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Quiz about Oh How We Dressedin the 1950s
Quiz about Oh How We Dressedin the 1950s

Oh, How We Dressed...in the 1950s Quiz


Here's a quiz about some of the highlights of the style of women's clothes during the 1950s. Much has been left out because of lack of space, but I think the important changes are here. Enjoy!

A multiple-choice quiz by habitsowner. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
habitsowner
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
346,009
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
5066
Last 3 plays: patrickk (10/10), JAM6430 (6/10), slay01 (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. 1950: Ah, the dress that ran straight from the arms to the upper thighs, before continuing down either straight or with a slight flare. It was a wonderful dress. You could belt it or not, as well as put that belt high or low, as you wished, depending on what part of your body you wished to emphasize or de-emphasize. For those with less than a waspish waist it was a wonderful garment. What was this dress known as? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. 1951: The year of the little waist. To magnify that asset, the skirts were made big and full, and often were stiffened with interlinings. Another way of ensuring the skirt stayed "big" was to wear a _____________ under it? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. 1952: This was the year for a type of skirt that the new "miracle fabrics" helped to bring into style since they could hold a form, were often washable, and wrinkled very little. These skirt types could begin at the waist or at the hip. What were these skirts?

Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. 1953: This year a certain French fashion designer led sway and went against the mainstream by raising the hemlines from about 13" above the floor to as much as 17" above the floor. What was this designer's last name? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. 1954: An industry which had been in rather a depression, at least in the US, for a number of years began making a comeback in 1954 in women's clothing, in trimming, and other usage. It made women feel more feminine, too. What industry was that? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. 1955: This was the year of a new emphasis in women's clothing, a new "look". It permeated the designs for coats, dresses, jackets and even evening wraps. Colorful and made from rich looking and feeling fabrics, what was the name of this "look"? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. 1956: A year that brought a romantic look to clothes, using chiffon, satin, thin silk and other clingy fabrics. A play on Broadway that year, later made into a block-buster movie, was a major influence on clothes style, bringing the look and feel of the late Edwardian era, right before World War I. Cecil Beaton designed the clothes for the play, with longer, narrower skirts, wrapped coats and many large, frothy, hats. What was the name of that play? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. 1957: This was the year of experimentation by the designers, except for one. This designer had come out in the 1920s with a two-piece, casual, outfit, usually piped in a contrasting color, that became as popular in 1957 as it was in its heyday. What was this designer's name? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. 1958: Fur continued its popularity, both in trim, hats, jackets and coats. Intense color, from 1955 continued on. New forms of the chemise, so popular in 1950, debuted. Saint-Laurent, Dior's successor, brought out a style of dress that men detested, but the young ladies and women liked. It didn't last very long in popularity, but while it was there everyone had to have one. What style of dress was this? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. 1959: Fur was still coming on strong, particularly large Fox fur collars on coats. The chemise was still evolving to the point of having a partially defined waist. The Chanel suit was still popular and was now worn for evening wear in brocade and damask, too. But the outfit that was "Americanizing" Europe was a dress that even Mamie Eisenhower had been seen in, as well as a great deal of everyday American women. Of what style of dress was this? Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. 1950: Ah, the dress that ran straight from the arms to the upper thighs, before continuing down either straight or with a slight flare. It was a wonderful dress. You could belt it or not, as well as put that belt high or low, as you wished, depending on what part of your body you wished to emphasize or de-emphasize. For those with less than a waspish waist it was a wonderful garment. What was this dress known as?

Answer: Chemise

These dresses were very popular, for both day and night, and the designers could make them as tight or loose as they wished. They could also be designed using a half-belt for only the front, leaving the back loose, although that became more popular a few years later.

They could be sleeveless, which was extremely popular in 1950, or with sleeves. They could also have flounced bottoms, rather than the straight stem skirt. The chemise was the 1950s' nod to the Flappers.
2. 1951: The year of the little waist. To magnify that asset, the skirts were made big and full, and often were stiffened with interlinings. Another way of ensuring the skirt stayed "big" was to wear a _____________ under it?

Answer: Crinoline

We didn't go all the way back and come up with hoops again, but we did love our crinolines. Sometimes, if we had them, we could wear more than one crinoline underskirt, and if they were harmonizing colors, we'd really feel snazzy.
3. 1952: This was the year for a type of skirt that the new "miracle fabrics" helped to bring into style since they could hold a form, were often washable, and wrinkled very little. These skirt types could begin at the waist or at the hip. What were these skirts?

Answer: Pleated

With the onset of permanent press fabrics, pleating was far more practicable. Prior to that the pleats had to be re-ironed in each time the outfit was worn. So pleated skirts, and even dresses with pleats, became popular. A variant was the flounced skirt, or petal skirt.
4. 1953: This year a certain French fashion designer led sway and went against the mainstream by raising the hemlines from about 13" above the floor to as much as 17" above the floor. What was this designer's last name?

Answer: Dior

Christian Dior was known by some as "the tyrant of hemlines". His "New Look", brought out in 1947, lengthened the hemlines, which some thought a terrible waste of fabric after the war years of going without. Then, in 1953, he changed his mind and, by doing so, changed women's hemlines accordingly.
5. 1954: An industry which had been in rather a depression, at least in the US, for a number of years began making a comeback in 1954 in women's clothing, in trimming, and other usage. It made women feel more feminine, too. What industry was that?

Answer: Fur

Fur was being treated with far more respect again and was being used in all sorts of ways, from hats to collars to cuffs and even to hems. It had been in a down cycle, one of fashion's so-called "7-year cycles", which seemed to hold true for hemlines, too.
6. 1955: This was the year of a new emphasis in women's clothing, a new "look". It permeated the designs for coats, dresses, jackets and even evening wraps. Colorful and made from rich looking and feeling fabrics, what was the name of this "look"?

Answer: Oriental

Coats, mimicking those of India and China, were first brought out by American designers, such as Norell and Zuckerman, although later the French, like Dior and Balenciaga, also showed them. Silks, brocades and wonderful bright colors were used. By fall, this look was "in" and was called the "Oriental look".
7. 1956: A year that brought a romantic look to clothes, using chiffon, satin, thin silk and other clingy fabrics. A play on Broadway that year, later made into a block-buster movie, was a major influence on clothes style, bringing the look and feel of the late Edwardian era, right before World War I. Cecil Beaton designed the clothes for the play, with longer, narrower skirts, wrapped coats and many large, frothy, hats. What was the name of that play?

Answer: My Fair Lady

George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion", remade as "My Fair Lady", took Broadway by storm, as did the later movie. Even the hair styles were affected, with upsweeps and chignons becoming extremely popular. The clothes put emphasis on softly clinging or floating fabrics and were very feminine, with the construction of the clothes based more on drape than cut.
8. 1957: This was the year of experimentation by the designers, except for one. This designer had come out in the 1920s with a two-piece, casual, outfit, usually piped in a contrasting color, that became as popular in 1957 as it was in its heyday. What was this designer's name?

Answer: Chanel

The little two-piece, open jacket, suit that Coco Chanel made famous in the 1920s was now back with a vengeance. Usually the skirt was worn with a metal belt, or there would be a decorative metal chain hooked from the left to the right side of the jacket.

The material would for the most part be tweeds or even "poodle cloth". A very useful suit which could be worn over a blouse, sweater, or turtle-neck. Many woman preferred to wear pearls with the suit.
9. 1958: Fur continued its popularity, both in trim, hats, jackets and coats. Intense color, from 1955 continued on. New forms of the chemise, so popular in 1950, debuted. Saint-Laurent, Dior's successor, brought out a style of dress that men detested, but the young ladies and women liked. It didn't last very long in popularity, but while it was there everyone had to have one. What style of dress was this?

Answer: Trapeze

The trapeze dress was a sell-out by volume during the spring of 1958. After all, it did hide most all of the body's defects. However, by fall it had become passe'. (Men had won?) Designers then brought out a variation of the earlier Empire, as well as modifying the trapeze and the French Directoire, all of which pretty well hung from under the bodice with no emphasis on the waist. One person counted 18 different silhouettes for the chemise, alone, and there were at least that many for the trapeze.
10. 1959: Fur was still coming on strong, particularly large Fox fur collars on coats. The chemise was still evolving to the point of having a partially defined waist. The Chanel suit was still popular and was now worn for evening wear in brocade and damask, too. But the outfit that was "Americanizing" Europe was a dress that even Mamie Eisenhower had been seen in, as well as a great deal of everyday American women. Of what style of dress was this?

Answer: Shirtwaist

The shirtwaist dress is as American as apple pie, it seems. It is also an easy dress to wear in most any fabric and looks good on most every woman. The 1959 version had a deeper armhole and a fuller sleeve. It could also have been elongated to the hip bone instead of stopping at a belted waistline. I presently have one I bought not too long ago, in corduroy.
Source: Author habitsowner

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