Mens Fashion in the 1960s

After the conservative fashions of the 1950's, mens fashion in the 1960s emerged as something of a renaissance. All of a sudden, there was a great deal more choice in the color palates that were considered appropriate for men, more than that, the cuts of the clothes started to change dramatically.

This decade would see the emergence of blue jeans from being a working class staple to something much more ubiquitous, and though there is no one piece of clothing that every man wore, there were still several identifiable trends.

In general, clothes became significantly more tight fitting during this area, and the narrow and form revealing styles were strongly influenced by the designs coming out of Italy. The mens mod suits style that emerged in England gave men a greater license when it came to the clothes that they wore, and there was an emergence of single breasted suits with short tailored jackets and relatively narrow lapels. When matched with thin ties and narrow collared shirts, this became a singularly dashing look, and due to the fact that mens bespoke tailoring was still a common custom, it was one that could be quite well fitted. The pocket square was also quite common.

MORE FREEDOM, MORE COLOR, MORE EVERYTHING!

Mens fashion in the 1960s saw a great deal more elaboration and adornment. The patterns for men flourished, and from a period when stripes were considered a bold statement, paisley, polka dots and fluorescent colors quickly became the norm.
There was a greater emphasis on clothing as self expression, and there was an increase in the types of textures worn. While wool and polyesters of course stayed common, mens fashions began to experiment more with cotton and velvet.

In terms of a basic clothing staple, turtlenecks with sleek lines were very commonplace. They could be combined with a blocky blazer or a sweater or a vest, and they were considered fashionable for men of all professions. Similarly, longer cotton tunics with nehru collars were well regarded as fashionable types of clothing. Nehru collars were distinguished with an open mandarin collar and often the tunics were adorned with with a long row of small of buttons down the front.

The sixties were a decade that looked ahead to the excesses of the seventies, but there was still a strong emphasis on sleek lines and simple designs. For instance, for the fringe hippie styles, simple vests worn over bare chests were fashionable and when combined when blue jeans made for a fashion statement that was quite distant from that of the conservative fifties. Another type of clothing that was popular across the board during the fifties was the buffalo plaid shirt. Typically made of flannel with a casual print or with simple checks, the buffalo plaid was common for anyone who wanted to keep warm and look good.

There were many different styles during this time, and though there was no single style that was worn by all men, mens fashion in the 1960s was alot more free and men found it easier to express themselves through clothing than at any time in the previous years. Its definitely making a comeback though, as the show Mad Men is making it cool again.