Fashion of the 50's

The end of the 40's saw fashion heading for a revival of the 20's style of clothes, the 20's style was very masculine with a suppressed bust, no waist and broad shoulders. The silhouette was so simple that the figure of the woman was lost and the flattened chest was emphasised. Some of these silhouettes remained but due to the vast modernisation they were barely noticeable.
One of the persistent features from the 1920's fashion was the sleeveless look, sleeveless dresses were worn throughout the year because the woman found them easy to wear. They also wore sleeveless blouses and harness tops for the evenings.

 The Polka dot dress, possibly a modernised silhouette from the 1930's depression era. Below is a 30's polka dot dress.

 Velvet was often used, even in tailored suits, with a white and black colour scheme.

Marilyn Monroe

Grace Kelly

50's style patterns.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mysweetiepiepie_vintage/3297650947/lightbox/

1950's housewife

 The image above of Caroline Trentini lead me to look into more of Miles Aldridge's work, in the images I have selected he represents the 1950's housewife who seems to be having some sort of breakdown. This ties in to our theme of duality and the American dream gone wrong, they are also interesting to look at for styling and props even though our production is likely to take place in the dining room.