dressing in the 1960s

[julie w]

For those of us old enough to remember the 1960s when most women
wore skirts and dresses ,and wouldnt leave the house unless their make up was perfect, heck even my mother wore a skirt and I haven,t seen her wear one since my sisters wedding years ago ,
Do you think it would have been easyer to blend
in crossdressed , I know it would have been more difficult to get wigs etc but
there must of been girlz going out back then ?

[helenr]

good topic. I so remember the look of the 1960's -the girdles that created the wonderful rounded derriere-so nicer than today's 'two puppies in a sack' look. I think true transvestites could blend in better since dressing up was acceptable-today rarely does a female wear hosiery-if you want to 'blend in' you can't wear pretty dresses or skirts. you'd be the only one! Women today who didn't grow up in that era don't know what they are missing out on! coordinated nylon lingerie, wonderful plain or flat knit stockings, etc. helenr

[Kate Lynn]

good topic. I so remember the look of the 1960's -the girdles that created the wonderful rounded derriere-so nicer than today's 'two puppies in a sack' look. I think true transvestites could blend in better since dressing up was acceptable-today rarely does a female wear hosiery-if you want to 'blend in' you can't wear pretty dresses or skirts. you'd be the only one! Women today who didn't grow up in that era don't know what they are missing out on! coordinated nylon lingerie, wonderful plain or flat knit stockings, etc. helenr

or the 6 watermelons in the trunk look.

[Missy Tanya]

Soon as I saw the first episode of Mad Men, I was hooked. The sexy women made up in dresses doing their everyday chores. Don't get me wrong, I luv a nice butt in tight jeans, as much as the next. But something has been lost. Women should dress up more for grocery shopping, errands, and just for house hold duties.

I'm sure, I'm not the only one that has taken a second look at an well dressed women out shopping. Of course since I'm happily married, I just look to remember how I should look next time I'm out on the town. And too give the girl credit. We crossdresser know how much work goes into lookin good.

Tanya

[deja true]

Come on, y'all. It's the 21st freekin' century.......

You think women are hung up on the fact that guys don't wear sharp suits everyday? Or go through a tube of Brylcreme every week!

I think modern women look fine. And even casual dressing makes 'em look a lot more independent and stronger than they ever did. Sure the Stepford wives were kinda cute, but I sure wouldn't wanna be married to one!

Modern casual dressing... slim jeans, camis and tight t's... is a lot sexier than madras Bermuda shorts and polo shirts, fer cripes sake!

Realize that that's your fetish talking, please! I'm not really enamored of looking like my mother! Or acting like her!

[Tricia Lee]

I still haven't gotten over June Cleaver vacuuming the carpet in heels and pearls :)

[trannie T]

It is amusing how memory changes things. As I recall during the 60's women spent a good part of their lives wearing curlers in their hair wherever they went. They were hideous!

[Persephone]

Funny! I remember the '50s and only the early '60s as golden ages of femininity as the later '60s were when girls went into shapeless sacque dresses and then into shapeless jeans and t-shirts as the Age of Aquarius arrived.

For ultimate femininity you want the 1860's rather than the 1960's. It is impossible to describe, to anyone who hasn't tried it, the feeling of spending the day tightly laced into a corset and dressed in a floor-length crinoline. A whole different world!

[VeronicaMoonlit]

if you want to 'blend in' you can't wear pretty dresses or skirts. you'd be the only one!

Sure you can wear dresses and skirts, some women wear them, sometimes more at certain times than other times. Besides, if you feel pretty in a skirt and want to wear it out, do it.



Women today who didn't grow up in that era don't know what they are missing out on! coordinated nylon lingerie, wonderful plain or flat knit stockings, etc. helenr

Pure nylon stockings suck. I picked up some from a consigment shop once, they were rough and baggy. Sure they were sheer but they didn't feel as nice or comfortable as hosiery with a bit of spandex does. They're missing out on nothing.



Soon as I saw the first episode of Mad Men, I was hooked.

Ah...Joan.


But something has been lost. Women should dress up more for grocery shopping, errands, and just for house hold duties.

They should? Who's going to make them? What if they don't want to? Are you willing to wear dapper suits and fedoras in guy mode like Don and the rest of the ad men do? It's always funny to me, when transfolk who sometimes themselves as a people complain about not being able to wear what they want, say that women should dress up more...for grocery shopping.

Look, sure I could do the vacumming in a pretty dress and kitten heels. But odds are that would only happen if I was already wearing them for some reason. I'm not going to go, "oh I should dress up to do the vacumming because some people think women don't dress up enough these days." Would you want to walk around one of the HUGE modern supermarkets in an uncomfortable rubber girdle, saggy pure nylon stockings and vintage 50's shoes?

Retro classics have their place, and I like them myself to a certain extent, but the only people who should wear them are those who choose to wear them and want to wear them, not those who feel they have to wear them to fit some societal expectation.


We crossdresser know how much work goes into lookin good.

"Some" of us do. But do we all "look good" despite the effort? Maaaaaybe so, or maybe not.



You think women are hung up on the fact that guys don't wear sharp suits everyday? Or go through a tube of Brylcreme every week!

Hilarious.



I think modern women look fine.

Me too.


Sure the Stepford wives were kinda cute, but I sure wouldn't wanna be married to one!

"I must get that recipe."


is a lot sexier than madras Bermuda shorts and polo shirts, fer cripes sake!

Mmmmm preppy.mmmmm Izod...so sexay, so hawt. Y'know, women should dress preppy all the time, like out of the 80's preppy handbook. The Fair Isle sweaters...the polos...the button downs and they should all change their names to Muffy or Missy. Mwah ha ha ha ha. Not!



Realize that that's your fetish talking, please! I'm not really enamored of looking like my mother! Or acting like her!

I mostly remember some of my mom's 70's outfits....polyester pantsuits. shudder.



I still haven't gotten over June Cleaver vacuuming the carpet in heels and pearls :)

Well, you could always do it youself :-) No harm in that.

But do you think that the majority of average women did that. No they didn't, and they'd often lie about it to marketers and whatnot and say they did, because they thought they were expected to, because that's what TV showed them.

Those times weren't exactly good times for "our people" either. Imagine being a young TG person in 1960, no internet, no books, maybe seeing an article about "perverts" in magazines? Or what about those women who didn't want to be June Cleaver, who didn't want to wear pearls or heels, who felt uncomfortable in dresses, how did they feel.

Veronica
Rondelle (Ron) Rogers Jr.

[chris80]

It is amusing how memory changes things. As I recall during the 60's women spent a good part of their lives wearing curlers in their hair wherever they went. They were hideous!

In California? I thought the curlers under a headscarf were seen only in Coronation Street (UK soap)

[Suzy Harrison]

In California? I thought the curlers under a headscarf were seen only in Coronation Street (UK soap)

Ena Sharples - Wow - well there was a woman of the 1960s :)
~ and Minnie Coldwell - Mmmm - don't even go there !

[MissConstrued]

Mmm, yes, well, for those of you who lived through that decadent decade... you thought Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix were good musicians. You might question your memory a bit. :tongueout

[Gabrielle Hermosa]

For those of us old enough to remember the 1960s when most women
wore skirts and dresses ,and wouldnt leave the house unless their make up was perfect, heck even my mother wore a skirt and I haven,t seen her wear one since my sisters wedding years ago ,
Do you think it would have been easyer to blend
in crossdressed , I know it would have been more difficult to get wigs etc but
there must of been girlz going out back then ?

I think it would have been easier to blend if IF one's body was sufficiently feminine looking. Yes, back then the girls were a lot more girly in their fashions.

I'm glad I did not grow up in that time though. I had a hard enough time growing up in this time being a cd - it was only with the arrival of the internet that I was finally able to get some good information about being a cd to help figure myself out, and of course find online communities to chat with others like myself. This was simply not possible in the 60's - not from the privacy of one's home.

But blending in - yeah. I'd say it was probably easier depending on one's personal appearance. Wasn't around then though, so I have no idea in reality.

[Veronica75]

I know it would have been more difficult to get wigs etc but
there must of been girlz going out back then ?

Actually, wigs wouldn't have been particularly hard to get back then, no more than other ladies things-- they were popular and socially acceptable especially with older ladies or anyone without enough volume in their hair for some of the bouffant styles of the time.

But a man shopping for anything girly would have been quite a challenge. So many of the options open to us would not have existed, and there would have been much more scrutiny and gossip over a guy (especially an unmarried one) buying ladies things. Probably your best bet in 1961 would have been to go to the biggest department store in a neighboring city and concoct a honey of a cover story.

I remember I once had a stack of crossdresser magazines from the early 60's-- mostly stage performers, but they had that great period look. Unfortunatley I think they were lost in a purge...

[TGMarla]

The actual style of the '60s, with that heavy polyester and that go-go stewardess look.....I'm not a big fan. It's true that the social norms for women were to actually wear dresses and such when they went anywhere, but as has been mentioned, men were expected to wear nicer clothes as well. What's good for the goose......

Anyway, women still managed to wear dresses well into the '80s, at least to work. In the '70s, women wore disco dresses to bars, and men wore nicely tailored suits when they went out. The object was to look really sharp when out cruising for companionship, an idea that should really take root again sometime. Dancing was an obsession. Too bad the actual music kinda sucked. But it still was not uncommon to see a lady wearing a dress, heels, and pantyhose to a bar as well as in everyday situations.

Dresses, in my opinion, were at their prettiest in the '80s, and I still wear dresses from that era for much of my wardrobe. They translate well to todays styles, except that they're prettier than the usual fare offered up today. Apparently many ladies agree with me, since I get a lot of positive comments on what I wear. But once the '90s hit, and the new century, we all became a society of slobs, opting to parade around in baggy crap, sweats, T-shirts, and jeans with designer holes in them. Slouchy became a fashion trend, and we all lost out.

I am hoping that fashion trends are cyclical. I am hoping that some future generation (soon!) rediscovers the joys of nice dresses and hosiery. The pendulum has swung way too far to one extreme, and it's time it swung back the other way some. As for me, I'd rather wear a nice dress than some no-fun casual crap out somewhere whether it makes me stand out in a crowd or not. Half the fun (or more!) of crossdressing is the clothes, so if I'm not wearing pretty dresses and such, it's not worth the bother to me.

[MsJanessa]

Funny! I remember the '50s and only the early '60s as golden ages of femininity as the later '60s were when girls went into shapeless sacque dresses and then into shapeless jeans and t-shirts as the Age of Aquarius arrived.

For ultimate femininity you want the 1860's rather than the 1960's. It is impossible to describe, to anyone who hasn't tried it, the feeling of spending the day tightly laced into a corset and dressed in a floor-length crinoline. A whole different world!

mmmmh---it certainly is and there is no feeling like it---the more feminine the more silk, satin, petticoat etc, the better as far as I'm conerned---of course We need to be Ladies of Wealth and Privilege, with servants at Our beck and call to live that kind of life---hard to be a modern girl and go to the mall etc in a corsette under petticoats and a floor length satin ball gown.

[BillieJoe]

Hmmmm...., Its not so much that they 'dressed up' back then its just that doing so was a normal everyday thing for them. If you ever see pictures of people at a ballgame from back then it will be mostly of men and they were wearing shirts and ties. Women wouldn't attend a function unless they were presenting themselves in skirts or dresses. Women would wake up in the morning and put their dresses on and go do the housework. Its what they did. They didn't complain about the discomfort of what they wore or the impracticality of it. They functioned normally! Even after dress codes were lifted in our schools well over half of the girls still wore skirts or dresses. It was no big deal. With the arrival of the late seventies things started changing drastically as far as dress was concerned (at least in my part of the country). One thing that I didn't miss was the appearance of women in curlers out in public. Perhaps one day we'll return to days resembling those years.

[Carol A]

I started back in the mid 50,s when poodle skirts and 3 or 4 can can slips under it were the thing along with a tight sweater and a silk scarf around your neck. Oh gosh I loved dressing up then so much fun and fashion and yes my mother had a wig at the time. When she would work the late shift I would dress and walk around the block, never got caught or made. :daydreaming:

[Alice Torn]

Dittos TGMarla and CarolA! We have lost a lot, in classiness, dress, and manners! I like looking at old photos, and old tv and movies. I would guess 95% of the time, the ladies are in dresses and skirts! It is ironic, that athe decades go by, some things get better, yet, some things go down hill. Dress, manners, and music, keep going for the most part, down the tubes! I guess, that a cd would have felt like the only one alive, then, even though, he may have blended in easier, as all ladies wore dresses. and skirts. 1971, was the year my high school first allowed girls to wear pants. I noticed that there was something in the air, a different spirit, and things have never been the same. Basically, it was now ok, for them to crossdress.

[Ralph]

Mmm, yes, well, for those of you who lived through that decadent decade... you thought Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix were good musicians. You might question your memory a bit. :tongueout

Hey, don't look at me. Buddy Holly, sure. Glenn Miller, you betcha. Jolson and Satchmo, absolutely - but those tone-deaf, stoned wailers from the 60s and beyond are just noise.

obCD: Hated the minis of the 60s* and all the plastic accessories... loved the maxis, and I'm glad they're coming back. Now I can sit dressed at home and know that I'm secretly in style.

* except for Barbara Feldon on Get Smart. Oh baby, she was hot. She could wear burlap sacks and still be hot.

ralph

[Leanne2]

In the 60's I didn't dress in public because my hair was short and I didn't have a wig. But the long hair revolution allowed me to grow my hair out when I got out of the Air Force. Then, when I wore a dress in public everyone assumed that I was a girl. I had a curly perm but kept my sideburns short. Back then it was illegal for a man to go to a beauty shop. The barbers backed the legislation. When I called a beauty shop to ask for an appointment the receptionist said I could come in if I was dressed as a woman. It was that way for many years until the old law was rescinded. I would go in once a week for a shampoo and set. The ladies at the shop were very nice to me. Leanne

[Jilmac]

I turned 15 in 1960 and that's when I went from experimentation to actually wearing women's clothes. I loved all the colored lingerie, garter belts and stockings, frilly petticoats, and the dresses. Yes even the household dresses they wore made them look classy. I watched with envy when they dolled up in their finery and makeup and wanted to emulate them. I had three older sisters with closets full of clothes that I could borrow and I would be in sheer extacy as I dressed in front of their bedroom mirror. Aahhh! The sweet memories of the sixties. :daydreaming:

[windycissy]

One thing that would have made it easier to pass back in the day: in the 60's, women wore gloves everywhere, those little white gloves that make your hands look tiny and no nail polish required...

[Veronica75]

Another thing that would have helped back then, but moreso in the 50's and earlier, was that especially in the evenings women tended to wear very, very heavy foundation and more makeup in general.

[Bobbi Lynn]

Mmm, yes, well, for those of you who lived through that decadent decade... you thought Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix were good musicians. You might question your memory a bit. :tongueout

Depends on what you might have been smoking or ingesting??

[Hope]

My wife wears a dress and heels most of the time when she goes out - and to those haters out there, yes, I do wear a tie and a jacket when I go out as as well, though nothing quite as skinny as Don Drapers... I am willing to bet that skin cancer will bring hats back into vogue, thank god.

Yes - most clothes today are hideous - mostly because it is uncool to look like you care, or to act as if you might have expended more than a modicum of effort. But that doesn't mean that you have to wear them.

Just because other people want to look like slobs, it does not follow that you must look like a slob. You want to look nice? You want to make people think that you care? Dress the way you wish they would. Look good. Be an example for young folks - provide an alternative to sweats and track suits.

In the long view - the fashion pendulum has swung to the fully hideous position - it can only get better from here. And it will swing back.

[BarbiB]

<------ Super pointy bullet bra's!

[Rita D]

Soon as I saw the first episode of Mad Men, I was hooked. The sexy women made up in dresses doing their everyday chores.
Tanya

I agree w/Tanya- And when those ladies on "Mad Men" remove those dresses (which they often do) you'll catch a glimpse of some of the most 'to-die-for" lingerie you'll ever see- bullety bras, gorgeous slips & petticoats, bustiers and girdles with stockings....
Heavenly!!:daydreaming:

[Shiny]

I remember having to go shopping with my mother back in the early 1960's. Decades always seem to hang on until half way through the next one (ie. the 50's lasted till '65; the 60's till '75 and so forth).

At the shopping center we gathered all the standard stuff like pillow cases and vacuum bags but before we left she decided to go into one of the more upscale dress shops (Dayton's and Donaldsons) of the time. We ended up in the lingerie department and it was huge! I was so young I could barely see over the counters and as a kid I was pretty much overlooked but I did my share of looking!

The women young and old were all dressed in late 50's style while some of the ladies wore the new 60's stuff. I remember noticing some ladies wore seamed nylons, some wore plain but nobody had pantyhose because they weren't invented until '63 and it was the 70's before they took over. I still remember the sound those great looking ladies legs would make as they minced and clicked along on their stiletto heels. That zipping "shick-shick-shick" sound was out of this world!

And then there was the endless racks of vintage lace lavished slips, teddies, petticoats all done up in nylon, satin or taffeta or rayon with plenty of frills. And the racks of expensive nightgowns of every type as well! Then there was the girdle and brassiere displays and a huge display counter with two ladies busy selling nothing but nylon stockings without a pair of pantyhose in sight!

The dresses on display and on the racks were all in feminine style as well all done up in taffeta and with shiny acetate satin or satin trim being a big favorite. Then there were the nylon chiffon cocktail dresses.

Of course I didn't know what any of that stuff was but it was an amazing time and I didn't see one man in that store, only ladies. All I can say is, I wish I had a time machine, and a semi-trailer!

Shiny-

[Rita D]

I agree w/Tanya- And when those ladies on "Mad Men" remove those dresses (which they often do) you'll catch a glimpse of some of the most 'to-die-for" lingerie you'll ever see- bullety bras, gorgeous slips & petticoats, bustiers and girdles with stockings....
Heavenly!!:daydreaming:

Hi All- Found some pics to back up what I'm talking about- Enjoy!

[Samantha B L]

Not only were the post WWII years ones of baseball,hotdogs,apple pie and Chevrolet,the later part of the sixties and the first couple years of the seventies did bring,in some small way,some new ideas and concepts. But I was very young and for the most part the years between 1966 and 1970 were years when my brother and sister and I were overjoyed if Mom got into the turn lane for a surprise visit to Steak and Shake,Mcdonald's or A&W. There's just one thing though. Starting when I saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964 I was incurably fascinated with the women in Rock and Roll and on TV like Dusty Springfeild and Tina Louise. I was a fan yet I wanted their clothes and stuff and I was 7 and 8 years old and there was no way! So I had to forget it until I got out of high school in 1974.

[gennee]

I grew up during the '50s and '60s. I liked the styles the ladies wore because they were,in my mind, feminine. I don't wear pants when I dress. I wear them as a male so why should I wear them enfemme?

I don't wear nylons or pantyhouse because I like to show off my legs :D. Of course, if I went to a special affair then I would wear them.

Gennee
:daydreaming:

[Jenny Wilson]

gennee wrote: "I grew up during the '50s and '60s. I liked the styles the ladies wore because they were,in my mind, feminine. I don't wear pants when I dress. I wear them as a male so why should I wear them enfemme?"

I'm with you, gennee. I was born about in early in 1952. I had a lot of older female cousins (but no sisters) so I knew very well what they wore, and I was intrigued by all of their silky things like panties, slips, petticoats, and later on, bras, stockings and girdles. Of course, Mom wore a bra, stockings, and a garterbelt or girdle with stocking clips, but no petticoats.

Plus, one of my grandmothers worked in a lingerie factory. We used to stop in there often. It was neat to see all of that stuff being made.

Mom always dressed nicely, and she still does. Maybe she liked nice dresses so much because she was an RN and wore a uniform to work all of the time, but even her uniforms had style.

I began wearing Mom's stuff when I was 10 or so. I loved the feel of stockings and high heels. I'm still a stockings and high heels ****, and I love dresses. I like the styles of the 50 and 60s that I grew up with, but I especially love watching the old movies from the 30s and 40s. The outfits the women wore, especially in Fred & Ginger type musicals, are incredible!

I don't pass, but if I were to go dressed to something like a TriEss meeting, I'd wear an age appropriate, current style dress, stockings, and 2" to 3" pumps or sandals, depending on the season and the dress. Not that I always dress that behind closed doors. ;-)

Jenny

[windycissy]

All this reminds me of a scene from the movie The Steagle, set in 1962, this guy makes it with an airline stewardess (yes, that was what they were called then) and watching her unclip her earrings and unsnap her stockings from her garters is very erotic...

[Joanie]

Someone mentioned June Cleaver on TV wearing pumps, dressese and pearls while vacumming. My wife and her best friend have always said they expected to end up like that, almost as if they are bemoaning the loss of the elegance it represented, even though they dress quite informally when away from work.

As for me, I saw a very attractive young woman walking down main street yesterday as I sat idling in traffic. I thought, there is nothing like seeing a pretty woman like that in a nice dress and heels. There really isn't! Wish more would dress that way.

[sometimes_miss]

Mmm, yes, well, for those of you who lived through that decadent decade... you thought Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix were good musicians. You might question your memory a bit. :tongueout

Hey! If you take enough drugs and booze, even the Greatful Dead sound like they're singing in key.

I started crossdressing in the sixties, and am hooked (or stuck) loving to wear teen age girl styles, and am influenced heavily by the short skirts and dresses, and the long straight 'hippie chick' hair, not to mention the blue eye shadow I 'borrowed' from my sister. But I still like the country style of the girls on Petticoat Junction as well.

[TGMarla]

Hey, for the record, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, and the Grateful Dead are all wonderful musicians. Say what you will. Hendrix may have been doing lots of drugs, but his talent is undeniable. Clapton and Page both said that he'd put them all out of business because of his incredible playing ability. Dylan, despite his odd voice, was a master songwriter, and managed an individual style that resonates his legendary status to this day. And the Dead, despite the "you can't like them if you're not trippin'" reputation, have a repertoire that boasts dozens of incredible songs. If you don't like them, you ain't listening.

This part of the argument holds no water. Sorry.

[Charla McBee]

I know I love what the women wear in any movie that takes place from the 60's on back, partly exlcuding the hippies since bathing is probably one of those societal rules we can agree on.

I'd actually really love to acquire some 50's looks.