Teen fashion of the 1960s - Life in America 

Go Woodstock !!!

My 1977 high school yearbook shows kids still wearing Bell bottom jeans.

I should have.

Nothing wrong with pot. Alchohol and Cigarettes are the worst killer drugs of all time.

If you'd been a little older, you would have been able to observe the society as it went from a non-drug culture to a drug culture. There was a rebellion that started to take hold in the mid-60s, and it's been a downhill slide ever since. It was virtually imperceptible at first, and now we've witnessed our culture spiraling downward at an ever-increasing rate. Observing the personal grooming over that span of time reveals the trend of rebellion. From well-groomed to slovenly in one lifetime. Music became angry and vulgar. In those pre-rebellion days, TV was appropriate viewing for the entire family. Today, even many commercials aren't family friendly. When I was in my youth, I had no way to know know things would change so drastically. Now that I can look back and observe those years and trends, I can truly say that I'm thankful for the era I was born into. That means, of course, that my years are coming to a close, but that will eventually happen to everyone. I've had troubles and losses in my life like everyone else, but when I reach back for those tender early memories, they're sweet and wholesome. Sometimes I marvel that I was so blessed. We weren't a perfect generation, but we weren't angry and rebellious. Our dysfunction began when we abandoned our moorings and fell into that destructive behavior that began in the mid-60s.

Fresh faced and mostly slim bodies in both males and females . I was 16 in 1968 and into more boho and hippie clothes and eye-makeup etc , but i had watched my older sister wear each new fashion trend and change from very shy to hilariously outgoing 😂 They were such carefree times . I still have many of my hippie clothes and still wear them 🤭 ( also necklaces , earrings and bracelets !! ) People probably laugh at me ,but it doesn't bother me if they do . We have to be true to ourselves .🤍

So nice that you still appreciate her.

They don't make them like you anymore.

@@camdencosigner2606 True! The difference between 6O's and 70's "girls" and those of today's generation is that we had respect for ourselves and ultimately, the guys we dated and interacted with had respect for us. Sadly, mainstream media, the music industry, and the promotion and idolization of those like the Kardashians/Jenners, and the wanna-be hookers, strippers, pimps and gangstas that populate modern music, have skewed the minds of an entire generation of what it means to possess self-respect and dignity, and how relationships should be based on those qualities, along with tenderness and real love, not just lust.

Wonderful! Be very proud.

@@Haberdashery22 Thank you for the nice comment. Yes I am a lucky proud man who is still very much in love

Take me back!

@@dennybro1 PLEASE GO BACK and take all the retrumplicans that are trying to make this an authoritarian regime country with you!

@@northalabama2264 trust me north Alabama, all us boomers are almost gone and all the generation x will be gone and then this whole goddamn country will change exactly the way you want it, it's already heading that way, I hope you enjoy your own goddamn socialist mess! Seriously!!!!! I mean that!!!!!!!!!!! 💯

@@northalabama2264 serious question. would you prefer Africa? there was a plan to deport you all after the civil war. but no worries. China will buy Africa soon enough then you ll see true racism and miss the big bad white man

@@northalabama2264 Hear, hear.

Mid day apple for a snack back then maybe with an 8 oz. cup of Coke. Now a large bag of chips with a supersize cola of your choice.

Yes, it was before many food toxins and artificial sweeteners, etc......

Back before we all started eating processed crap.

I graduated HS in 71 to and I was almost anorexic looking back at old photos, but back in high school I thought I was quite fat and chubby back then.We were so active back then with hardly no money and ate most meals were eaten at home or at the local diner. I blame the invention of the current electronic products that society has become obsessed with these days. Why play sports when you can surf the internet!

Yes, I agree! I was Class of '75, same thing!

Oooh, give us a time stamp! I'm so jealous. I wish i could go back in time and visit this era.

I loved the short hair Mod look in the 1960's.

@@maggiemae2585 I know right it looks pretty dope but I like more of the fashion and less of the history, because we can glorify it as much as we’d like but realistically it was a very hard and sad time because of people being killed during the civil rights movement, so I still acknowledge that part of the sixties❤️❤️

@Nancy Barta- tell us the time stamp where you appear, I’d like to see. I was born in 61, too young to have appreciated all that was going on, but these are my first memories, the cars, styles, music,etc.

No you weren't.

I graduated in 1976. Attended a school in Chicago, Downtown. Where we had to wear dresses, no shorter than 2 inches from the knee, panty hose, close toe shoes, hats and gloves. We were being prepared for the business world as young ladies. Taught to walk properly, type, accounting, and how to interview for a job. Secretaries if the world. What I learned there has followed me and helped through out my career.

I graduated from a high school in 1969 in Los Angeles County that had still a dress code. Boys could wear a t-shirt, but it had to have a pocket. The school, part of the Long Beach Unified School District, abolished the dress code the following year.

I can see you were successfully brainwashed into being what your society considered a good citizen. I graduated in 1972 and there were plenty of us who resented being told to cut our hair if we wanted to play football. We weren't representative of a school or a town or a society that discriminated openly, who repressed critical thinking and uniqueness. That nicely dressed look you're so proud of hid a generation of repressed kids who felt compelled to act out once they were freed of their restrainers.

Graduated the same year, with the SAME 'rules' ! And yes we mostly looked pretty good, didn't we ? I remember in grade 12 they let the girls wear slacks on Fridays, BUT they couldn't be jeans - had to be 'dress type' polyester pants !! :)

@@voiceofreason7856 we could wear slacks when the temperature was way below freezing. They would announce it on the radio in the morning. But they didn't take chill factor into consideration, so we still froze plenty of times.

Ditto. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

@@photonotavailable7936 Agreed. We had a good time back then, and with that said, I will say no more. I'm sure C.C. figured out why that car would not go above 45 miles per hour (lol).

@@bertholini2810 C.C.?

@@photonotavailable7936 Name of an old friend. We put a shop towel (all gas stations had them) in his gas tank. When he would..... anyway, I think you get the picture. Be good, be safe.

✌️🥰 We all need to stay Young at Heart and hang on to all of our Wonderful Memories...💞 Love and Peace to all...Always.✌️xo

Because the feminist movement cheapened our womanhood!

Sadly

@@thegeeg1751 Exactly. In my high school, we could not wear pants, nor could skirts be short. If you knelt on the floor and your skirt hem did not touch the floor, then you had to go home. And your parents had to pick you up.

Mike Mullin Same here.

Hugh Hefner actually cheapened womanhood by overly sexualizing in this era. He is known for pioneering a more sexy image of women to the public in general. So no, it’s not “the feminists” as your type always love to say.

Thus... that explains your name

The American dream is still here, just focus and dont let anyone tell you you can't, there's no way. I would think twice about college unless your going to go into a feild that needs it. (Worst money ever spent). Go to a sight that shows how they decorated, what they cooked. Some may call you essentric, but just turn and walk away.

Good for.you. But you can acbieve tbat. Just do what YOU want and not what the herd menta!ity wans ou to do. Remember, you are unique. Go for it

You most likely lived a past life in this era that's why you like it so much. People don't believe but we have all lived before in different times and different bodies but our souls is and has always been the same

i actually kind of like the fashion now. i wont lie its like you can wear whatever and not really be judged at least that is the impression i get lol.

It was an incredible era to have grown up, but just like today it had its issues. a beautiful dove.....simply live and enjoy your life in the moment and cherish the years of being a teenager, trust me my dear, adulthood will come quickly and life will become incredibly demanding of you. I understand the amount of pressure your generation is going through and I would not want to be in your shoes. Just remember, your happiness in life comes from within, and it is up to you to choose the path in which you desire to live life. Choose wisely my friend, you only have one opportunity at this struggle we call life!!! It can be wonderful, but it is completely up to you!!!

Wow Great

Hi , it’s nice meeting you here.. I’m joe by name, it would be nice getting to know you better, if that’s ok with you? My mom once said good friends are never too much to have. if you don’t mind, can we be friends?? Lovely smile you got there on your profile picture.

Oh, those "fishnets"!! Had to have them in lots of colors to match the miniskirts, faux leather jumpers (with the chain belts), and sweater dresses...

A wide-belted jungle jacket-type thing with four big, square pocket on the front, contrasting stitching, and a wide, lay-flat collar. Became popular after the then-leader of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, visited Washington, DC.

@@roberthaworth8991 I must admit, Bob. That particular time/style was the worst for men...OMG.. Hated it with a passion and thank god it passed; fabrics, prints, polyester, yuk. They either looked like pimps or bus drivers in leisure suits. Women's clothes were only slightly better...midi/granny dresses, bib overalls, poker straight hair parted in the middle (BORRRING...).though Farrah, Kate & Jackie did add much needed style.

Nobody wore them in Athens Georgia ,if you tried you would be labeled a communist a pinko ,a gay blade,a sissie I could go on but why

I was glad to see them go.i was born in 1956,I don't remember this as being a very happy time ,bay of pigs,JFK blown away ,kkk killed MLK,Vietnam war ,nixon and Watergate.the 80s seemed to me the most peaceful and sanest decade for me

@@michaelmerck7576 Bay of Pigs, really?! So what! This country's has experienced far worse leading up to our disastrous and abhorrent present. We just exited a war in Afghanistan that we were engaged in for 20 years, and the end result was a humiliating loss for this country. Two years of Covidmania and collective fear mongering. And you raise the Bay of Pigs?! Look at the condition our country finds itself today. This country is far worse then it was in the heat of the 60s upheaval. By the way, the Watergate breakin occurred in 1972. I lived through the 60s and can vouch for my observations.

@@michaelmerck7576 liar

@@bbrcummins1984 m

Keep your opinions to yourself.

@@meleenadiaz4658 why should he? You seem to have one also. 🤔

Same here it looked like something Marcia and Jan Brady and their friends would wear.

Yes, 1967 was the pivotal year; by the time 1968 arrived, "the day" was over.

Literally, it IS throw away. All our clothes now mainly from China. Not even worth donating.

i do think that clothes are very different from 1960s

I think the fashion of the early 60s was a construct of conservative men who liked and wanted control over women.

We wore dresses because we had to.

and more people knew what self-respect was, in function, and how to respect others. That term, "self-respect," has largely been lost to time. It's rarely heard anymore, it's not taught, it seems. It's been displaced by the teachings of "self-esteem," and they are not the same. Respectful boundaries, too, have been largely ditched, and now many don't know what is appropriate, considerate behavior, how to show others consideration, how to enjoy mutual respect, how to conduct themselves. As a result, many are "all over the map" with their emotionally reactive, unstable and disrespectful behavior. With the unfortunate exception of bigotry in earlier eras, most people then knew how to enjoy peaceable, mutual respect, how to get along with others, how to be a joy to others, rather than being a grief to others. People largely understood the value of cooperation and consideration, of having and practicing good values.

In my high school, there was a movement to try to get the administration to allow girls to wear tailored slacks. It was an uphill battle, as they stubbornly refused to budge on the no pants or pantsuits rule. Some of the girls actually wanted to wear casual jeans or even blue jeans, and refused to accept the compromise of tailored slacks. Their reasons were that tailored slacks were expensive and most girls at that time couldn't afford them. It didn't matter to the administration. They were a stubborn bunch of fat-heads who were against us just to be against us. It was a power thing to them. I graduated from high school in 1968, and they were just beginning, finally, to relax some of those restrictions. Finally decided to change with the times -- somewhat.

I grew up in the 70s and campaigned for girls being allowed to wear pants to school. It was frigggin' cold in the winter in dresses!!

And far more had cute short styles. Now it seems that every girl has to have very long hair.

@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 I don't remember it that way...it seems all the girls had long hair parted in the middle......I guess it depends where you were....but there sure were no tattoos.

I was born in 1957 and I whole heartedly disagree for a long list of reasons.The dark stuff was ALWAYS there, NOW it is no longer hidden which is necessary for it to be removed. AND I know what is coming. The Golden Age for Humanity.

I read a few years back now that the average weight of an average sized woman - in the 1960s - was about 130 pounds as an adult. Fast forward to the early 2000s and that average had climbed up to about 165 pounds. I guess 'fast food' and 'convenience foods' were the culprits. For our family to eat out during the 1960s was a VERY rare and special occasion. Home cooking was the order of the day - we knew what we were eating, and what was in it !!! No high salt or high fat.

@@voiceofreason7856 : Mom was a WWII era woman and a stay at home mom. She learned to cook from her mother. Everything was from “scratch “ so to speak. There were store bought items. We always had vegetables ( green, yellow, etc.), beans, lentils, and some type of meat protein (fish, beef, pork). Rarely did we have potato chips type stuff or pop. We would eat out for special occasions. When I started college is when I got into the fast food. I was quick and cheap. Mom and dad never did.

And Twiggy even put on a little weight later and looked great.

But all the gurls/young women wanted to emulate her. Some even tried copying her pigeoned-toed "walk". My next-door neighbor was notorious for THAT one! I used to be like,"what is she doing?" She used to look so silly...

Is she still alive???

Yes I can.

Life was "pretty good" compared to now huh??? WELL, as a black man in the south...I can live wherever I can afford NOW.....I can eat at any establishment I can afford NOW.......I can love whoever I want and marry them NOW........I was born in 1954.....and lived close to the Birmingham landfill growing up, today I live in a $1 million dollar historic home on the Southside......I will take NOW over THEN.......keep trying to MAGA....knock em up, we will swat em down!

Doesn't every generation say this though? I was born in the mid-80s and I thought my childhood was the best too. We were able to experience much of what kids in the 60s/70s did (play outside alot, go around the neighborhood alone, etc) PLUS we got computers and the internet so we could meet friends from all over the world.

@@northalabama2264 - Well my Ethiopian friend does not give a crap what you say, because your ilk threats him like garbage. Isn't he a black man as well. Just sayin...

I remember these clothes so well. I used to see them in the Spiegel catalogs!

Me too!

@Joan In Florida i remember that. Look at the crap the kids wear now.

I'm still waiting for the nehru-jacket to make that comeback... Lol....it used to look so good on the young actor, Sajid Kahn, who seemed to have disappeared after his popularity on the late 60's TV show, "Maya", which also starred a teenage Jay North ( of "Dennis the Menace" fame).

I love a girl who dares to be different.

I also graduated in 1976, and I can remember in say in 1974 you couldn't find blue jeans in women's sizes. The solution was to go to the men's section of the store purchase jeans based on waist and inseam sizes. It's my opinion, bell-bottoms or boot flares will come back they are much more figure flattering for both women and men, than the skinny legged jeans!

Everyone dressed up to go anywhere, even for a Sunday drive. My grandfather would dress "to the nines", complete with pleated pants and newly-shined dress shoes, just to go to his beloved baseball games.

Thank you. Tiday women are full if tattoos and fake everything I cluding body parts and hair.

@@MariaHernandez-jd2bi When I went to visit my amiga in Mex City, she is covered up. Jeans, shirt and jacket, No tattoos. It isn't her style.

Exactly, you stated Mexico City. Lots of women now days have tattoos. Even older women.

@@MariaHernandez-jd2bi Yes, and I am speaking of older women getting tattoos. I am neither for it or against. I belong to the Tolerant Party. My first comment seemed like I was leaning against tattoos. But not so. That was the more back then.

The "tramp stamps" began in the late 70's. Piercings about 10 years later.

Men were not wearing short shorts in the 60s and 70s. Hot pants for women/ girls were in the late 70s.

Who remembers coulottes? An upper body full dress garment that formed into shorts at the bottom. Two styles of coulottes: With one, the shorts section was designed like a skirt with two separate leg pieces and it flared outward, and with the other, the bottom part hugged the legs like regular shorts. But the outfits in both styles were all one piece.

​@@jrnfw4060My English teacher,Miss Baker looked like a model!! Boots,skirts,Gauchos,fancy blouses etc... She had a crush on my home room teacher- He wasn't nice when she left the room😢. She did not like me,but I felt bad for her as he was way Un cool....

Thanks for your service. I remember when Barbara Eden wore that green mini skirt on "I Dream of Jeannie". I still dream of Jeannie.

I loved the Flower girls back then.

I’m sure you’re Robert Redford attractive. Or else this would be a very hypocritical and bizarre comment.

"long haired freaky people need not apply" talk about cancel culture! There have been rightwing radical reactionary's since the beginning of this country always wanting to "go back to the America we love" Just today they have Fox News.

@@northalabama2264 so you think this country is better off today, 27 trillion dollars in debt, the country has lost its moral compass, the politicians are crooked as hell, they could care less about the average citizen, you need to come out from under that rock you have been living under!

@@larrywiggin3489 The criminality in regards to “leadership” today existed back then as well. They just hid it better and for some reason felt it was wise to do so. Today they just blatantly do not care as they own it all. They own all the major businesses, the media, Big Tech, Big Pharma, Big Finance, Big Ag, Big Medical, The MIC etc. The complete corporate capture of all regulatory agencies, complete control of the “two” political parties, the election process, the selection of candidates, control over what they do when they win, even how they are written about. It just goes on and on. A lot of this had already been accomplished in the ‘60’s. Now the control is so complete there is nothing at all that these people fear. They’ve militarized the police in case people get uppity and perhaps form a sneaking suspicion that all is not right. If you think it sucks now, just wait till you see how these same people envision the future.

It was done on purpose. Our country has been completely demoralized for the global government take over, and most Americans are too brainwashed to notice.

Your right and I've thought about it in 75yo and my generation didn't take time to give our parents values to our children and that's when morals were thrown out the window and free love took over

More like flabby buns in exercise pants,, it be great if they actually exercise but they just use them for fashion nothing worse than a fat person in exercise pants,, when they're trying to use it for fashion and not exercising, lululemon's anybody,?🤣, And not one of those beautiful girls were Not fat you noticed that now every other person man or woman is fat too much sitting behind the desk tapping on that computer ,I want the good old days back we played outside worked outside had fun!!

Hey now... I've worn jeans and tee shirts for over half a century now. But then I've always worked for a living ( farm and ranch plus construction ) and have never had a weight problem. lol I've only owned one suit in my whole life, and that only got dragged out for funerals and such... For what it's worth, I also wear a hat every time I leave the house. And it's NOT a baseball cap.

America quit making clothing when the capitalists decided it was cheaper to do so in the Orient rather than in New England and Southern factories.

All the girls look like skanks now.

@@mikephalen3162 And now the Communists Orient decided it doesn't need America any longer...

I was 12 -13 (1967-1968) when we were allowed to wear pants to school, but starting out only in the winter because it was so cold walking to school ( and we had to change into a dress in the girl’s bathroom when we got to school). This was in Queens, NY... we petitioned the principal to let us wear pants to school...aah the good old days, when petitioning the “government” with your grievances worked

Yes; The fall of 1967, myself starting H.S. in N.Y.. The girls all stood outside our H.S., to protest the "dresses only" code. The staff only then allowed the girls to wear pants. That winter was freezing.

I became a teacher in 1972 and we werent allowed to wear pants except on field trips til the late 70s.

@@nancybarta8167 mom said in 72 that it was really cold that winter and she found me a dress with pants. now the dress was short and she said the teacher made me take off the pants till I got out of school. Mommie flipped when she watched me walk out of school with that short dress on. needless to say, the PTA got an ear full from a woman that never says a lot or raises her voice. by the next week, girls could wear slacks. Mommie said that there is a difference between slacks and jeans and pants, lol

My mom told me she had to stand out in the freezing cold waiting on the bus. She got sent home once for wearing pants! She graduated 1970.

Yeah, I live in Richardson and was wondering if that was the Duncanville HS in TX. I wouldn’t doubt that it is, there was video of the Steak & Ale Restaurant and I saw an old Steak & Ale on Spring Valley Rd in Dallas, TX just west of Hiway 75.

Didn't like mini skirts, but peasant skirts and bells were OK.

Those "see through" blouses, with the ruffled sleeves, that were all the rage...

Nehru jackets, desert boots, moccasins...

Lots of schools didn't allow pants in 1968. You were fortunate.

@@Kelle0284 Of course not for school or work. These hip outfits were for after hours and weekends with friends.

Correct. It's a modern stereotype that does not reflect reality.

I grew up in Athens Georgia and the university (UGA), did have some hippies but I had a job at a women's shoes store in the 70s and therefore I never had long hair and wore suit and ties to work so I never personally knew a real hippie but learned about all this so called cultural change from watching television

Agree --it was all about college and Villager brand. (tweeds, Madras?)

Yeah. I think it was because sailors in the navy started the trend with their bell bottom pants that were part of their uniform. And they are starting to be a trend again I see. Along with the high waist pants.

I did buy one but just one.

For the worse!

In my town in Indiana, we were not allowed to wear pants until my Senior year (1972-3) of High School, and then ... only on Fridays! By the time little sis graduated 2 years later, it had changed to pants all the time.

Maybe no tattoos there was a lot of drug misunderstanding/problems and sexual abuse got out of control because girls were not educated about it yet. It wasn’t all happy... plenty of suffering

...and reading books !!!!!!

@@bettymiller1929 lol KAREN!

What's wrong with fat people!!!

There have always been fat people (and we've always been shamed).

Hello Misty

yeah and these days girls can we wear a shirt with a skull on it and sweatpants still be considered femeime and or cute lol.

I also loved the granny dresses, especially those with ruffles on the bottom and gathered sleeves, long or short. The styles were quite versatile back then. You could wear a mini-skirt, a maxi-skirt, or a full length granny dress. I also love the glasses with the tinted lenses in a variety of colors -- purple, blue, green, pink or simply clear, if you preferred. We had a lot more choices back then. There was something that addressed everyone's taste. I wish we had those kinds of choices, today. One can still get their glasses tinted, but there are very few places that will do that, anymore. In my 70s, now, I wear what I please and I don't care if it's "outdated" or not. It's what I like, so that's what I wear. And I don't much care what anyone else thinks about it.

Yes the Jack Lord of Hawaii 5 o style

The 1960s did not do any of that. The anti war movement was a small number of people that the media hyped up to make it appear like the whole culture was that way inclined. Hippies were nothing more than a group of homeless students zoned out on drugs and they were an absolute minority. Most of this is driven by the media and political policy and it took decades to achieve. Socialists could not take the world by force so they used sneaky tactics to try and tear society down and their main tactic of political choice has been the media. A clean and proper media and all of this would disappear within a decade.

The 60s didn't just change our country, it changed the WORLD. Case in point: Woodstock.

@@butcharmstrong9645 you're right. 1960's America didn't just have a sexual Revolution in what roles were for heterosexuals. But part of that movement was LGBTQIA that started in the U.S. Is now a worldwide movement. Gay marriage in 56 countries. Gay pride parades in 86 countries.

@@bighands69 You mean like FoxNews? OAN and Newsmax? They certainly aren't the mouthpiece of priviledged political figures who tout fascism are they?

@@butcharmstrong9645 Nope --The Beatles and Rolling Stones did. I saw Jimi Hendriks in a small concert. He was talented but no big deal in the mid '60s.

Those scum hippie's are from the devil 😎

The same way we got to $4 per gallon gas, damned DemocRATS.

time moves on 💀? also she’s was the presidents wife, she was the first lady. Lady gaga is a pop star. Totally different.

In terms of fashion standards it was more like Jackie Kennedy to Janis Joplin.

Everything that came in the 1960's disappeared by the mid 70's. Nothing is left today.

We’re you even there? How old are you? For me and many others, the 60s were wonderful

Your memory is selective. If you could transport yourself back to your grade school or high school, you would notice plenty of heavy girls.

@@mikephalen3162 By a research American population is changing drastically is too many things is diet,lifestyle the kids is very rare if they play in the street a sport like used to be. Now they are front of a computer playing games American people eats a lot of junk food because life now is more fast than before people thinks only to make money the values have been lost.

Why do you specifically mention blond hair blue eyed people? Sounds a bit racist

@@mikephalen3162 There were very few obese people back in the 1960's. In our school of 1500 pupils, I can't remember ever seeing one, but there might have been one or two.

Is this on tv you’re speaking of? Most Americans haven’t gotten plastic surgery. Just wondering....

Everything changed totally.. How are you doing Carol?

Who forced you to wear styles you disliked?

@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 Well, since I was a "boy", just maybe it was my parents? 👀

I was a California Girl. Graduated HS in 75. I LOVED the clothes and sewed many of my own. Loved choosing my own fabrics.

2 very classy gorgeous women.and both aged well especially audrey.

Yes I agree and did you know that you have quoted the Bible book of Isaiah c5v20 it says Woe to those who say that good is bad and bad is good Peace to you Eileen

I think you have to make the distinction of young people who had the internet. That did more damage than natural teenage rebellion like in the sixties.

Very magical times 60s to 80s.

OMG!!! You are a scary person