This past weekend was spent catching up on my Sixties TV shows!! First there was We’ll Take Manhattan, that screened on BBC4 on Thursday night. I missed it but caught up on iPlayer. And then there was PanAm on BBC2 on Saturday night. I’d missed much of the first half of the first series but managed to catch up on iPlayer and then was annoyed to discover that the BBC has stopped screening the show but, for whatever reason, they have begun again and the second half of the first series is now being shown on Saturday nights – finally something worth staying in for at the weekend!
We’ll Take Manhattan showed Jean Shrimpton and David Bailey as they embarked on their relationship and a photo shoot for Vogue magazine at the beginning of the swinging Sixties that was to change the way fashion magazines operated beyond all recognition. Played by Karen Gillan, Shrimpton’s mini skirts and leather jackets stood her apart from the usual aristocratic and royal models of the day. Her gamine figure was to influence fashion models for decades.
PanAm on the other hand, shows a very different sort of career for women in the 60s. The air hostesses of the world famous airline were a little less risqué in their dress. Whilst Shrimpton and Bailey flew in the face of convention, the PanAm girls wear knee length skirts and are held in in their under garments. But both looks can be seen reflected on the catwalks and on street style blogs everywhere.
So this week, I’m going to be channelling the 60s as I dress each morning. Black kohl? Check. Falsies? Probably not enough time!! Short hem lengths? For work? Again, probably – but not definitely – not. Pencil skirts? You bet! Shift dresses? For sure! Beehive? When I forget to brush my hair, yes. I’ll keep you posted!!
Images via Style Artillery; Retro Active Critiques; Style.com; Telegraph Fashion; Lovelyness; and Clothing at Tesco blog.
Sugar & Spice 