The "New Look" for 1950s women actually originated in the 1940s, with Christian Dior's inspiring collection called Corolle. This collection contrasted with the harsh, "make do and mend" beautiful fashions of the 1940s with full skirts, soft shoulders, and a tight waist, emphasizing the bust and the hourglass-shaped figure.
Men's 1950s fashion was clean cut and traditional. The "grey flannel suit" referred to a style popular among American men, which started out in the Ivy League colleges. The "American suit" was usually charcoal grey, single-breasted with two or three widely spaced buttons, unwaisted, with no back vent. Also popular was the "penny loafer," a slip-on shoe with a cut-out apron that could fit a penny.
Hats became less and less popular among both men and women, throughout the 1950s. By the end of the 1950s they were still seen, though not required for a business uniform; by 1970, they had vanished almost entirely.
Men's hair was kept short and neat, typically in a crewcut. A D.A. (short for "Duck's Ass") haircut was seen as a blatant rebellion against the social order. Young people, unsurprisingly, saw this as cool.
American influence on European teenagers was huge. Rock and Roll idols including Elvis Presley, Bill Hayley, Jerry Lee Lewis and film stars James Dean and Marlon Brando set fashions almost accidentally. The main looks for teenagers were greasers and preppies.
Greasers followed the standard black leather and denim jeans look set by Marlon Brando in "The Wild One" (1953) and later outdone in the 1978 film called "Grease". They raced about town on motorbikes and were consider outrageous.
Preppie qualities were neatness, tidiness and grooming. Teen girls wore full dirndl or circular skirts with large appliqués on their clothing. Neat pleated skirts were also popular. The pleated skirts were made from a then new fabric called TERYLENE (polyester) which helped maintain razor sharp sunray pleating.
The skirts were supported by bouffant paper nylon or net petticoats. On top, teens wore scoop neck blouses, back to front cardigans, tight polo necks or three quarter sleeve white fitting shirts often with a scarf knotted cowboy fashion at the side neck. These teen clothing fashions that originated in America filtered to Britain in watered down fashion.
