Surfeit Of Style

The University of Colorado was a veritable hotbed of fashion in 1955, teeming with a plethora of clothing and accessories. (I did it! I used three vocabulary words in a context sentence.)

Here you see Olde Dick in a foxy graphic print, guaranteed to lure the ladies.

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Next, Cat’s-eye Cathy sports the popular seashell skirt, purchased when she summered in Nantucket.

UnivOfColorado55-026Nobody rocks a turban like this guy.

UnivOfColorado55-005Or a parasol like these fellows.

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And what woman wouldn’t like this lovely pixie cut to bring out her cheekbones and dark, manly caterpillar eyebrows? My advice? First, grow the hair out. Then buy the flatiron.

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Punished pledges donned straw hats.

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Stepping outside of the box (and back into it, and then back out) were members of Calico and Boots, in barn-dancing regalia.

UnivOfColorado55-027And lastly, not to be outdone, we have the traditional tropical garb worn by Hui O’Hawaii, whatever that means.

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Aloha!

 

 

 

 

21 thoughts on “Surfeit Of Style”

  1. You know Kerbey, my first new car was a 1976 Chevette (actually an Acadian – the GM equivalent to the Chev) and it was bright orange. I got a good deal on it because it was the previous year and no one would buy it being as it was orange. Some old timers in the neighborhood were delighted. They explained that during WW2 all resources were diverted to making war materials. Most clothing was just utilitarian – no energy, effort or time was put into style or colors. When the war was over, suddenly manufacturers switched to consumer goods and now they had the newly invented plastics to work with as well. They scrambled over each other to give the public what they wanted – and that was color, lots of color and shapes, shapes now that could never be made before plastics. There was a proliferation of bright colors and mixed colors and new fabrics and intricate designs – a lot of combinations that had either never been tried before or never existed before.

    That was the basis of a lot of fashion and, indeed a lot of consumer goods in general during the 50’s. And my bright orange car was reminiscent to the older folks in the neighborhood.

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    1. Another great story, Paul. I think my mom’s old BF had a Chevette. Was it a hatchback? Their explanation makes sense. To heck with the dreary and in with the color and pattern! Although, if memory serves me, the 1970s were a very brown, avocado, and orange time. I’d think folks would WANT that orange car. The General Lee on Dukes of Hazzard was orange. The university color here is burnt orange, so you could have gotten some cash for it here. So what happened to her when you were done with her?

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      1. Oh she came to a bad end. **pauses for a short reminisce** I bought a tractor-trailer and leased on with an American company running long haul. My girl friend at the time, Maureen, drove the car (with my permission). She was turning from a driveway onto a 4 -lane road one day when the inside car stopped and waved her out. She assumed he was watching the other lane as she couldn’t see it from where she was stopped She accelerated out into traffic, watching him and the far two lanes. There was a car coming in the second lane and it T-boned the little Chevette- bent it right in two. Maureen had a bruised leg but was otherwise unhurt. The little Chevette was a uni-body construction so it was a write-off. So sad. i used to love going into the GM dealer and asking for parts for my ‘Vette. Bwahahaha!

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      2. Dang, you had me on the edge of my seat, fearing for poor Maureen. She had her guardian angels out in full force that day. Such a world of difference between the Chev- and the -Corv.

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  3. What a sensory overload. So many different patterns and I guess so many different colors. I would really like to see these in color. I bet Dick’s shirt was a riot of hue.

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    1. It would certainly give your gravatar a different look than the backwards baseball cap. I’m sure it would offend someone right out of the box, and you wouldn’t even realize it. You wear one, and I’ll go get a Jackie Kennedy pill box hat. Then we could fail together. 🙂

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