Why The 1950s Is The Most Stylish Decade Right Now
Meanwhile, rockers like Elvis Presley left more formal dress codes, well, all shook up, replacing trilbies with slick quiffs, ties with button-down shirts, and fusty flannels with featherweight fleck-linen jackets. Jack Kerouac and the Beats made a fetish of utilitarian workwear, both in their lives – in their plaid shirts and beat-up blouson jackets – and in their literature: “His dirty work clothes clung to him so gracefully, as though you couldn’t buy a better fit from a custom tailor but only earn it from the Natural Tailor of Natural Joy,” writes Kerouac of Dean Moriarty (inspired by real-life Beat hipster Neal Cassady) in 1957’s On The Road.
Leading the pack of unruly artists, Jackson Pollock sported splattered denim overalls when creating his epoch-making drip paintings: “A lot of artists in the 1930s and 1940s dressed like accountants,” says Boyer. “Jackson and his peers wanted to look like the antithesis of that.” In their decisive break with sartorial tradition, the 1950s rebels found their ultimate – and most enduring – cause. “They broke the mould,” says Boyer. “And we’re continuing to live with their legacy.”
What Does 1950s Men’s Fashion Mean Today?
“I wanted to try and push some freedom into the men’s collections,” Miuccia Prada has said, “and one of the best ways I found of doing that was to reference a time – the 1950s – when men first found the freedom to express themselves with their clothes.”
While many brands have rebooted the classic 1950s men’s fashion – high-waisted trousers, Perfecto leather jackets, Cuban-collar shirts , penny loafers – Prada have done more than most to keep the faith while adding a modern twist; witness their recent collaboration with Mr Porter that consisted of striped bowling shirts, checked Harrington jackets, graphic knitted polos, suede blousons, and loafers in Prada’s own Spazzolato leather. “The 1950s was a time of celebration and optimism,” said Mr Porter buyer Daniel Todd, “and the collection reflects that.”
