Styles of '65: "Fun-In-the-Sun-Clothes" (Flair, January 1965)

1965, and fashion faced in two directions.

On the one hand, Paris was producing some very avant-garde stuff: Saint Laurent designed his "Mondrian" dress, Courreges his "space age" suits and Paco Rabanne his first plastic dress.  Across the Channel in London (yet to be dubbed Swinging London, though it was already swinging) Mary Quant was well established, Biba had opened her first boutique, and John Bates was designing clothes for Diana Rigg in The Avengers.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, a more conservative aesthetic prevailed.  Catalogues were filled with pictures of models sporting Chanel-style suits and bouffant dresses, cocktail dresses and beehive hairstyles.  These fashions don't often make the history books, but the majority of women wore them.  Ideas from the cutting edge of fashion (miniskirts!) gradually filtered into the mainstream.

Confusing?  Don't worry.  Contemporaries found it all equally confusing! 

What is happening to Fashion? 

Well may you ask... because lots of exciting things are happening right now, especially in Paris!  Take the trouser-suit for instance... whether you're for or against it, it's going to cause a strong ripple in the local fashion scene this winter... and so will bonnets, crochet sweaters, feather boas, black velvet, jungle-print stockings and nanny-type alligator shoes!  

COVER: The fresh look of mid-summer fashion is eloquently stated by an overblouse of printed Arnel sharkskin, teamed with plain canary bermudas of the same fabric...

Perfect clothes to wear on a beach... as shown here.  Or at a picnic, a barbeque or any other casual outdoor entertainment.

Flair, January 1964

 Sixty years ago, Flair featured this cheerful "playsuit" for wear on the beach.

Our Cover: Looking sunwards, a playsuit of spanking white Arnel sharkskin, amusingly stencilled  with a giant-sized sunflower [you can reverse the jacket back-to-front if you wish . . . makes no difference]; made by Aywan, the set is priced at about £6:15:0...

"Sharkskin", thank goodness, is not made from the real skins of real sharks.  It is a twill-weave fabric with "a distinctive sheen" and can be made from many kinds of fibres.  In this case "Arnel" was the trademarked name of a brand of triacetate fibre.

Flair, September 1972

Still on the theme of summer...

Look what a difference less than a century makes!  Ninety-eight years after Peterson's published their picture of neck-to-ankle bathing gear, Flair featured this lightly clad beauty on its cover.  Inside she is described as wearing "an ankle length two-piece of floaty Marchioness voile" priced at $30.  Since $30 was a fairly expensive item in 1971, it's safe to say she was more likely to wear it to a party than lying around on the beach.

Flair, 1969

Flair's special issue for Summer 1969 reports on the latest Paris designs - like this hippy-inspired outfit in "yellow brocade embroidered with gold".  However...

...the women who originally read this magazine were probably more likely to wear clothes like this - or garments featured in any other advertisement in its pages.  The late 1960s was one of those eras when the gap between the fashions on the catwalks and the fashions in the streets and shops became a chasm.

Flair, 1956

And here we have the Australian version of Flair. This issue celebrates the Melbourne Olympics of 1956.   By all accounts it was a simpler time: the opening ceremony was less a spectacular than an actual ceremony, and it was much easier to get in to see the events!  

Flair, March 1964

March 1964, and Flair presents an up-to-the-minute ensemble all in white - white cap, white coat, white dress, and white knee length boots.

However, I wonder ... did anyone ever wear clothes like this outside of a fashion shoot?   White is easily soiled, and the outfit is described inside the magazine as being made of pure wool.  One can imagine the poor wearer constantly having to take her coat and dress back and forth to the dry cleaners.  (Imagine the bills!)

Flair, July 1961

Flair did a special issue on suits in July 1961, and the model on the cover is wearing one in "Classene Terylene and wool fabric, shadow-checked in cocoa and black, and styled with a waist-length jacket, group-pleated skirt."  Inside they also illustrate suit styles inspired by Coco Chanel and the world's latest fashion icon - Jackie Kennedy.



Flair, April 1959

Speaking as a less-than-svelte person, those were the days!  The model is swathed in a bulky coat, and the cover promises readers that "You Need Not Be Slim To Be Smart".  

Flair, 1963

This dress is right up to the minute with its body-skimming lines and dropped waistline.  Notice that the model is carrying, but not wearing a hat - no doubt because she was afraid it would mess up her bouffant hair-do!

Flair, 1958

"This mid-20th century has given us so many new fabrics that weigh almost nothing, that one woman should be able to pack enough clothes into a 45lb. luggage allowance to for the entire round-the-world air trip."

Headed "Australian Fashions and Where To Buy Them", Flair heralded the post-war consumer society.  Among the things available to consumers were a whole range of new easy-to-care for synthetic fabrics and cheaper air travel.  The fifties, however, was a decade which still laid down strict rules as to what could be worn where and when - so Flair steps into the breach here to suggest ways to make the most of an airline luggage allowance.  This issue of the magazine also contains advice on getting passports and visas for the novice traveller.