Consumerism In The 1950's

The 1950s was an exciting time for many, the war was over and the economy began to flourish once more. Men were back home and ready to work and women were back to doing their womanly duties again (cooking and cleaning) this reflected the social position of the women following the war. The 1950s was all about family and being home and the clothing changed because of it. Women were back at home no longer needing to work and wearing clothing that would prevent them from doing anything but womanly tasks. Society was putting women back “were they belonged,” with the males back in town and working. Also the distinction of clothing and class was being brought back to the table after being forgotten for the wartime periods. Women were excited about
This made life at that time an exciting time to be alive; this began the rise of consumerism. During World War II and the 1940s, fashion was a time of rationing. Fashion at the time was influenced by the limited resources that were available. The economic boom in the 1950s ended the time of rationing and a large amount of new materials such as nylon, wool, and leather became available. Another reason why consumerism was rising was the return of men coming back from the war. Department stores and catalogues advertised fashion that was focused on women. They advertised clothing that women should wear in order to find a husband or impress their husband coming back from the
Since more people had more income, travel became more affordable encouraging worldwide ethnic influences on fashion. Some examples would be Hawaiian textiles which were popular for summer wear and Asian brocades for formal wear. Another result of the economic boom was the rise of teenage culture. Teens in the mid-1950s started to receive disposable income from parents and part-time jobs and started to have more free time which meant more shopping. In the mid-1950s catalogues and departments were concentrated on young adults. One of the big things that were focused on was the formal market. High school dances and prom became a huge part of the decade and was one of the fundamental parts of being a teen. People finally had money again which made fashion flourish during this time; people had money to entertain