Flapper Style

Flappers were a "new breed" of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms.^[1]
Flappers had their origins in the liberal period of the Roaring Twenties, the social, political turbulence and increased transatlantic cultural exchange that followed the end of World War I, as well as the export of American jazz culture to Europe.


The first appearance of the word and image^[22] in the United States came from the popular 1920 Frances Marion film, The Flapper, starring Olive Thomas.^[23] Thomas starred in a similar role in 1917, though it was not until The Flapper that the term was used. In her final movies, she was seen as the flapper image.^[24] Other actresses, such as Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, Colleen Moore and Joan Crawford would soon build their careers on the same image, achieving great popularity.^[23]
In the United States, popular contempt for Prohibition was a factor in the rise of the flapper. With legal saloons and cabarets closed, back alley speakeasies became prolific and popular. This discrepancy between the law-abiding, religion-based temperance movement and the actual ubiquitous consumption of alcohol led to widespread disdain for authority. Flapper independence was also a response to the Gibson girls of the 1890s.^[25][26] Although that pre-war look does not resemble the flapper style, their independence may have led to the flapper wise-cracking tenacity 30 years later.
Writers in the United States such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Anita Loos and illustrators such as Russell Patterson, John Held, Jr., Ethel Hays and Faith Burrows popularized the flapper look and lifestyle through their works, and flappers came to be seen as attractive, reckless, and independent. Among those who criticized the flapper craze was writer-critic Dorothy Parker, who penned "Flappers: A Hate Song" to poke fun at the fad. The secretary of labor denounced the "flippancy of the cigarette smoking, cocktail-drinking flapper."^[27] A Harvard psychologist reported that flappers had "the lowest degree of intelligence" and constituted "a hopeless problem for educators."^[27]
A related but alternative use of the word "flapper" in the late 1920s was as a media catch word that referred to adult women voters and how they might vote differently than men their age. While the term "flapper" had multiple uses, flappers as a social group were distinct from other 1920s fads.

 

 

Lolita Style

Lolita fashion is a fashion subculture originating in Japan that is based on Victorian-era clothing as well as costumes from the Rococo period, but the style has expanded greatly beyond Japan. Companies such as Milk and Pretty (currently known as Angelic Pretty) sell various Lolita fashions.^[1] The Lolita look began primarily as one of modesty with a focus on quality in both material and manufacture of garments. The original silhouette is of a knee length skirt or dress with a "cupcake" shape assisted by petticoats, but has expanded into various types of garments including corsets and floor length skirts. Blouses, knee high socks or stockings and headdresses are also worn.^[2] Lolita fashion has evolved into several different sub styles and has a subculture that is present in many parts of the world.
Although many people point to Japan for the Lolita trend especially with the influence of Anime media, which made it more popular, as the creator of the "Lolita Fashion", the origin of its meaning is complex, and remains unclear.^[3] It is likely the movement started in the late 1970s when famous labels including Pink House, Milk and Pretty (later known as Angelic Pretty) began selling clothes that would be considered "Lolita" by today's standards. Shortly after that came Baby, The Stars Shine Bright, and Metamorphose temps de fille.
In the 1990s, Lolita fashion became better recognized, with bands like Princess Princess coming into popularity at the time. These bands wore intricate costumes, which fans began adopting as their own style.^[4] The style soon spread and ultimately reached Tokyo where it became popularized throughout Japanese youth culture. Today, Lolita fashion has gained global popularity and can be found even in department stores in Japan.

 

Glam Rock Style

The glam fashion of the 1970s is characterized as very colorful with ruffles, and when dressing in 1970s glam fashion, make sure to wear lots of jewelry. Accessorize a 1970s outfit with tips in this free video from an experienced clothing designer.

 

 

Beatnik Style

Beatnik fashion is the 1950s version of bohemian chic. Before hippies, after flappers, between 1930s and 1990s hipsters, beatniks were a safer, more suburban version of the beat generation.

There are two different kinds of beatnik fashion: real fashion (what 1950s beatniks actually wore) and a beatnik costume (as worn by the woman in the photo above). Both looks are easy to replicate; why not learn both?
The word "beatnik" was coined by San Francisco columnist Herb Caen in 1958, to describe the young beat generation. These "bearded cats and kits," much like today's hipsters, didn't work, hung out in coffee shops and aspired to artistic grandeur.

There aren't too many photos of beatniks, so one has to go by the photos we have and the descriptions of former scenesters. Adam Faith described beatnik cafes as "all black polo necks and existentialism." 1950s fashion was more conservative than today's fashion; beatniks therefore did not have to go far to arouse society's ire.

Striped shirts, oversized sweaters and cowl collared tops were favored for both sexes.

Young women often wore collared jerseys, or short-sleeved sweaters, with slim-fit pants or pencil skirts, a fetching and feminine look that was still sufficiently bohemian. In rebellion to the frilly aesthetic of the time, many women favored capri pants, black jeans and stirrup slacks. Jewelry, if worn, often featured eastern religious symbols, reflecting the beats' inchoate, eastern-inspired philosophy.

Some daring young men favored skinny black jeans, though this was more a rocker look. Many dressed almost as conservatively as their parents, in slacks with a belt and short-sleeved white shirts.

Beatnik was the first youth subculture to favor wearing all black. Like goths, beatniks were also given over to philosophical maundering––although beatniks were more existential and less maudlin.

Young men let their hair grow, though not too much; many favored a pompadour or an outgrown crew cut. Some beatnik men wore a goatee, a "soul patch" or sideburns. Others just let their facial hair grow, a real act of rebellion in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Young women generally left their hair long, or cut it short in a bob. It would not surprise me, though, if some had short androgynous haircuts, a la Teddy Girls. 

 

Preppy Style

Preppy fashion started in the late 1940s and 1950s as the Ivy League style of dress.^[6] J. Press represents the quintessential preppy clothing brand, stemming from the collegiate traditions which shaped the preppy subculture. In the mid-twentieth century J. Press and Brooks Brothers, both being pioneers in preppy fashion, had stores on Ivy League school campuses, including Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Newer outfitters such as Ralph Lauren, J. Crew, Vineyard Vines, and Elizabeth McKay are also frequently perceived as having preppy styles, with designers such as Marc Jacobs and Luella Bartley adding the preppy style into their clothes in the 1990s.^[7] New York City maintains itself as the headquarters for most preppy clothing lines, such as J. Press, Brooks Brothers, and Ralph Lauren, underscoring the preppy subculture as a reflection of Northeastern culture. Examples of preppy attire include argyle sweaters, chinos, madras,^[2] Nantucket Reds,^[2] button down Oxford cloth shirts, and boat shoes.^[2]

 

 

Mod Style

Mod (from modernist) is a subculture that originated in London, England, in the late 1950s and peaked in the early to mid-1960s.^[1][2][3]
Significant elements of the mod subculture include fashion (often tailor-made suits); music, including African American soul, Jamaican ska, British beat music, and R&B; and motor scooters. The original mod scene was also associated with amphetamine-fuelled all-night dancing at clubs.^[4] From the mid-to-late 1960s and onwards, the mass media often used the term mod in a wider sense to describe anything that was believed to be popular, fashionable, or modern.

 

 

 

 

Rock&Roll Style

Rock and roll (often written as rock & rollor rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular musicthat originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s,^[1][2] primarily from a combination ofAfrican American blues, jump blues,country, jazz,^[3] and Rock and roll (often written as rock & rollor rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular musicthat originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s,^[1][2] primarily from a combination ofAfrican American blues, jump blues,country, jazz,^[3] and gospel music.^[4]Though elements of rock and roll can be heard in country records of the 1930s,^[3]and in blues records from the 1920s,^[5] rock and roll did not acquire its name until the 1950s.^[6][7]

The term "rock and roll" now has at least two different meanings, both in common usage: referring to the first wave of music that originated in the mid-1950s and later developed "into the more encompassing international style known as "rock music," and as a term simply synonymous with rock music in the broad sense.^[8] For the purpose of differentiation, this article uses the second definition.

In the earliest rock and roll styles of the late 1940s and early 1950s, either the piano or saxophone was often the lead instrument, but these were generally replaced or supplemented by guitar in the middle to late 1950s.^[9] The beat is essentially a blues rhythm with an accentuated backbeat, the latter almost always provided by a snare drum.^[10] Classic rock and roll is usually played with one or two electric guitars (one lead, one rhythm), a string bass or (after the mid-1950s) an electric bass guitar, and a drum kit.^[9] Beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll, as seen in movies and on television, influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. It went on to spawn various sub-genres, often without the initially characteristic backbeat, that are now more commonly called simply "rock music" or "rock".gospel music.^[4]Though elements of rock and roll can be heard in country records of the 1930s,^[3]and in blues records from the 1920s,^[5] rock and roll did not acquire its name until the 1950s.

The term "rock and roll" now has at least two different meanings, both in common usage: referring to the first wave of music that originated in the mid-1950s and later developed "into the more encompassing international style known as "rock music," and as a term simply synonymous with rock music in the broad sense.For the purpose of differentiation, this article uses the second definition.

In the earliest rock and roll styles of the late 1940s and early 1950s, either the piano or saxophone was often the lead instrument, but these were generally replaced or supplemented by guitar in the middle to late 1950s. The beat is essentially a blues rhythm with an accentuated backbeat, the latter almost always provided by a snare drum.Classic rock and roll is usually played with one or two electric guitars (one lead, one rhythm), a string bass or (after the mid-1950s) an electric bass guitar, and a drum kit. Beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll, as seen in movies and on television, influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. It went on to spawn various sub-genres, often without the initially characteristic backbeat, that are now more commonly called simply "rock music" or "rock".