Not Just Poodle Skirts and Ponytails

by Yvonne Pierce

The most common mental picture of 1950’s fashions has to be the poodle skirt and the ponytail. While this was indeed the mecca of style for the young, the more subdued fashion sense of the woman tends to take a backseat.

It is widely accepted that the woman of the 50’s was a stay-at-home wife and mother. She tended the home, took care of the children and was there to greet her husband and offspring as they came home each evening. Who doesn’t warmly recall June Cleaver or Donna Reed sashaying through the living room to greet her brood at the door?

Now, perhaps the television version of the lady of the 50’s was a bit “done” as compared to what the real ladies were wearing at the time. No doubt that the majority of women were NOT cleaning the toilet or scrubbing the floors in her best dress and heels. But, there was a distinct difference in her attire as compared with women of this day.

This “real” lady of the 50’s might have her hair neatly coiffed into a pulled back style. Though not a hairdo she would voluntarily go to the market wearing, it was practical for working around her home during the day. And while she may not be wearing a silk dress with thick ribbon sash and pumps, she still conveyed a very definite femininity in her “working” wardrobe. She might wear a sensible twill shirtdress or some other sturdy material. Her feet might be shod in cute flats. Regardless of the exact outfit she chose to work in, she was a LADY.

June Cleaver, Donna Reed and all of the “real” wives and mothers of the 50’s might very well be shocked at the attire of today’s woman. One might surmise that because most women work, they would be dressed in very professional, serious attire. But, one short walk through most corporate hallowed halls paints a very different scene. Women dress for comfort and little else. The old standards of propriety and appropriateness are gone.

Could it be that the deteriorating respect shown towards others might be in direct correlation to the downward spiral of dress standards? Is the lack of pride in the way one presents themselves these days related to the lack of pride in their work? I just have to give it at least some consideration…