Countdown to 2000: Culture
Danette Goulet
The 1950s were filled with classic fashions never to be forgotten. There
was a combination of modesty and fun in the outfits worn by both men and
women.
It was the era of the poodle skirt with bobby socks and saddle shoes, and
cardigans with school letters.
Young women wore cashmere sweaters and matching skirts. Pencil skirts and
sheath dresses that fell just below the knee were a common sight, as were
ponytails and pins with fake flowers in them. Everyone dressed up when
they went out to lunch or the opening of a new movie downtown.
“We all wore gloves to any lunch or tea,” recalled Gay Wassall-Kelly, who
grew up on Balboa Island. “Every girl had at least 10 or 12 pair. We wore hats a lot -- our mothers made us; pillboxes and little tiny ones that
would clip onto your head with a veil.”
Every town had a cold storage for all of the ladies’ mink coats and
stoles.
Young men wore khakis or white twill trousers, cardigans and car club
jackets. They greased their hair and formed ducktails in the back.
When it was time to relax or play, girls wore pedal-pushers and the boys
wore Hawaiian shirts and Bermuda shorts -- ones that actually came from
Bermuda.
Surfing and water skiing in the bay where common daytime activities. For
evening entertainment, it was group trips to drive-in movies or the
Rendezvous Ballroom, which was still the hot place to go. For dancing,
girls would wear twirl skirts, Wassall-Kelly said.
“It would go straight out as far as your waist when you spun or danced,”
she said. “You always wore a slip so that your panties won’t show. If
your mother wasn’t around, you might take off your slip and put it in
your purse.”
Sources:
Accounts of Balboa Island resident Gay Wassall-Kelly; “Newport Beach 75
-- 1906-1981,” James P. Felton, 1981; “50 Golden Years,” Samuel A. Meyer.
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