Fashion in the 1960s was somewhat similar to the decade before, however, there were some key differences. These differences were largely due to the growing popularity of media. In 1953, “only ten percent of Canadian households owned a television and by 1965, ninety-three percent owned a television”. These sudden changes in television ownership directly impacted teenage fashion choices. With the baby boom of the previous decade, Canada became home to an influx of teenagers. With these new influences, teenagers in the 1960s took greater risks with style and adopted new trends. Some of these new influences included the Beatles, the rolling stones, and the beach boys. The Beatles played a big role in teenage boys’ styles as this British band influenced both hairstyles and clothing styles. The hairstyles for men during this decade were usually a short cut with the classic side bangs.
While men’s clothing styles started using brighter colours and loud fabric print shirts/pants came into style. Another big change in men’s clothing in the 60s was the introduction of using polo shirts for everyday wear and not just for outdoor activities as they have been previously used for.
Women’s clothing style remained somewhat the same from the 50s, however, they did add bright colours and new patterns to their blouses and shirts. Cardigans also remained a staple in a teenage girls wardrobe. The introduction of bright colours into clothing is a pretty fair assessment of what the 1960s brought to fashion.
In terms of hairstyle for women, the “ziggy” haircut started to gain popularity along with “front bangs”. Down below you will find pictures of local students in the 1960s for references to what these styles may have looked like.
