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[professorpski]

Simple or Stark? The Question of the 1960s: McCalls 8662

Simplicity was the watchword of the Dress Doctors from the very early 20th Century, yet what is simplicity? Obviously, to them, it was dropping the immense decorative frou-frou of the late 19th Century when many dresses had ribbons, and pleatings, and bows, and flounces, and laces, and, you name it, they just kept putting things on. But how much to drop?

By the late 1960s, women’s wear had moved away from anything complicated--or was it sophisticated--in favor of a stark simplicity. So stark that the Dress Doctors would have thought they amounted to a silhouette rather than an actual dress. But such simplicity was seen as a sign of youth and children’s clothing was often this simple in shape. But the idea before the 1960s was then young women were eager to gain access to more sophisticated shapes and styles. In the 1960s, everything youthful was celebrated in a nod to the purchasing power of the young Baby Boomers, or rather their parents. 

You see here from 1967, a simple A-line dress. Perfect for a busy print as you see on the left, but stark when done in a solid color. The body is acknowledged with French darts which come out from the side seam and by darts in the back that run vertically. There are cut-on sleeves, cut in one piece with the front yoke which is the only point of interest to the dress. At least it is near the face which does go along with the art principle of emphasis. The back of the dress has no yoke.

The neckline is perfectly plain, sometimes called a crew neckline, sometimes called a jewel neckline which indicates the need to wear a jewel to make up for the lack of interest in the garment itself. Yet notice that the illustrator did not see any reason to add necklaces or brooches.  

Interestingly, rules about formality of dress are still in place to some degree. True, hats as required for women’s public clothing had disappeared, but little white gloves stayed on. And the fabrics for this dress included both the everyday fabrics, such as cotton broadcloth and pique, and the dressy ones, such as silk shantung or silk crepe. They also suggested synthetics which were making their mark then as easy to care for, being washable and needing no ironing.

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