I also liked the late ’50s. The women then were so chic. I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s and am not digging the resurgence of ’80s fashion.

I’m torn; I love the decadence of the ’20’s, and it suits my aesthetic tastes, but my hourglass figure better suits the ’40’s & ’50’s.

Such a great topic! My favourite eras actually are actually all back-to-back. The mid thirties to the mid fifties, I’d say.

I love the glamour of the thirties, especially the evening wear of the time. Movies like Gosford Park are just pure eye candy to me- it’s all just too fab.

Even though the forties were obviously heavily influenced by the war, cutting back and “making do”, I think the time still had a glamour all its own. I especially love the English land girls look of this time, the really great tailoring, and the hair/makeup.

The fifties make me think of my grandmother- she is immensely stylish and I love seeing photos of her from this time. Such gorgeous little suits and dresses, and always with a hat. She had most of her clothes made and made many herself, too.

After the fifties, I’m not so attracted to any era since. I guess what I like about these eras was the ladylike feel, and the effort that women made on a daily basis.

my hubby and I were just chatting about how men used to wear suits all the time- to ball games, etc. and how the US was more “classy”-I don’t really have a time period- just one I can feel good in my own skin…

I love the chic styles of the 50’s. I also adore the style of Jackie O.
I agree that it would be nice if we “dressed up” more often.
For some odd reason, I feel that I am dating myself when I try to dress up a bit more for daily wear. (I am a stay at home mom) Does anyone else feel this way, or am I just weird?

Oh my goodness. 50s and 60s FOR SURE! I love tailored pieces, feminine silhouettes and high heels! My husband and I both love dressing up and do so as often as possible!

Definitely 50’s for me, but just from a fashion point of view. It was hard to be a woman scientist back then and that’s what my passion is.

Oh, anywhere from the 20’s through to the 50’s! I would have to be in all of those earas.

50’s styling works for me — but I like elements of many eras, so I’m happy to pick and choose! (Heaven knows, I’d be lost without wrap dresses!)

I love the looks of the 1940’s and 1950’s for my current figure. I was a teenager in the 1960’s and had the figure to wear all the trendy styles of that time. I still love the clean lines and color of that era.

As a woman in my 50’s I have started dressing up every time I leave the house. I have found that as an older woman I must step it up. I am feeling much better about my appearance and wonder why I didn’t do it sooner.

I love long flowing gowns. If I could live in a gown all day I would be happy. I have collected costume gowns and just blogged about a couple of them recently

http://fashionafterforty.blogs.....-gown.html

http://fashionafterforty.blogs.....dress.html

But to live in those era’s I could not. Life was too hard and I NEED my plumbing LOL!

here’s one on side saddle fashion
http://fashionafterforty.blogs.....shion.html

I suppose as an adult I’m indulging my fantasies

My favorite fashion era was the 40s. Love the hairstyles, the red lips, the suits and pencil skirts, the shoes.

Second favorite is RIGHT NOW. Because anything goes. Angie, you could wear those Twiggy styles today (with slight updates) and fit right in, as I could with the 40s styles. What could be better?

The only reason right now is not my favorite era, is because casual is the norm. Although I’m happy to have finally figured out how to wear jeans, I’m with you Angie – I also wish for a return to more formal dressing.

I have long loved the mod style of the early 60s (and I sported a very similar haircut to Twiggy there for a few years). Lately, I’ve noticed an attraction to the mid-70s style. I don’t know why.

Late 50s, all the way. An era that actually suits my body type!

Thank you, Angie, for bringing up tis topic!! I love to dress up and I even love it more to see others develop their own, chic style. I agree that people don´t dress up any more – here in Germany you can see people on weddings or at the opera wearing really sloppy jeans and old, worn out sneakers – argh!!
It´s so much about respect for yourself and for others. Wearing classy clothes shows that you care – for yourself and for others. Life is so much more beautiful when you´re surrounded by stylish things. Dressing up is more quality of life in every aspect: it has an effect on all kinds of things.

So, Ladies (and Gentlemen): DRESS UP AND ENJOY!!!

I remember when Twiggy’s pictures hit the magazines and people were saying look at this new model, look how skinny she is, can you believe it? She was so different from the way people looked at the time. I do worry that this is where anorexia began, but that’s another topic.

I love aspects of 40’s and 50’s. The suits, the tailoring, the handbags.
My mom and grandma used to have all their hats saved (my mom’s were ruined by us playing dress up) and although I am sure I wouldn’t want to be tied down to the standards of those days, it was a glamorous time.

We have many more choices now though – can dress up, or down, can wear skirts or pants, heels or flats, vintage or modern. I do hate seeing the “slack wear” that so many people but the wide variety of options today is perfect for me.

The 50s. I love the tiny waists and crinolines. The notion of a housedress – I love that! (And right now I’m bumming around in capris and a golf shirt – yes, it’s gardening day.) And peep toe shoes, pencil skirts… fantastic. I am quite an hourglass so maybe that’s why these shapes appeal to me most, but I do wish I could have an entire 50s wardrobe!

Sigh.

I also have a soft spot for the 40s.

I wish that much of the casual style of dress would GO AWAY! Like RSRP commented on how men and women used to dress up for baseball games! Men in suits and hats, and womens in dresses… I love that. I think people behave better when dressed up.

WHEN O WHEN will guys stop wearing their jeans like they are gangsters? That has to be one of the ugliest “looks” ever. I saw a guy the other day whose jean waistband was fully UNDER his butt. I just wanted to hit him upside the head! It was even funnier when he got into his mom’s Caviler car. YOU GO GANGSTER…and keep on GOING!
Susan D

Another 60’s fan here, minus the social unrest.

My secret fantasy is to travel back and have a role in a Sean Connery James Bond movie.

I would also love to hang with Audrey on the set of BAT, and go shopping and hang with Jackie O.

*sighs*

I loved Twiggy and the 60’s are one of my favorites. I had photos of her up in my room as a child and even got her haircut (or close to it).I also loved the simplicity of the Jackie O style- simple but sophisticated and polished. While I admire the look of the fifties, I don’t think I could stand the more restrictive waist-cinching fashion.

What a fun post! I love clothes inspired by the 40’s and also clothes inspired by menswear (think Katherine Hepburn). Anything tailored and I am loving it. Zac Posen did a wonderful collection for Pre-Fall 2009 (the pics I really liked: http://after5blog.com/2009/05/27/pre-fall-2009/), and it is fabulous. Lanvin was also inspired by the 40’s in its Fall 2009 collection (http://www.nytimes.com/interac.....f=fashion).

The best era for fashion is probably now because we get the benefit of so many past styles. And I am all for more dress up and less frump.

40’s and 50’s for ladies; however, although no curves are still very in, the fashion right now is so eclectic and fun so I enjoy that too.

For men, 40’s as most of the time a man looks great in a fedora but the hipster suits of the 60’s with the skinny ties [think the recent musical Hairspray] are pretty sexy too.

I am with you on the 50s. I love the glamour of the time and everyone seemed so well dressed. I enjoy wearing skirts, dresses and even heels as long as I didn’t have to walk too much!

Yesterday, I was waiting in the car while my husband was in the grocery store and it was disheartening to see how badly people were dressed with sloppy ill-fitting clothing.

I love Twiggy’s style! I’d wear that green dress with the tights! In fact, I have an outfit similar to that – vintage green dress with navy sleeves, that I wear with green tights (the same color as Twiggy’s) and navy suede boots.

I also like the 20’s. Like mod, the 20’s styles suit my body type. I also like the polish and the suits of the 50’s.

I like living right now, when I can incorporate pieces all of these styles into my daily wardrobe.

Gosh…i am an old soul!

i absolutely LOVE the Victorian and Edwardian fashions. maybe not the loooong bone and gut crushing corsets or high collars and HUGE leg o’mutton sleeves but the more in the vein of modern romantic style. style of course including etiquette, respect and honor of self and others….like i said, i have a more romantacised idea of both Victorian and Edwardian times.

i have seen (and own) velvet coats, poet sleeves, flounce cuffs, long petticoats, floor length gowns and skirts, corsets, gloves and lace jabots….all of which are but a loose interpretation of the Victorian/Edwardian fashion era. And i thank the fashion dieties for the use of lighter, breathable, expandable, free flowing, glamorous and comfortable fabrics when interpreting and recreating these timeless and romantic fashions.

Mary Rachel, I too love Victorian and Edwardian influences. Velvet coats, poet sleeves, flounce cuffs, and floor length skirts all have a place in my wardrobe.

I love the 40’s ladylike styles AND I am forever drawn to the late 70s/early 80’s punk/goth/rocker style. Think Deborah Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Siouxsie Sue, early Madonna . . . skinny jeans, leather jackets, black clothes, black eyeliner . . . love.

Still want Chrissie Hynde’s red leather jacket from the first Pretenders album color. And no, it’s not the same red leather jacked Michael Jackson wore in Thriller!

Shari

I’d say the 1930’s. While there are a lot of unusual designs, the Art Deco influence on fashion still shapes – and shaped – what we wear.
From the grace and drape of the gowns, to the later more structured suits and dresses that ushered in the 1940’s looks, the 1930’s had a lot going on.

Gina, i have often wondered who else wears those Victorian/Edwardian styles….i NEVER see anyone sporting the look….WOW!

so nice to “meet”you here on YLF…. ^__^

Like many others, I love the 50s focus on femininity. I think that the shapes are generally flattering to my figure too. I love the 60s look, but I’m about as far away from waifish as one can get. I also long for a more dressed up kind of culture. I’m much more comfortable in skirts and heels than jeans and tennis shoes.

Definitely the 1950s and the 1960s. I also really like the art deco influences in the 1920s and 1930s (especially hats). I also love Edwardian shapes, but don’t wear them myself. I’d like to revisit all these fashion eras with MODERN fabric.

…something about this post is so familiar!

While I appreciate the pretty, feminine styles of the 50’s, I will always have a preference for the androgyny of the 20’s and 60’s. I adore volume, bold geometric prints, bright colors, high contrast, and bucking social norms, so I am particularly fond of he 60’s. Unfortunately my body could not be more wrong for my preferred era. I still manage but it never seems to look authentic.

I actually miss the attitude of the 50’s more than anything. This post is very timely. I was up late last night working and I turned on the TV to I Love Lucy. The show started with Lucy asking Ricky to “get dressed” to go to the movies. He was lounging at home in a plaid flannel shirt and jeans and changed into a suit, and the entire episode from there revolved around this idea. Ironically, nowadays Ricky’s shirt and jeans is considered “dressed up” and often too much effort.

I don’t know that I would want to return to that level of formality, but we have definitely swung way too far in the opposite direction, and the idea of getting all dressed up to go to the movies and making every outing into a big event just seems very appealing to me.

Anorexia was around way before Twiggy. And while at the time, she seemed “painfully thin” as Angie describes her, she looks well, sadly, “NORMAL” for today’s models. In fact, she probably would be considered “curvy.” This is not a trend I am endorsing, but she looks darnright healthy compared to many models. There’s actual definition in her legs and her cheekbones are not protruding.

One of my favorite films depicts one of my favorite styles: http://www.impawards.com/2004/.....w_ver4.jpg
Just google images of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Lovely.

For my actual body, I guess I’ll go along with the 50s. But I have been watching “House of Elliott” from Netflix (I highly recommend this!) and LOVING the 1920s fashions–both the new looks the sisters dream up and the fancy old-fashioned clothes worn by the Stuffy Older Generation. I must confess to a big weakness for the Edwardian styles, too.

It is literally impossible to imagine anything less suited to my figure or personality than Mod styles, and while they look cute on some other people, they will always seem costumey to me.

I am happy to be an emancipated woman of the 21st century. But clothing-wise I love the 1940s. I love the structured suits, the long, lean skirts and those shoes. I can’t get enough of the shoes.

I think it’s kind of funny – we say we’re bored with casual, but we can wear anything. The women in all the stages we’ve been mentioning loked fantastic, it’s true, but they were pretty limited in their options!

This is a fantastic topic.

Real Style, I was just having the same conversation recently with my husband, after reading an article somewhere online about how people don’t dress up to go out to dinner anymore, the lax attitudes and overly casual dress of people going out in public. The writer mentioned that she was meeting a friend for dinner at a somewhat nicer restaurant, and the friend arrived wearing Crocs. I’ll see if I can dig up the article.

Shari, I LOVE the late 70’s – early 80’s rocker style too! I adore Debbie Harry–she managed to make a ballgown look edgy and cool. That red leather jacket that Chrissie wore rules. Those chicks had such style.

Late ’60s and ’70s! And, thanks to the fact that I sew my own clothes and have plenty of vintage patterns, I can reinvent my favorite styles for today.

40’s and 50’s are the clothes and fashion style I LOVE:) I never got to do these.

I lived through the late 60’s fashion. I actually had green tighs just like Twiggy’s, also hot pink ones.

When I go to Half Price Bookstore I am always in the makeup and fashion section. The other week I picked up a book that had pics and commentary on fashions of the decades that went back to the 1900’s up to current. It was really intriguing and I wished I would have bought it. I am really drawn to the looks of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. I love how flawless and well put together these women looked, even when just going to the grocery store, it was amazing!!

I love street fashion, particularly those inspired my music. So I guess my time would be the 60s and 70s, from the mods to rockers to hippies to glam! I love the inventiveness and “anything goes” attitude.

I was a child during the 50″s and 60’s. My mother did not look like those photos. She wore house dresses because she did not have a small hourglass figure, finding clothes to fit the full figured gal back then was (H-E double hockey sticks). I had to go shopping with her and I remember all of the self loathing she went through. Most women dressed in shorts, pedal pushers, jeans not like today and white button down shirts. These were their everyday clothes. Most women stayed home and did not have careers. The only time my mom dressed up was for church on Sunday.. I think we forget that back then dressing fancy was too expensive. My mom starting dressing up in the 70’s when she had to go back to the work force after 22 years of being a house wife. The tunic dress pant suits were her thing. Does anyone remember the hair piece called a “fall”. My mom sported one of those and looked Oh so chic!

Yes Adrienne, my mom had falls and wiglets…I used to have fun playing with them myself:)

When I lived in Mainland China, there were many men who wore suits ‘all the time’, though I can assure you that it was not ‘classy’ but because they had nothing else to wear and suits were considered the basic item to have on to help them get a job and/or appear respectable in society. From what I’m told my by grandparents and (great-)grand relatives, this was a similar attitude throughout much of the world until relatively recently.

As far as styles go, I do like the art deco-influenced 20-30s clothing. However, my favorite of ‘old’ styles is the 30-50s-era cotton and linen dresses and suits of my grandparents’ generation. Even when they’d be working the sugar plantation in the heat of summer or picking figs or loquats there was the expectation of at least two petticoats (aie!), though my grand-aunt would swear that it didn’t feel ‘that hot’.

SO MUCH LOVE for this topic!!

I am on such an intense ’20s craze right now. I don’t quite have the stick-thin androgynous thing going on, but I’m pretty small so the aesthetic fits to my body type fairly well. I love the glamour, the flapper dresses, the jazz…

I also LOVE the mod ’60s. I love the bright, bold colors and simple shapes. And I am also a big fan of the mini skirt.

40’s and 50’s are close behind. I really enjoy them on a cultural aesthetic level, but fashion-wise they’re not really my scene.

With a blend of 20’s glamour, 60’s pop and futuristic edge, I think that’s a good grasp of what I would love to dress like 100% of the time. And ditto with being so over casual dressing. I’m guilty of it most of the time, but I wish I had grown up with different habits.

In terms of what looks good in family photos, as opposed to fashion shoots. I’d go for 30’s and 40’s. The few pics from the 30’s feature pretty dowdy looks. And pics from the 50’s show that it was an unforgiving time unless you had a neat waist and reasonable bust.

Whoops, I meant to say “few pics from the 20’s”

My favorite era was the 50s, not only because of the glamour but because most of the clothes were great for my body type, dresses accentuating the waist, skirts, women were more feminine then.
The 60’s clothes only flatter very skinny women!

50’s definitely. I love all the tailored clothing.

I find a lot to like from early 1900’s Art Nouveau on down to early 1960’s mod. Of course not all the looks in that time would have suited me equally, especially those that require a small waist, but they are beautiful to see on the women with the right figure. Like some previous commenters I like how people “dressed up” more when they went out–and this at a time when clothes were more expensive and choice of fabrics was more limited than it is now.