It's the 70s!

Welcome to the 70s! The decade which saw the rise of pop/rock music and also saw the tragic losses of some stars such as the 1960s famous Jimmy Hendrix and Jim Morrison.
The 'Hippie' peace movement died out in the mid sixties and violence seemed to increase.
Fashions changed and so did the people.

Biba

Biba was a famous and popular fashion store in the 1960s through to 70s. It was started by a woman named Barbara Hulanicki and she ran it with her husband Stephen Fitz - Simon.
Biba was the first store to offer cheap outfits that were ready to wear for the public. Fashion didn't have to be expensive anymore and people liked it so Biba hit off.
A new 17 storey department store named 'Big Biba' was opened. Each floor had a different theme and logo which was based on the biba logo, and it expanded to menswear, home furnishings, children's wear, books etc.

Mary Quant

Mary Quant was a British fashion icon. She became most famous in the 60s in mod culture and the younger generation for her newly designed 'mini skirt' and 'hot pants' which became a major style for women. She encouraged 'fun fashions' which made young people treat fashion as something exciting and like a game.

In 1955 she opened her first designer shop on King's Road in London named 'Bazaar'. Which I think explained her designs and creations exactly for that time.

Hairspray

Hairspray is a film that is set in the 60s which explores some aspects of fashion and culture in this time.
One of these trends was to have big hair hence the name 'hairspray'. The clothes that they wore in the film closely linked to women's fashion in the 60s which was to have bold block coloured dresses, I think that this time of fashion was very feminine.

The film also touches on another subject that was in the news in the 60s, which was segregation. Segregation ended in the 60s in America and black and white people were allowed on TV together etc.

Mods and Rockers of the 60s

The two main stereotypical groups of the 60s were the Mods and the Rockers.

Mod style :- generally wore Parkers or Harrington jackets, Stay press trousers, Fred Perry t-shirts, Apollo boots, 501 Jeans, Gibson shoes, they rode scooters usually Vespas and were usually in large groups and disliked the other subculture 'Rockers'. Most of this info has come from my dad who was a mod, and who is now reminiscing on his mod times... Think ill leave him to it!

Rocker style :- generally wore Leather Jackets, mostly black clothing, skinny jeans, leather trousers, Large biker boots, and rode round in large groups on motorbikes like Triumph Motorcycles.

The Mods and The Rockers clashed a lot of the time and there were a lot of fights. An example of a film that follows these two groups very closely is QUADROPHENIA. I prefer the Mod subculture and fashion throughout this time.

Music in the 1960s

Fashion and music were closely linked in the 1960s, some of the main icons of the 60s were The Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys. I think that the youth generation followed the style of these bands very closely, including their hairstyles as well as the way they dressed.

The 1960s

Modified, homemade and second hand clothing was an expression of individuality in the 1960s. Whereas before, fashion was mostly aimed at the richer mature people, fashion now was starting to become aimed at the tastes of the younger generation.

The shape of clothes changed in the 1960s, they were largely influenced by the pop scene in London. In Britain, musical taste and the style of clothing was closely linked and mod style was also still very popular. In the mid sixties, the A-line skirt was very popular in skirts, coats and dresses.

The retail industry

In the 1960s the retail industry boomed, Knightsbridge was dominated by department stores that catered for the youth generation also. And ready to wear clothing became a huge hit in London.