1960s Vintage Dresses - Mini Skirts, Mini & Shift Dresses

A 60s Mini Dress for Grandma?!

Spring summer predictions show a simpler 60s silhouette as opposed to the fuller skirted 50s styles. The 1960s mini dress is a cute classic shape. 
It isn’t a look that suits everyone but try telling that to your grandma in the 60s. Back then the 60s mini dress could be seen worn by all shapes and sizes.

As always with our modern take on things there will be a version that’s just right for you. The Mary Quant style is usually associated with block colours and sometimes asymmetric designs, known as a mod dress or scooter girl dress. They were simple neat, clean cut and youthful. 
Made from cotton gabardines and adventurous fabrics like PVC usually reserved for rain macs. 
They almost always featured little white girly collars. Prettier versions include lace insets, puff sleeves, mock pinafore and peter pan collars. In other words like something you might have dressed your doll in when you were a child.

Simple Shapes of 60s Shift Dresses

Summer 60s shift dresses are often crisp and A-line in cut. The simple shapes are used as the perfect canvas to show off super fabrics such as Celia Birtwell influenced romantic prints and oversized paisleys.

The 60s was the era that off the peg clothing became main stream with a string of boutiques cropping up to stock the clothes of the young emerging designers. Quant’s Bazaar and Barbabara Hulanicki’s Biba are two of the better known.

4 60s dresses

Splendid 1960s Cocktail Dresses

Vintage cocktail dresses from the 60s are splendid. Some are longer length but they use luxurious fabrics such as satin and lace to convey the eveningwear mood.

Some are encrusted with sequins and beads. You can get some beautiful tops which are just the same. 
Beautiful deep embellishments where flowers are made from sequins and beads are layered on top again to create a dazzling 3D affect.

Mini Skirt - Symbol of the 60s Decade

What made the mini dress really acceptable was the introduction of pantyhose, known today as tights.
It was typical of the 1960s attitude of "let’s get on with the future", making it a very fast moving decade in lifestyle as well fashion. The mini skirt became one of the icons that symbolized the era.
Films like Mad Men help keep the unique styles of the 60s alive.

Leave a comment

All comments are moderated before being published