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AMERICAN DESIGNERS TAKE THE REINS

Postwar Style

Before World War II American fashion had little sense of national identity or style. Since the nineteenth century, in fact, Paris couturiers had set fashion trends for women in both Europe and America. Before the 1950s America's only distinctive contribution to international fashion was via Hollywood movies. This situation changed in the 1950s with the emergence of more than two dozen energetic and imaginative young men and women on the American fashion scene.

The "American Look."

"The 'American Look' is a young look because it comes from young minds," said a 1955 Look magazine article. "It's an American look because these designers are independent and free-wheeling, wary of imitating, anxious to create. They share a poxon-Paris spirit." These young American designers ranged in age from twenty-four to thirty-five in 1955, and they included such names as Anne Klein, Claire McCardell, Kasper, Rudi Gernreich, and James Galanos. They had a common purpose: to give American women comfortable yet chic sportswear that fit their active lifestyles and complimented the wearer, not necessarily the designer.

Simple and Comfortable

American women in the 1950s were busy wives and mothers. Backyard barbecues, weekend car trips, get-togethers in front of the television, chauffeuring children to school, sports, and parties— this active life required relaxed, comfortable, yet sophisticated clothing. As a young New York mother told Time magazine (2 May 1955), "When I get dressed up, I have little time to make up to the dress; I want the dress to make up to me."

Leisure Wear

American Look clothes were intended not so much for work as for leisure, but a leisure, as a cover story on McCardell said, "of action." They were mass-produced, simply made, of clean lines, durable (especially those made of synthetics), and easy to wear.

No Need to Break the Bank

American women loved the fact that this comfortable, functional clothing was inexpensive. Almost everyone could afford McCardell's creations, for example, which ranged from bathing suits and play clothes ($10 to $50) to dresses ($20 to $100) to suits and coats ($89 to $150). "The best-dressed women in the world are to be found on almost any street in America," said Life magazine in 1956. "Without the small fortune it takes to outfit a fashionable woman abroad, women across the U.S. can out-dress all others because of a unique $8 billion ready-to-wear industry which puts no price barriers on style."

What Was Popular

Jersey jumpers, tailored slacks, play shorts, Bermuda shorts, housedresses, and shortsleeved golf dresses were popular. So were mix-and-match separates—a madras skirt "topped, perhaps, with a simple tailored blouse boasting a Peter Pan collar, or a dirndl skirt worn with a peasant blouse," according to Richard Horn. Dungarees were worn only around the house. Ponchos and shawls were worn in cool weather, along with a short-sleeved sweater with a matching cardigan, in cashmere or angora.

International Influence

The American designers of the American Look were considered trend-setting revolutionaries. The look was influential abroad, particularly in Italy, where it influenced the designers of sportswear. Paris also tried the style, with no less a master than Dior declaring that la mode sport in America is "beyond doubt excellent."