without collars created a long-collar effect. Some dresses had draped cowled backs to intensify the elongated look. Furs and hats have maintained their popularity. Tulle turbans swirling freely around the head in the evening not only gained the acceptance of haute couture, but were sold in all hat stores. The outfit was completed with shoes. GO GO shoes are the iconic footwear style of the 1960s. White shoes have once again become fashionable. Traditionally white, they were introduced in the middle of the decade, establishing the classic shoe look with low heels and a height to just below the knees. However, over time the term has grown to include many similar styles, including knee-length versions, other colors.
Complementing the outfit was makeup. Big eyes are the basic elements of the classic 1960s look. Combined with pale lips and a matte complexion. Thick, winged eyeliner was the dominant look for a decade, but it wasn’t the only way to make your eyes stand out. Long Twiggy-style eyelashes, eye shadow in cool shades such as blue, and bold makeup have also become popular ways to mark the eyes.
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Twiggy – fashion icon
Trends established by famous designers have become popular and they themselves have gained fame through models. They were in fact responsible for their popularization and became the determinant of current fashion. Inspiration for Women.
The fashion icon of the 1960s was Lesley Hornby, who went down in world fashion history as Twiggy. No 1960 fashion magazine would be complete without mentioning Twiggy. It was she who cemented the place of the short haircut – the pixie crop – that Leonard, a celebrity hairdresser, made for her in 1966. Twiggy, one of the greatest muses of all time, quickly rose to fame as a supermodel, thanks to her thick eyelashes and boyish looks. Almost overnight, she became the face of the decade. Her style, instantly recognizable, has been immortalized on almost everything from Andy Warhol screen prints to M&S shopping bags.
Twiggy was the symbol of the miniskirt movement. Her elfin waist, doe eyes, thick eyelashes and childlike appearance contrasted sharply with the mature models of the previous decade. She embodied the ideal of female beauty of those years. Narrow hips, small breasts and 1.68 meters tall. The invention of the birth control pill has had its undeniable impact on women’s self-expression. Now they could explore and indulge their sexuality without fear of getting pregnant, and the miniskirt conveyed this newfound freedom. The length of the dress has become a sign of self-confidence. The length of the chop was directly proportional to how women felt about their own sexual liberation. Short skirts were not intended to arouse male sexual interest, but rather were a way to attract attention. It was up to the woman to decide whether she needed such attention. Sexual power through fashion. In Japan, the mini-skirt became a hit with a high-profile visit to the country by Twiggy, Mary Quant’s muse. Magazines question the “morality” of women wearing these skirts. But in 1969, Prime Minister Eisaku Sato’s wife, Hiroko, decided to have a mini during an official trip to the United States.
Who was Twiggy?
Twiggy was born on September 19, 1949, the daughter of a master carpenter father and a working mother, a supermarket cashier.
At 16, she was a shampouineuse in Neasden, a working-class neighborhood of London. A hair salon that will be her path to fame. It was in him that Nigel Daves spotted her in 1966. She took Daves’ advice and adopted her childhood nickname Twiggy as her nickname: twiggy. Soon after, she was spotted by a fashion journalist from the Daily Express, who wrote, “I call this girl the face of 1966.” She arrived in New York in March 1967 and appeared on the cover of Vogue France in May at the age of 17. Often associated with Mary Quant’s creations, Twiggy quickly became an emblematic figure of Swinging London. The covers follow Elle, Vogue US. Twiggy explodes with her personality in this universe. Twiggy was not a pin-up girl. Its flat heels, boyish cut, androgynous look inspired the greatest artists of the era such as Andy Warhol.
The slim girl with a boyish waist forever shook the fashion world, becoming the first celebrity in the history of fashion, a perfect counter-example to the female canon of beauty as written in the New Yorker. After just four years of modeling, Twiggy aborted her modeling career in 1970. She declared: “You can’t be a clothes hanger all your life. ” In 1971, she turned to film and music, starring in the film adaptation of the musical “The Boy Friend.” The film won two Golden Globes. That same year, she married American actor Michel Witney, with whom she had a daughter, Carly, born seven years later in 1978.
Lesley Hornby’s career
In 1973, she posed with David Bowie for the album cover of Pin Ups. In his album Alladin Sane,Bowie mentions Twiggy when he sings “Twig the wonder kid” in the song Drive-in Saturday. Twiggy released the album Twiggy and the Girlfriend in 1971. It wasn’t a huge success in the United States or England, but the album gained monumental success in Japan. In 1980, she appeared in John Landis’ Blues Brothers. In 1988, she remarried actor Leigh Lawson and settled in London. In the 1990s, she hosted her own talk show, “Twiggy’s people,” before joining the jury of “America’s next top model” program. She continues to live her passion for fashion, regularly posing and designing ready-to-wear collections for British brand Marks & Spencer. In 2015, she became the face of L’Oréal. On March 14, 2019, she was ennobled by Prince Charles as a tribute to her remarkable career and international fame. In London, at the age of 69 is now Dame Twiggy Lawson.
Twiggy has always claimed that her slim figure is natural. She was able to maintain the frenetic pace of her life as a star thanks to an impeccable lifestyle, staying away from the drugs so popular among celebrities of the time. In 2010, that she found the current supermodels too skinny. “I was really skinny in 1960, but it was natural…. I ate. I always said I looked like my father, who was also very thin, so I think it’s genetic. I will never go to bed without removing my makeup, it is just disgusting, even if we are drunk. But my ultimate beauty secret is sleep. If I can, I sleep at least nine hours.”
Free-spirited beauty
She will undoubtedly be remembered as a free-spirited beauty who marked a generation by breaking codes and redefining the boundaries of fashion and genres. She was the first model, a star in history, a true icon of the 1960s known worldwide.
“In a way, it was my hair that launched my career.” stated“Vogue” UK, The icon of the 1960s has become a muse again for L’Oréal Professionnel at the age of 65. She has returned to the fashion world at a time when cosmetics brands are increasingly courting ambassadors who have marked recent years. By choosing Twiggy, L’Oréal Professionnel touches on the quintessential 1960s, as the model symbolizes a bygone era. The era of which she was an icon.