The Swinging Sixties
University of Rijeka
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of English Language and Literature
THE SWINGING SIXTIES
Student: Tea Schmidichen
Course: English Language 2
Course Instructor: Irena Meštrović Štajduhar, M.Ed.
Ac. Year: 2012/2013
The sixties were a time of rapid changes in all spheres, including fashion, music, literature, politics and sport. Everything was characterized by a revolution of some sort, either sexual revolution, political revolution or even revolution regarding recurring themes in literature. It was the time of ultimate freedom and love was the highest virtue; above all and that is visible in most of the aspects of the 60’s. This decade became synonymous not only with love but also with freedom in every aspect of life. Fashion broke free from the chains of gender roles in the 50’s so tailored suits were no longer reserved only for me. Literature was more personal and its topics were more controversial and used to be considered taboo. This era is also called The Swinging Sixties because of the fall of these taboos that were mostly about experimenting with mostly drugs or sexuality. When it comes to politics, it was also a revolutionary era even though there were a lot of tension between the USA and the Soviet Union regarding Cuba, nuclear missiles and space exploration.
Fashion changes rapidly every day and the sixties were no different – on the contrary, 60 's were a decade in which the fashion was the matter of some serious changes. In the fifties, women were more dependent on men and that was even visible in their fashion sense. Lines were feminine – narrow waist, pencil skirts that enhanced the figure, sleek haircuts with and subtle makeup with only a thin eyeliner line pointed outwards, red lipstick and brownish eye shadow. Colours were not bright or vibrant at all, they were either darker (grey) or they were light, like beige, light lime and light pink. The sixties emerged as a contrast of the fifties –
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of English Language and Literature
THE SWINGING SIXTIES
Student: Tea Schmidichen
Course: English Language 2
Course Instructor: Irena Meštrović Štajduhar, M.Ed.
Ac. Year: 2012/2013
The sixties were a time of rapid changes in all spheres, including fashion, music, literature, politics and sport. Everything was characterized by a revolution of some sort, either sexual revolution, political revolution or even revolution regarding recurring themes in literature. It was the time of ultimate freedom and love was the highest virtue; above all and that is visible in most of the aspects of the 60’s. This decade became synonymous not only with love but also with freedom in every aspect of life. Fashion broke free from the chains of gender roles in the 50’s so tailored suits were no longer reserved only for me. Literature was more personal and its topics were more controversial and used to be considered taboo. This era is also called The Swinging Sixties because of the fall of these taboos that were mostly about experimenting with mostly drugs or sexuality. When it comes to politics, it was also a revolutionary era even though there were a lot of tension between the USA and the Soviet Union regarding Cuba, nuclear missiles and space exploration.
Fashion changes rapidly every day and the sixties were no different – on the contrary, 60 's were a decade in which the fashion was the matter of some serious changes. In the fifties, women were more dependent on men and that was even visible in their fashion sense. Lines were feminine – narrow waist, pencil skirts that enhanced the figure, sleek haircuts with and subtle makeup with only a thin eyeliner line pointed outwards, red lipstick and brownish eye shadow. Colours were not bright or vibrant at all, they were either darker (grey) or they were light, like beige, light lime and light pink. The sixties emerged as a contrast of the fifties –
References: A brief guide to confessional poetry. Poets.org. Retrieved from: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5650#. Cuban Missile Crisis. (2013). The History Channel website. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/cuban-missile-crisis. Davis S. (2012, May 8) 1960s Fashion and Style. Sammy Davis Vintage. Retrieved from: http://sammydvintage.com/vintage-style/60s/1960s-fashion-style/. Davis S. (2012, January 21) 10 Ways the 1960s Invented Today’s Fashion Trends. Sammy Davis Vintage. Retrieved from: http://sammydvintage.com/vintage-style/60s/fashion-in-the-1960s/. Lacayo R. (2010, January 06) ALL-TIME 100 novels. Time entertainment. Retrieved from: http://entertainment.time.com/2005/10/16/all-time-100-novels/. The 1960’s: Sports: Overview. (2001, January) Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved from; http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3468302522.html. The Space Race. (2013). The History Channel website. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/space-race. -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. Lacayo R. (2010, January 06) ALL-TIME 100 novels. Time entertainment. Retrieved from: http://entertainment.time.com/2005/10/16/all-time-100-novels/.