The fashion of the UK in the 1960s is really a story of two halves. It was a decade of cultural and social change, and over the years the formal fashions carried over from the 1950s were replaced by new youthful fashion, reflecting younger people’s increasing confidence in their own identity and self-expression. Contemporary designers in the fashion industry responded to this trend, creating clothes which reflected these new interests and values with more casual and fun styles. Young people’s increasing purchasing power enabled the rise of small fashion boutiques such as Mary Quant’s Bazaar and Biba offering affordable fashions and a more relaxed shopping experience. In turn, these trends fed back into the garment and retail industry, and clothes generally became more informal and less accessorised. Sindy’s 1960s fashions clearly capture this shift in tradition which made the 1960s so significant.
It is easy to forget the era in which Sindy was presented to the world. Many collectors were not even born yet and some of us who were around at that time were very young.
Here is a wonderful article from Immediate Media’s Photobook “1963: The Year That Changed The World” (shown left) which featured this momentous year, not least because Sindy was featured in the Lifestyle section.
Therefore definitely a year that changed our world!
