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The term "Silent Generation" was first documented in a 1951 Time magazine article, which claimed that the most startling fact about this generation was its silence: "By comparison with the Flaming Youth of their fathers and mothers, today's younger generation is a still, small flame."

The generation's "silent" behavior has been attributed to the difficult times in which they were born, as well as their coming of age during McCarthyism. Though the Silent Generation is known for traditionalist behavior and a desire to work within the system rather than to change it, many not-so-silent and untraditional members of this generation shaped the world in significant ways.

The Birth Years of the Silent Generation

As with all generations, the birth years given for the Silent Generation vary depending on who creates the evaluation or defines the term. An often-used range, however, is 1928-1945. These years span from the beginning of the Great Depression to the end of World War II. People born during this time are also sometimes called "Radio Babies" or "Traditionalists."

The term "Silent Generation" mainly refers to people living in the United States, but in some other parts of the world, war and economic trouble led to similar characteristics and behaviors in people born during this time.

Who Are the Silent Generation?

The oldest members of this generation were born at or near the beginning of the Great Depression. They were children during World War II and came of age during the 1950s and 60s. This generation is significantly smaller than their predecessors, those of the Greatest Generation, and smaller than the next generation, the Baby Boomers.

Many scholars believe that the Silent Generation's low birth rate was due to the uncertainty and difficult conditions of the time, which meant that fewer people felt secure in starting families and raising children. The Silent Generation, as well as the Greatest Generation, were the parents of the Baby Boomers.

Characteristics of the Silent Generation

The Silent Generation began life in some of the most difficult conditions, including the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and economic and political uncertainty. The circumstances surrounding their upbringing led many of this generation to adopt cautious, conscientious behavior. The members of this generation also often have the characteristics described below.

The Silent Generation is thrifty. Members of this generation were born at a time when, because of war rationing and economic uncertainty, some of their parents could barely afford to feed them. This tragic situation led to a new way of thinking about resources, and these children found themselves raised with thriftiness in mind.

The Silent Generation is respectful. Members of this generation typically have a deep respect for authority. They often worked in the same job or company for the majority of their careers.

The Silent Generation is loyal. Members of this generation are not only loyal to their careers but also to their religious beliefs, their relationships, and their families. They value stability and likewise are stable and dependable.

The Silent Generation is determined. This generation experienced many difficult times and challenges. Survival required grit and strength and a strong sense of determination.

Their Slice of History

Korean War

The soldiers sent to Korea during the Korean War were primarily from the Silent Generation. While this conflict is sometimes referred to as the " Forgotten War," it has not been forgotten by this generation. The conflict defined a significant part of their lives and deepened the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. Many brave soldiers lost their lives.

McCarthyism and the Red Scare

The McCarthy era was one of fear and enforced conformity. It got its name from United States Senator Joseph McCarthy but was a widespread phenomenon. During this time, many people in the United States feared communist spies or communist sympathizers. Because of this fear, some government officials began screenings and trials to determine loyalty. Many citizens were accused and lost their careers, and some were imprisoned. Joseph McCarthy is most remembered for his investigations, which are often compared to witch hunts. Due to this social turmoil in their early adulthood, those of the Silent Generation would try keep their heads down.

Civil Rights Movement

While the generation may be called silent, many of the most influential voices in the civil rights movement were a part of this generation. These civil rights activists were anything but silent, advocating for change and equality. Nearly all the great leaders of the civil rights movement were a part of the Silent Generation. Martin Luther King Jr., born in 1929, was one of the most influential leaders at that time. The Little Rock Nine Students, born during the years 1940-1942, were among the first to integrate schools. These members of the Silent Generation, along with other members of the Silent Generation who were involved in this historic movement, were incredibly influential and inspiring.

The Silent Generation in Your Family

Who in your family tree is a part of the Silent Generation? What were their experiences during their lives? Learn more about your family's story by exploring your family tree and recording their memories and experiences.

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Why is the Silent Generation Called "Silent"? * FamilySearch

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The Silent Generation was born between 1928 and 1945. Discover this generation's characteristics and why they're called "silent."

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Silent Generation, generation of people sandwiched between the "Greatest Generation," which fought World War II, and the " baby boomers," the generation born during the surge in births in the United States and other countries in the years immediately following the war. The range of birth years ascribed to the Silent Generation varies slightly according to the generational scheme employed, beginning with either 1925, 1928, or 1929 and ending with either 1942 or 1945. In the early 2020s the Silents were mostly in their 80s and 90s.

Constituting roughly 50 million individuals in the United States, this generation was both less populous (owing to diminished birth rates in the 1930s and '40s) and, at first blush, seemingly less dynamic than the larger-than-life generations that bookended it. Sometimes also called "Traditionalists," the members of this cohort are generally characterized as cautious conformists who sought stability, worked hard, and thrived by not rocking the boat in an era of booming postwar economic prosperity. But a closer look reveals a rebellious tendency that slowly emerged across the social, political, and cultural landscape during the years in which they came of age-roughly the late 1940s to the early 1960s-even if it was rebellion more grounded in reforming the system rather than in tearing it down.

Consensus culture

Childhood in crisis

Childhood for the Silent Generation came in a time of crisis. The youngest Silents grew up with both the extreme economic deprivation of the Great Depression (including, for some, Dust Bowl dislocation) and the terrifying upheaval of World War II. Scarcity was ubiquitous, first as a consequence of widespread unemployment and lack of income, then as a result of rationing to abet the war effort. Frugality was the essential strategy; delayed gratification was the corollary consequence. Both attitudes influenced the Silents' response to the world, even in better times.

The Lucky Few

Yet, as the Silents came of age, the U.S. economy not only rebounded but also went into overdrive, entering a period of tremendous expansion and prosperity. Indeed, another of the sobriquets bestowed upon the Silents is the "Lucky Few," because at almost every stage of their lives they have been well positioned to take advantage of the economic opportunities that have opened up for them. As the postwar economy heated up, industry and commerce needed young workers, and the Silents were there to fit the bill. Moreover, it has been argued that because they were not a numerically large generation, the Silents could command high wages and salaries in a relatively scarce labour market. Similarly, they exploited low mortgage rates to become homeowners early in adulthood and capitalized on generous pension schemes to fortify their futures.

Big business

The Silents entered the job market in an era of institutional growth. Ever-expanding corporations were at the centre of American economic life, and manufacturing was booming. Big business was king. From most indications, the Silents enthusiastically embraced the stability offered by corporate employment, whether behind a desk or on the assembly line. Although members of the Silent Generation fought in the Korean War (1950-53), Silents are often depicted as having been in awe of the returning war heroes of the Greatest Generation, seemingly content to cast their lot with the institutions that were being reshaped by the preceding generation.

Taking no chances

Twenty-first century depictions of the Silent Generation frequently reference a pair of magazine articles from the era that characterized the worldview of the Silents and established the received understanding of them. Often evoked is a Fortune article, "College Class of '49," which found that most "Forty-Niners" aspired to a happy family, a comfortable home, and two automobiles. Even more frequently cited is a Time essay from November 1951, "The Younger Generation," which popularized the term "Silent Generation":

Youth today is waiting for the hand of fate to fall on its shoulders, meanwhile working fairly hard and saying almost nothing. The most startling fact about the younger generation is its silence. With some rare exceptions, youth is nowhere near the rostrum. By comparison with the Flaming Youth of their fathers & mothers, today's younger generation is a still, small flame. It does not issue manifestoes, make speeches or carry posters. It has been called the "Silent Generation."...Almost of itself, it has picked up the right instincts from an American tradition older than its parents: it wants to marry, have children, found homes, and if necessary, defend them.

Home and family

The desire to build families was central to the zeitgeist of the Silents. On average they married younger and had children younger than any generation to date. Their aspiration to homeownership was indirectly aided by the G.I. Bill (Service Readjustment Act of 1944). While they were largely unable to capitalize on the no-money-down low-interest loans available to veterans to purchase homes, the Silents benefited from the resulting boom in the construction of affordable housing in suburbia in places such as the planned community of Levittown, New York, where, it was said, a new prefabricated house was completed every 16 minutes at the height of a construction frenzy that began in 1947.

Conformity and McCarthyism

The Time article also emphasized Silents' tendency to conform:

There is also the feeling that it is neither desirable nor practical to do things that are different from what the next fellow is doing.

Unquestionably this conformity was partly conditioned by the Silents' arrival at the outset of the Cold War, in the era of McCarthyism and the Red Scare. Beyond the belief that one got ahead by playing by the rules, there was a fear that unusual behaviour or dissenting opinions would be viewed as un-American. More than just being marginalized, those who had been members of or sympathetic to the Old Left were being dragged before congressional committees and compelled to acknowledge whether they had ever been a member of the Communist Party, encouraged to identify communists among their friends and associates, and blacklisted from employment. Not everyone was paranoid about communists having supposedly infiltrated the State Department or worried that secret subversives were hiding in plain sight, ready to corrupt American youth, but "right-minded" consensus and cheerful conformity ruled the day during most of the administration of Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-61).

Quiet desperation

Yet for all the commitment to straight-and-narrow meritocratic striving and the supposed contentment with the relatively staid lifestyle to which it gave rise, there was an undercurrent of dissatisfaction among the Silents, a sense of lives being lived in the "quiet desperation" Henry David Thoreau identified a century earlier. Among those to call attention to it were academics, journalists, and novelists.

The Lonely Crowd

Even before the Time article hit the newsstands, in 1950 sociologist David Riesman and collaborators Nathan Glazer and Reuel Denney published The Lonely Crowd. In it they argued that the bureaucratized society of big business and big institutions was fostering the replacement of the inventive, "inner-directed" individuals of earlier generations with "other-directed" conformists, who looked not inside themselves but to others for their values and approval and who, in the process, were becoming dispirited. Getting ahead, according to Riesman, had less to do with what one thought or did than how one was perceived by others.

The Organization Man

William H. Whyte, a business writer for Fortune, made similar observations in his book The Organization Man (1956). In evaluating contemporary corporate culture, Whyte concluded that the rugged individualism, creativity, and entrepreneurship that he believed had long been pivotal to American achievement was losing out to the notion that organizations were better able to solve problems than individuals were and thus were better suited to steer society:

Once people liked to think, at least, that they were in control of their destinies, but few of the younger organization people cherish such notions. Most see themselves as objects more acted upon than acting-and their future, therefore, determined as much by the system as by themselves.

The men in the gray flannel suits

Dissatisfaction with corporate life is at the centre of Sloan Wilson's novel The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1955), in which a series of crises compel the titular protagonist (taken from the corporate uniform of the day) to reexamine the value of the blind pursuit of an existence based on received aspirations and approved creature comforts. Set in 1955, Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road (1961) covers similar ground, focusing on a married couple that longs to leave behind a boring job and escape their cookie-cutter suburb. And Holden Caulfield, the preppie protagonist of J.D. Salinger's landmark The Catcher in the Rye (1951), is enraged by "phonies" and "phoniness."

From a whisper to a scream

As the 1950s progressed, a significant portion of the Silent Generation chose to break out and strive to change their world, not only through art but also through social and political engagement.

The Beats

The most overt rejection of the postwar culture of consensus and conformity came from the Beat movement of poets, novelists, and other bohemians who both withdrew from and protested against a society they found to be joyless and purposeless. They demonstrated their alienation by adopting a style of dress, manners, and "hip" vocabulary borrowed from jazz musicians and sought release and illumination in drugs, jazz, sex, and Zen Buddhism. Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road (1957) offered a vision of an alternative lifestyle; Allen Ginsberg's poem (1956) was the boisterous, indignant antithesis of silence.

The civil rights movement

When the Silents came of age, Jim Crow was still alive and well in the American South. In the North discriminatory practices such as redlining and restrictive covenants kept Black and brown aspirants to the "good life" from taking advantage of the explosion in suburban housing. But by the mid-1950s the American civil rights movement was in full swing, and many of its principal leaders were members of the Silent Generation, most notably Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Ralph Abernathy, and Jesse Jackson. Rosa Parks was a member of the Greatest Generation, but her defiant refusal to relinquish her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus, which sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, came on December 1, 1955, in the middle of the Silents' ascendance.

Leveling the playing field

The playboy and the feminist

Members of the Silent Generation also had a significant impact on gender roles in American society. In 1953 Silent Hugh Hefner featured a nude photo of iconic actress Marilyn Monroe (also a Silent) in the first issue of Playboy magazine. By legitimizing female nudity in what became a mainstream publication, Hefner theoretically contributed to the so-called sexual revolution of the 1960s while reinforcing the hegemony of the male gaze, but another member of the Silent Generation, Gloria Steinem, would become a powerful countervailing feminist force as one of the world's most prominent leaders of the women's liberation movement.

Film noir

At the height of the Silent Generation's influence, most married women continued to work in the home, but the influx of women in the workforce during World War II had a lingering effect on the male psyche. One reflection of that effect was the emergence of the femme fatale (French: "fatal woman") in film noir, the genre of stylized films characterized by pessimism, fatalism, and menace that were popular from the 1940s to the mid-1950s. The threat posed by the femme fatale seemed to imply that strong women were dangerous. The cynicism and muddled morality of film noir conveyed a complex worldview that flew in the face of the straightforward good-versus-evil model favoured by those enthralled by consensus.

Rebels without a cause

The Hollywood movies of the era also offered images of youthful rebels. When asked what he is rebelling against, Marlon Brando's feisty biker in The Wild One (1953) says simply, "Whaddya got?" James Dean's angst-ridden teenager in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is anything but at home in suburbia. Dean was a Silent; Brando was born one year too early.

Rock around the clock

Members of the Silent Generation were also America's first teenagers, the new sociodemographic group that arose with postwar prosperity, blessed with disposable cash, leisure time, and a surfeit of youth-oriented products to purchase. Along with clothes, soft drinks, and drive-in burgers, pop music vinyl records were at the top of their shopping lists. The eureka moment of rock and roll is often debated, but, if it is predicated on the fusion of rhythm and blues (R&B) and country music (and not just on the advent of white people playing R&B), a good argument can be made for the recording of "That's All Right, Mama" by Elvis Presley at the Memphis Recording Service in July 1954.

The "Godfather" and "Queen of Soul," James Brown and Aretha Franklin, respectively, were also Silents. So were Sam Cooke, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, the Temptations, and the Supremes. Most of the participants of the folk revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s were also Silents, catalyzed by the release of Harry Smith's Anthology of Folk Music (1952). Early-born Silents, though, likely were more partial to the pop stylings of Patti Page, Doris Day, Johnny Mathis, and the Four Freshmen.

Finally, a Silent president

Many of the movers and shakers of the tumultuous 1960s, it turns out, were not boomers but Silents. Even the Chicago Seven (with the exception of David Dellinger), the political activists famously tried for their anti- Vietnam War activities during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, were Silents. Yet, after the failed runs for the presidency by Silents such as Jack Kemp, Michael Dukakis, and John McCain, and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy during his presidential bid, it looked as if no member of the Silent Generation would occupy the White House-that is, until the election of Joe Biden in 2020.

Jeff Wallenfeldt

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Silent Generation | Years, Characteristics, & Name Meaning

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Silent Generation, generation of people sandwiched between the "Greatest Generation," which fought World War II, and the "baby boomers," the generation born during the surge in births in the United States and other countries in the years immediately following the war. The range of birth years

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Fashion in the 1950s saw a clear gender divide. While men and boy's fashion moved towards a more casual day-to-day style, women and girl's fashion prioritized elegance, formality, and perfectly matched accessories. Couture womenswear saw rapid change with new designers such as Cristobal Balenciaga and Hubert de Givenchy disrupting the overtly feminine silhouette popularized by Christian Dior while novel prints and colors marked a playfulness in fashion for both men and women.

Fashion is rarely contained neatly in one decade, and the popular look that dominated womenswear in the 1950s actually emerged in the late 1940s. When Christian Dior's "New Look" appeared in February 1947, it became an instant success and the nipped-in waist and full-skirted silhouette remained the leading style until the mid-1950s. As the decade progressed, the dominant silhouette became progressively straighter and slimmer, and as fashion began to look to the new "teenager" for inspiration, the elegance and formality of the early part of the decade began to lessen.

As the 1950s began, the initial resistance to the extravagance of the New Look had died down and the silhouette was entrenched in both women's daywear and eveningwear. Dior himself continued to produce designs that followed the feminine line even while incorporating new elements, like the structural collar seen in figure 1. While this shape remained popular until at least 1954, in his Fashion Sourcebooks: The 1950s, John Peacock describes how this figure evolved throughout the decade:

"from the comparatively early days of the 'New Look,' when the square shoulders and masculine details of the 1940s still lingered, through the ultra-feminine and luxurious styles of the mid-1950s - clothes with gently softened shoulderlines, tiny corseted waists, roundly padded hips and long, swirling skirts only eleven inches above the ground" (7).

Even as the silhouette evolved, its core style was seen in evening gowns, day dresses, and separates. A Givenchy dress from 1953 shows how the shape was restyled throughout the decade while remaining true to the nipped-in waist and full skirt (Fig. 3). The pea motif, along with the bright patterned dresses in Better Living magazine (Fig. 2), demonstrates a playfulness that emerged in pattern while the Charles James "Clover Leaf" dress (Fig. 4) and Balenciaga evening dress (Fig. 5) show the experimentation in construction that took place in the fifties.

However, while the look was ubiquitous, it was not the only look that rose to prominence in the fifties. In fact, fashion curator Daniel Milford-Cottam writes in Fashion in the 1950s:

"One particularly striking aspect of the decade was the emergence of stylish options. Two ladies could walk down the street in different outfits, yet appear equally modish, be their skirts full and narrow, or one in a form-fitting sheath and the other in a loose sack dress." (13)

He continues to explain that the idea of choice rather than following one specific style was relatively new in the 1950s. As the decade continued, these choices became varied as new designers such as Cristobal Balenciaga, Charles James, and Hubert de Givenchy introduced different silhouettes. In Costume and Fashion: A Concise History, James Laver writes, "As the decade progressed, clothing became less structured and straighter in cut" (258). Introduced by Chanel, Dior, and Balenciaga around the same time, the straight-cut suit, in contrast to the New Look, emphasized a woman's natural shape with the jacket hanging at the widest point of the hips, as seen in figure 6. In the latter half of the decade, sheaths - like the Givenchy suit in figure 8 - and high-waisted chemise dresses, introduced by Balenciaga in 1957, became popular. The Balenciaga suit worn by model Suzy Parker (Fig. 7) shows the swing outline that he favored.

While designers such as Dior, Balenciaga, and Charles James created beautiful couture pieces, the craze for sportswear continued. Claire McCardell, the American designer who rose to prominence in the 1940s, continued to produce her popular wrap-over dresses and also introduced pedal-pushers with matching tops (Laver 258). While overall, fashion in the 1950s prided elegance, young women turned to McCardell and other sportswear and less formal designs, like the sundress and swimsuit in figure 10. Perhaps one of the most enduring images of everyday fashion in the fifties is the "poodle skirt." Credited to Juli Lynne Charlot from California, these simple felt skirts were cut in a circle and could have any sort of embellishment, not just a poodle (Milford-Cottam 20). They were paired with tight-knitted twinsets and while much more casual than the haute couture coming out of Paris, these skirts still followed the line of the New Look with a defined waist and full skirt as seen in figure 9.

Though it became increasingly acceptable for women to wear slacks for some occasions, overall the fashion mood in the fifties leaned towards femininity and formality. This was especially true in eveningwear as the cocktail dress was introduced to the public. Worn to the new cocktail party, these dresses lay in-between daywear and evening gowns, falling at the length of a day dress but embellished like eveningwear (Fig. 11). For formal eveningwear, even as sheaths and form-fitting dresses became popular, the full-skirted dress remained the mode throughout the decade, like the highly embellished evening gown by Dior in figure 13. The relatively new strapless bodice was especially popular as the pared-down bodice balanced out the wide skirts.

No matter what time of day, throughout the decade, it was exceedingly important that a woman be impeccably turned out. This meant perfectly groomed hair, spotless makeup, and sets of matching accessories. This was encouraged through the glamorous fashion photography of the day (Fig. 14). Fashion historian Gerda Buxbaum writes in Icons of Fashion: The 20th Century, "The long years of deprivation during World War II brought forth a yearning for luxury and fashionable things, and women made a special effort to dress appropriately for every occasion; it was considered imperative that one's accessories matched perfectly" (69). Whether she was wearing a twinset and slacks, a poodle skirt, a sheath dress, or one of Dior's New Look styles, a woman did her best to ensure that she looked pulled together through her accessories and overall styling. Those infamous black-toed Chanel shoes (Fig.12) appeared at the end of this decade, after all.

Though he lived an astonishingly short life, James Dean had an undeniable influence on men's fashion in the 1950s. Starring in only three movies within one year, Dean was killed in a car accident at the age of 24 in 1955. But his portrayal of Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (Figs. 21-22) left an indelible mark of men's fashion. Released after his death, Dean's uniform of a white t-shirt, jeans, and red jacket was easily and readily copied.

Despite his short career in film, the popularity of his Rebel Without a Cause character struck a chord with the new generation of young men. The Encyclopaedia Britannica writes:

"His character defiantly rejects the values of his elders while desperately aching to 'belong' and attempting to find a purpose in life. Dean's performance spoke eloquently on behalf of disenchanted, disenfranchised teenagers and gave them a hero they could respect and admire."

This hero status, along with similar feelings towards fellow actor Marlon Brando's characters in A Streetcar Named Desire and The Wild One, influenced young men's fashion as they emulated these characters (Buxbaum 77). Together, Dean and Brando ensured the rise of the white t-shirt, jeans, and greased back hair that was pervasive throughout the 1950s.

Although womenswear in the 1950s prided formality, men's fashion moved towards an informality it had not yet seen before. Though young women wore tight sweaters and sought clothes that suited her age, it was young men who really started the so-called "youth culture" of the 1950s. Since the rise of the suit in the 18 th century, men's fashion had seen little dramatic change until the rise of the Teddy Boys in Britain and the rebellious youths who looked to Hollywood stars Marlon Brando and James Dean in the fifties. Significantly, both of these styles were adopted or inspired by working-class men, rather than coming from the elite.

In the years after World War II, tailors on Savile Row in London introduced a slim cut suit with a velvet-collared suit that was referred to as the New Edwardian (Milford-Cottam 53). While it was originally elegant, upper-class men who wore these suits with narrow trousers, in the early 1950s, young working-class men began to adopt and adapt the style for their own purposes. Nicknamed "Teddy Boys" (Teddy being a nickname of Edward), these young men, seen in figure 15, wore extremely narrow trousers, velvet-collared jackets and greased their hair back into quiffs. While the style was popular and signified a certain type of rebellious young working-class man, it also signified a shift in the ability of the working-class young to consume. Laver writes:

"What was important in this development was not the adoption by the working class of an upper-class style, but the fact that young men from poor backgrounds could now afford relatively expensive clothes and accessories and had the confidence to make them part of their own distinctive style." (260)

The Teddy Boys were just one part of a rise in youth culture that was seen across both genders and on both sides of the pond.

As young men in Britain were looking to Savile Row tailoring, the youth in America - and in Europe, too - were looking to rebellious Hollywood stars and singers. With inspiration from Marlon Brando-in A Streetcar Named Desire (Fig. 16) and, popularizing the leather jacket in 1955 in The Wild One (Fig. 17)-James Dean, and Elvis Presley-promoting Jailhouse Rock in 1957 (Fig. 18)-young men in the US began adopting a working-class look of jeans, a white t-shirt, and leather jacket. Like their British counterparts, American men adopted the greased-back quiff hairstyle to go along with their casual look. This style was seen as a youthful rejection of their parents' generation, which earned them a rebellious and trouble-making reputation, much like that of the Teddy Boys in Britain. The clothes they adopted, in contrast to the elegant suits of their British counterparts, were items associated with the working-class: jeans had previously only been acceptable for farmers and other outdoor laborers, never for everyday wear.

Even as young men in both Europe and the United States began adopting new styles, formal daywear and eveningwear for men continued along the same lines throughout the 1950s. Suits maintained the baggy shape that had started in the forties, while skinny ties, like the one in figure 19, rose to prominence. The biggest change in men's formal wear was the increasing presence of color, as seen in the ad for the bright yellow Arrow shirt (Fig. 20). Tuxedo accessories such as ties and cummerbunds added a pop of color, while less formal eveningwear such as the smoking jacket might come in a color other than black. Color began to creep into daywear shirts and sweaters, as well (Milford-Cottam 48-51). The Hawaiian shirt, first seen in the late forties, continued to be a popular option for men throughout the fifties.

Children's fashion in the 1950s echoed the trends found in their adult counterparts. Young girls wore dresses with full skirts and perfectly matching accessories while young boys saw their clothing options becoming more casual. New synthetic materials, which were also being used in adult clothing, were increasingly used for children's clothes as they were easier to launder.

In previous decades, young boys had typically worn collared shirts, ties, blazers, and shorts until they were old enough to transition to long trousers. However, in the 1950s, like teenagers and young men, it became increasingly acceptable for boys to wear jeans for most occasions. It became rare throughout the decade for young boys to wear ties and collared shirts were abandoned in the most casual settings. Colorful and patterned short-sleeved, collared shirts were popular options for everyday wear (Fig. 23). Knitted sweaters and cardigans, popular in the forties, continued to be popular in the fifties as it became less common for young boys to wear jackets or blazers. SJ Stratford writes on Love to Know, "Although conformity was the guiding principle for everyone's dress, boys were able to enjoy a level of comfort and casualness that they hadn't before and that girls would not share for another few decades."

In contrast to this casual approach to boys' fashion in the 1950s, like their mothers, young girls' wardrobes prided formality and perfectly matched accessories. Primarily wearing dresses, these styles began by following the lines of the previous decade: natural waists, full skirts, and puffed sleeves. As the decade progressed, dresses became more varied and you can see options coming into play as they did in women's wardrobes.

Dropped waists (still with full skirts, like that in figure 25), smock dresses, pinafores, bold colors, and playful patterns all offered different styles. For less formal occasions, girls might wear a blouse and full skirt held up with suspenders (as seen on the right in figure 24) and covered in a matching jacket or cardigan. Novelty items like the poodle skirt (Fig. 28) were also popular, while sheath dresses and slacks became acceptable options later in the decade. Stripes, florals, plaids, rickrack (Fig. 27), bows, and more could all be found embellishing girls' clothes. Whether at a party or at school, these looks were almost always accompanied by white ankle socks and shiny black patent leather shoes and carefully styled hair perhaps adorned with a ribbon or two bows, as evidenced in the Sears ad in figure 26. At home, girls might have worn overalls or playsuits in casual settings.

Upon becoming a father himself, womenswear designer Charles James designed a line of infant clothes in 1956. The cotton playsuits, shorts, and dresses were simple yet finished with beautiful mother-of-pearl buttons and other luxurious touches (Fig. 30). But what made the line significant was its construction, as seen in the multi-piece sunsuit on the left in figure 31. The Met writes of the blue playsuit in Fig. 29:

"James considered all practicalities, designing this playsuit with curved, crossing straps, cut in one with the front panels, that fit to the body and stay in place, and with diaper-front shorts that open to lay flat for ease of ironing. Its curved fronts follow the lines of a child's rounded belly, while accommodating and hiding the bumps of diapers" (Playsuit, 1956).

The classic pieces come in reds and blues, show subtle nautical inspiration, and give a glimpse into luxury infant pieces from the decade.

References:

Bramlett, Lizzie. "Interview with Juli Lynne Charlott." The Vintage Traveler, April 28, 2010. Accessed May 29, 2019. https://thevintagetraveler.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/interview-with-juli-lynne-charlot/.

Buxbaum, Gerda. Icons of Fashion: The 20thCentury. Munich: Prestel Verlag, 2005. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/773599428.

"James Dean." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Accessed May 29, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Dean-American-actor.

Ewing, Elizabeth. History of 20thCentury Fashion. 4th ed. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 2001. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/456545252.

James Dean. "Biography." Accessed May 29, 2019. https://www.jamesdean.com/biography/.

Laver, James, Amy De La Haye and Andrew Tucker. Costume and Fashion: A Concise History.5th ed. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2012. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/966352776.

The Met. "Playsuit, 1956." Accessed May 29, 2019. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/767965.

Milford-Cottam, Daniel. Fashion in the 1950s. Oxford: Shire Publishing, 2017. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/992690449.

Peacock, John. Fashion Sourcebooks: The 1950s. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1997. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/924866505.

The People History. "Vintage 1950s Children's Fashion Clothes." Accessed May 29, 2019. http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1950skidsfashion.html.

Stratford, SJ. "1950s Kids Clothing." Love to Know. Accessed May 29, 2019. https://childrens-clothing.lovetoknow.com/1950s_Kids_Clothing.

Victoria and Albert Museum. "History of Fashion 1900 - 1970." Accessed April 30, 2019. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/history-of-fashion-1900-1970/.

Victoria and Albert Museum. "Introduction to 20thCentury Fashion." Accessed April 30, 2019. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/i/introduction-to-20th-century-fashion/.

Events:

1950 - Father of the Bride, starring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor, is released. The lace wedding dress worn by Taylor in the movie is considered one of her most iconic books.

1951 - American disc jockey Alan Freed popularizes the term "Rock 'n' roll." New teen styles emerge linked to the music, such as "Teddy boys" and prom dresses.

1952 - Jack Kerouac publishes On the Road, which inspires a generation of beatniks who wear slim-fitting, black clothes, berets, and dark glasses. Audrey Hepburn's Funny Face in 1957 further popularizes the style. Balenciaga shows the sack dress, an early stylistic move toward looser-fitting garments, which appear in the late 1950s and 60s, and include cocoon coats and shift dresses.

1953 - Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and London couturiers including John Cavanagh, Victor Stiebel, and Mattli make ball gowns for guests at coronation balls and dances. The Wild One is released; Marlon Brando's representation of disaffected youth popularizes blue jeans and leather jackets. Pierre Cardin shows his first collection in Paris.

1954 - Easy-to-wash and easy-to-dry nylon twin sets advertised in British Vogue fashion magazine.

1955 - Rebel Without a Cause is released, launching its star, James Dean, as a style icon for the rising youth culture. His death a year later cements his legendary status. Stiletto heels are popular by the mid- 1950s aided by new technology. Ultra-thin, ultra-high steel heels could sustain great pressure in comparison to wood heels. Mary Quant opens her influential store, Bazaar, in London.

1956 - Movie star Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco in a religious ceremony, wearing a lace wedding dress designed by Helen Rose.

1957 - Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, marks the spread of rock- and-roll style.

1958 - The youthful Yves Saint Laurent shows his first collection at Dior- Trapeze- after Dior's death in 1957.

1959 - Debut of Barbie doll, marketed as a "Teen-age Fashion Model." Lycra, also known as spandex or elastane, is invented. It revolutionizes performance sportswear and then fashionable dress.

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Fashion in the 1950s saw a clear gender divide. While men and boy's fashion moved towards a more casual day-to-day style, women and girl's fashion prioritized elegance, formality, and perfectly matched accessories.

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The Postwar Booms

Historians use the word "boom" to describe a lot of things about the 1950s: the booming economy, the booming suburbs and most of all the so-called "baby boom." This boom began in 1946, when a record number of babies-3.4 million-were born in the United States. About 4 million babies were born each year during the 1950s. In all, by the time the boom finally tapered off in 1964, there were almost 77 million "baby boomers."

After World War II ended, many Americans were eager to have children because they were confident that the future promised peace and prosperity. In many ways, they were right. Between 1945 and 1960, the gross national product more than doubled, growing from $200 billion to more than $500 billion, kicking off "the Golden Age of American Capitalism." Much of this increase came from government spending: The construction of interstate highways and schools, the distribution of veterans' benefits and most of all the increase in military spending-on goods like airplanes and new technologies like computers-all contributed to the decade's economic growth. Rates of unemployment and inflation were low, and wages were high. Middle-class people had more money to spend than ever-and, because the variety and availability of consumer goods expanded along with the economy, they also had more things to buy.

Moving to the Suburbs

The baby boom and the suburban boom went hand in hand. Almost as soon as World War II ended, developers such as William Levitt (whose "Levittowns" in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania would become the most famous symbols of suburban life in the 1950s) began to buy land on the outskirts of cities and use mass production techniques to build modest, inexpensive tract houses there. The G.I. Bill subsidized low-cost mortgages for many returning soldiers, which meant that it was often cheaper to buy one of these suburban houses than it was to rent an apartment in the city.

These houses were perfect for young families-they had informal "family rooms," open floor plans and backyards-and so suburban developments earned nicknames like "Fertility Valley" and "The Rabbit Hutch."

Though the G.I. Bill helped white Americans prosper and accumulate wealth in the postwar years, it didn't deliver on that promise for veterans of color. In fact, the wide disparity in the bill's implementation ended up driving growing gaps in wealth, education and civil rights between white and Black Americans.

Suburban homes, meanwhile, weren't always so perfect for the (mostly white) women who lived in them. In fact, the booms of the 1950s had a particularly confining effect on many American women. Advice books and magazine articles ("Don't Be Afraid to Marry Young," "Cooking to Me Is Poetry," "Femininity Begins At Home") urged women to leave the workforce and embrace their roles as wives and mothers. The idea that a woman's most important job was to bear and rear children was hardly a new one, but it began to generate a great deal of dissatisfaction among women who yearned for a more fulfilling life. (In her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique, women's rights advocate Betty Friedan argued that the suburbs were "burying women alive.") This dissatisfaction, in turn, contributed to the rebirth of the feminist movement in the 1960s.

The Civil Rights Movement

A growing group of Americans spoke out against inequality and injustice during the 1950s. African Americans had been fighting against racial discrimination for centuries; during the 1950s, however, the struggle against racism and segregation entered the mainstream of American life. For example, in 1954, in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, the Supreme Court declared that "separate educational facilities" for black children were "inherently unequal." This ruling was the first nail in Jim Crow's coffin.

Many Southern whites resisted the Brown ruling. They withdrew their children from public schools and enrolled them in all-white "segregation academies," and they used violence and intimidation to prevent blacks from asserting their rights. In 1956, more than 100 Southern congressmen even signed a "Southern Manifesto" declaring that they would do all they could to defend segregation.

Despite these efforts, a new movement was born. In December 1955, a Montgomery activist named Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give her seat on a city bus to a white person. Her arrest sparked a 13-month boycott of the city's buses by its black citizens, which only ended when the bus companies stopped discriminating against Black passengers. Acts of "nonviolent resistance" like the boycott helped shape the civil rights movement of the next decade.

Did you know? When Rosa Parks died in 2005, she was the first woman to lie in honor in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

The Cold War & The Korean War

The tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, known as the Cold War, was another defining element of the 1950s. After World War II, Western leaders began to worry that the USSR had what one American diplomat called "expansive tendencies"; moreover, they believed that the spread of communism anywhere threatened democracy and capitalism everywhere. As a result, communism needed to be "contained"-by diplomacy, by threats or by force.

This policy is what drew American forces into the Korean War in July 1950. A month earlier, some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People's Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. As far as American officials were concerned, fighting on behalf of the Republic of Korea was pushback against forces of international communism itself.

The United States never formally declared war on North Korea. Instead, President Harry Truman referred to the addition of ground troops as a "police action." The Korean War armistice, signed on July 27, 1953, drew a new border between North Korea and South Korea, granting South Korea some additional territory and demilitarizing the zone between the two nations.

Cold War tensions shaped domestic policy as well. Many people in the United States worried that communists, or "subversives," could destroy American society from the inside as well as from the outside. Between 1945 and 1952, Congress held 84 hearings designed to put an end to "un-American activities" in the federal government, in universities and public schools and even in Hollywood. These hearings did not uncover many treasonous activities-or even many communists-but it did not matter: Tens of thousands of Americans lost their jobs, as well as their families and friends, in the anti-communist "Red Scare" of the 1950s.

1950s Pop Culture

In the 1950s, televisions became something the average family could afford, and by 1950 4.4 million U.S. families had one in their home. The Golden Age of Television was marked by family-friendly shows like I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Twilight Zone and Leave It To Beaver. In movie theaters, actors like John Wayne, James Stuart, Charlton Heston, Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe dominated the box office. The Abstract Expressionism of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning signaled a new age in art, paving the way for the Pop Art of artists like Andy Warhol in the 1960s.

1950s Music

Elvis Presley. Sam Cooke. Chuck Berry. Fats Domino. Buddy Holly. The 1950s saw the emergence of Rock 'n' Roll, and the new sound swept the nation. It helped inspire rockabilly music from Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. People swayed to The Platters and The Drifters. Music marketing, changed, too: For the first time, music began to target youth.

On February 3, 1959, American musicians Buddy Holly. Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson died in a plane crash over Clear Lake, Iowa, in what became known as " The Day The Music Died "-an event immortalized in Don McLean's 1972 song "American Pie."

Shaping the 1960s

The booming prosperity of the 1950s helped to create a widespread sense of stability, contentment and consensus in the United States. However, that consensus was a fragile one, and it splintered for good during the tumultuous 1960s.

Sources

The Elvic Oracle. The New Yorker.
1950s Rock 'n' Roll. Rolling Stone.
The Day The Music Died. Biography.
The Fifties: The Way We Really Were. Douglas T. Miller and Marion Novak.

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We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

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The 1950s - American Culture & Society | HISTORY

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During the 1950s, the United States was the world's strongest military power. Its economy was booming, and the fruits of this prosperity-new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods-were available to more people than ever before. However, the 1950s also saw great conflict.

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Rock and roll | History, Songs, Artists, & Facts

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Rock and roll, style of popular music that originated in the United States in the mid-1950s and that evolved by the mid-1960s into the more encompassing international style known as rock music, though the latter also continued to be known as rock and roll. Learn more about the history of rock and roll in this article.

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The term "teenager" was first introduced to the American public in the 1940s as a moniker coined by advertising executives looking to sell their products to a new audience. The concept of a distinct "youth culture" had begun to develop in the 1920s, but throughout the Great Depression and World War II, young Americans were expected to put aside any frivolous activities or unnecessary spending for the sake of the nation's well-being.

The 1950s were marked by the emergence of a distinct teen culture. Seeking to distance themselves from the culture of their parents, teenagers turned to rock and roll music and youth-oriented television programs and movies-all packaged for them through new marketing strategies targeting their demographic.

Teen culture in the 1950s also marked an important shift in American race relations. Most teenagers during this time attended segregated or near-segregated schools, and interracial interaction was limited. However, rock and roll appealed to teenagers from many backgrounds, and rock concerts often hosted mixed-race audiences. White teenagers embraced the music of African American musicians like Little Richard, Fats Domino, and Chuck Berry, while African American teenagers listened to white rock and rollers, such as Elvis.

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The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America's libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world.

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The Life of a 1950s Teenager
Richard Powers

World War II had ended but the world felt far from safe, between the new war in Korea, frightening talk of the Communist menace, and the threat of nuclear war. If there was a national priority in America in the 1950s, it was to create a safe, secure, calm and orderly community in which millions of post-war Americans could start a family.

First phase: marginalization. Sandwiched in between the generations of new postwar families and their boom of babies was a generation of teenagers. Teens were marginalized by the adults, who didn't want to be bothered with the very different values of teenagers. There were a few television shows aimed at young children, nothing for teenagers, and nothing on the radio speaking to teen life. Teenagers felt left out, ignored, disenfranchised.

Then the teens started to hear music about their world - songs about high school sweethearts, wild parties and fast cars, sung by other teens. They were hungry for some recognition of their generation, some validation, and when it came, they embraced it. Momentum started to build as this generation developed their own image and style, combined with the purchasing power of an increasingly influential demographic. The word "teen-ager" was newly coined at this time.

Second phase: condemnation. With the increased teen presence came disapproval, as marginalization and indifference turned into active condemnation of teenagers by parents and local authorities. Teen dances were shut down, rock'n'roll records were banned, and students were expelled for a multitude of rule infractions.

There have always been inter-family conflicts between parents and their adolescent children, but this cultural division was larger. A significant proportion of the adult generation disapproved of the values and lifestyle of the teens, and were doing something about it, including setting new rules, restrictions and prohibitions.

● Boy's hair touching the ears wasn't allowed, punishable by expulsion from school.
● Most girls weren't allowed to wear pants, and boys weren't allowed to wear blue jeans. Even progressive Stanford University prohibited the wearing of jeans in public during the 1950s.
● The new slang bothered most adults. It was part African American, part beatnik and part street gang... an offensive combination in the eyes of the status quo.
● There was alarm about teens dating and "heavy petting." Any talk about sex was taboo and could be punishable.
● Many parents were worried about their daughters adoring black rock musicians, fearing the possibility of racial commingling.
● Hot rods were considered dangerous. All it took was a few fatal accidents and the other 99% of the custom cars and hot rods were considered a menace to public safety.
● Dancing to rock'n'roll music was often banned, with school and teen dances shut down.

John McKeon recalled,

"What I remember most about the 50s were rules. Rules, rules, rules... for everything. Rules about clothes - which clothes you could wear when. Rules about church. Rules about streets. Rules about play.
"The dance rules were different. Dance with girls and hold this hand, but then... you could do whatever you wanted to do! Dance looked like freedom. The only freedom this kid knew."

The older generations were especially worried about "juvenile delinquency." Yes, some teen violence and street gangs did exist,
and those instances were widely publicized in newspapers and magazines. But for most teens, this didn't mean dealing in street drugs or drive-by shootings, but rather using street slang, souping up a hot rod and talking back to parents.

Rock'n'roll music was attacked on all fronts, with records banned and smashed. Radio DJs were ordered not to play certain songs; rock singers (especially Elvis) were condemned; and the career of rock promoter Alan Freed, the man who named the music rock'n'roll, was destroyed by a government investigation.

To quote Michael Ventura, Gary Stewart and Billy Vera, who were there:

For one thing, for us white kids, the real '50s was only the latter half of the decade, because we didn't have rock'n'roll until well into 1955, and in terms of popular culture the decade would hardly be worth mentioning without rock'n'roll. For another, the feel of the time has not only been forgotten but also erased. And there's no way to grasp the subversive force of this now-innocent-sounding music unless you can feel a little of what it meant to be a kid hearing it as it was played for the first time.

It was music that was made for teenagers and scared the hell out of adults; it was taboo-shattering music about-gasp-sex and racial commingling. That's why records were burned, censorship laws were passed, and some lives were ruined. Because this was the devil's music, and it was threatening the status quo.

But you couldn't stop anything this real. It hit you where you lived. It belonged to the kids and only the kids. It set them apart. It gave them something to believe in. Rock'n' roll was their joy. It was their freedom. It is still so today.

On to the dances of the 1950s

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The Life of a 1950s Teenager Richard Powers World War II had ended but the world felt far from safe, between the new war in Korea, frightening talk of the Communist menace, and the threat of nuclear war.

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Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project

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America's baby boomers are in a collective funk. Members of the large generation born from 1946 to 1964 are more downbeat about their lives than are adults who are younger or older, according to a new Pew Research Center Social and Demographic Trends survey.

Not only do boomers give their overall quality of life a lower rating than adults in other generations, they also are more likely to worry that their incomes won't keep up with inflation - this despite the fact that boomers enjoy the highest incomes of any age group.

More so than those in other generations, boomers believe it is harder to get ahead now than it was 10 years ago. And they are less apt than others to say their standard of living exceeds the one their parents had when their parents were the age they are now.

These gloomy assessments come from a generation that always has been identified with youth (witness the resilience of their label: "baby boomers") but that's now well into - and even beyond - middle age. (Boomers turn 44 to 62 this year.)

However, it is by no means certain that the boomers' current bleak mood is a function of their current stage of life. When it comes to quality-of-life assessments, data suggest the boomers generally have been downbeat, compared with other age groups, for the past two decades - starting back when some were still in their twenties. So their current sour ratings may be related to getting older, but they also may be related to the attitudes and expectations about life they formed when they were young.

The Pew survey was conducted by telephone from January 24 through February 19, 2008 among a randomly selected nationally representative sample of 2,413 adults. Baby boomers are defined as adults ages 43-62 at the time the survey was taken.

On a question that asked respondents to rate their present life on a scale of zero to 10, boomers, on average, give their lives a rating of 6.2. In contrast, adults older than boomers (those who are ages 63 and above) give their lives an average rating of 6.7. Adults younger than boomers (those who are ages 18 to 41) give their lives an average rating of 6.5.

This "quality of life" gap between boomers and non-boomers admittedly is modest. A pattern of gaps, however, has lasted throughout the two decades the Pew Research Center has been asking this question, although in some years the differences are too small to be statistically significant.

Since 1989 - back when boomers ranged in age from 25 through 43 - their self-rankings have trailed those of adults who are older than them. As for adults who are younger than boomers, the pattern is more mixed. For the past four years, boomers have also trailed this younger group. But in the late 1990s through 2002, boomers gave their lives a slightly better rating than younger adults gave theirs. A table at the end of this analysis shows the trend in quality of life ratings for each of these age groups since 1989.
Worried About Money
The latest Pew survey finds that the boomers' glum assessments about their lives overall are matched by relatively high levels of anxiety about their personal finances. Some 55% say it is likely that their incomes will not keep up with the cost of living over the next year. That majority makes them the exception among all adults. Only four-in-ten younger Americans (44%) or older ones (43%) have that concern.

The anomaly here is that boomers are in their peak earning years. As a group, they enjoy higher median household incomes than do younger or older adults, according to the Census Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey. Americans ages 45 to 64 - roughly the same age range as the boomers - have a median household income of nearly $60,000. That compares with about $53,000 for adults ages 25 to 44, and about $30,000 for those ages 65 and older.

In the Pew survey, boomers also are more likely than younger or older adults to own stocks or bonds, and to have retirement accounts.

Even so, boomers are more anxious than other Americans that they will have to cut household spending in the coming year because money is tight. Nearly three-in-ten boomers (28%) say it is very likely they will have to do so, compared with 22% of younger adults and 18% of older ones.

Asked about changes in their finances over the past year, most boomers (59%) report they had to spend less because money was tight, but so do most younger Americans (58%). By other measures, boomers are less fiscally strained than younger adults. They are less likely (22% to 32%) to say someone in their household had to go to work in the past year or take on an extra job to make ends meet. They are less likely to say they have had trouble paying for medical care (22% to 29%) or for housing (13% to 24%). Boomers also are less likely than younger adults (13% to 19%) to have been laid off in the past year. On the other hand, they also are less likely to have received a pay raise (43% to 52%).
Progress in Life - Looking Forward and Backward
Asked to compare their standard of living with that of their parents at the same age, boomers are more downbeat than younger or older adults. Nearly four-in-ten (39%) baby boomers say their standard of living is worse, or no better, than that of their parents. That is a higher proportion than among younger adults (32%) or older ones (27%) who say the same thing.

Peering into the future, most baby boomers do not believe their own children will have a higher standard of living than they do. Only 44% of baby boomers believe their sons and daughters will be better off as adults than they are now. That is about the same proportion as among older Americans (41%), but much lower than the 58% of younger Americans who think their children will fare better than they have.
It's Not Just Me
Baby boomers are pessimistic not only about their own finances, but also about everyone else's. They are more likely than younger or older Americans to believe that it is harder to make progress, and easier to lose ground, than it was in the past.

Two-thirds of baby boomers say it is harder for people to get ahead now than a decade ago. That is a more downbeat assessment than other age groups give. Among younger adults, 55% say it is harder to get ahead. Among older adults, 58% say so.

Looking backward, boomers also believe it is easier to fall behind than it was a decade ago: More than three-quarters (76%) say so. On this, they also have bleaker views than other age groups. Two-thirds of younger Americans (67%) say it is easier to fall behind, as do 59% of older Americans.

Most Americans say it is more difficult for middle class people to maintain their standard of living than it was five years ago, but baby boomers are especially likely to believe this. A whopping 86% say it is harder than it used to be to keep up a middle class lifestyle, compared with 77% of younger people and 73% of older ones.
Are Older Boomers Different From Younger Ones?
The baby boom generation is not monolithic. One way that economists and so
cial scientists look at its differences is to compare younger boomers, ages 43-52, with older ones, ages 53-62. In general, younger boomers are more optimistic.

To some extent, these differences within the baby boom generation reflect a broader age pattern in the survey. Younger people are more likely than older ones to say they have moved up the ladder of life in recent years, or to predict that they will in the near future. But, in one more measure of their gloominess, boomers are as likely as adults who are older than they are to say they have slipped on the ladder of life; a third say so.

Asked to rank their quality of life on a zero to 10 scale, boomers divide themselves fairly evenly among low (0-5), medium (6-7) and high (8-10) ratings. There is little difference between older and younger boomers in current rankings on the so-called ladder of life.

But among younger boomers, four-in-ten (42%) say they have made progress over the past five years. Among older boomers, just three-in-ten (31%) say they have. Older boomers are more likely than younger ones to say they have not budged (34% to 23%). About a third of both groups say they have slipped down the ladder.

Asked where they expect to stand on the ladder of life in five years, most younger boomers (60%) predict they will be on one of the highest rungs. Only 34% of older boomers say so. Looked at another way, 60% of younger boomers believe they will move up the ladder of life over the next five years, compared with 34% of older boomers who think so. Older boomers are more likely than younger ones to say they will be in the same place (36% to 21%) or to predict they will have moved down (20% to 10%).
Why So Glum?
In the end, these survey data do not say definitively why baby boomers are sour compared with other adults, but these numbers and other research suggest some possibilities. Seven-in-ten boomers say they are dissatisfied with the direction in which the country is going, which is considerably higher than the share of younger adults who say so (54%) and about the same as the share of older adults who do (68%). They are more likely than either younger or older adults to agree with the statement that the rich just get richer these days while the poor get poorer.

Intriguingly, younger boomers ally themselves with Americans ages 20-27- the so-called "Generation Next"- in their tendency to assert that success in life is determined mainly by outside forces. About four-in-ten say so. Among older boomers and other age groups, only about three-in-ten say so.

Demographically speaking, this is a generation at the peak of its earning power, but with a lot on its plate. Most boomers have children to worry about, and most have at least one living parent. Three-quarters are homeowners, at a time when home values are stagnant and the mortgage crisis is heating up. Boomers are edging toward retirement, which potentially means living on a fixed income. Overall, 17% already are retired, but that proportion rises to 31% among older boomers.

Also, some baby boomers may be feeling financially stretched because they find themselves in a "sandwich" phase of life - supporting children or aging parents, or sometimes both. A 2005 Pew Research Center survey found that half of all boomers were raising one or more young children and/or providing primary financial support to one or more adult children. Another 17%, who were parents of children 18 and older, provided some financial support to at least one adult child. An additional two-in-ten were providing some financial assistance to a parent.

Looking into their financial futures, only 26% of the baby boomers said then that they expected to live very comfortably in retirement. That was a lower percentage than either younger people (37%) or older ones (33%), many of whom already are retired.

On the other hand, another theory is offered by University of Chicago sociologist Yang Yang, who suggests that the huge size of the baby boom generation - 76 million - created more competition for schooling and jobs than smaller generations encountered. This competition, so the theory goes, creates stress. In a recently published research paper, she proposed the theory to explain why three decades of data from the General Social Survey indicate that boomers have experienced less happiness on average during their lives than younger or older adults.

It's also possible that the seeds of the boomers' discontent were planted long ago - back when they were young and their generation reveled in the culture of youth. Boomers are a big, complicated generation, but one thing can be said about them without fear of contradiction: They are no longer young.

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America's baby boomers are in a collective funk. Members of the large generation born from 1946 to 1964 are more downbeat about their lives than are adults who are younger or older.

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Table of Contents

baby boomer, member of the generation of people born during the surge in births in the United States and other countries in the years immediately following World War II. The size of the generation in the U.S. combined with technological changes and geopolitical factors to dramatically reshape the country politically, culturally, and economically.

There were about 132 million people in the U.S. in 1940, the last full year before the country entered the war. A relatively small surge in births from 1942 to 1945 helped boost the population to about 140 million. Over the next 19 years, from 1946 to 1964, nearly 76 million babies are estimated to have been born, an increase of more than 50 percent over the population in 1945.

What led to the boom

Other developed countries saw surges in births during and after the war, including Canada, Australia, Norway, and France. No single factor explains each boom or the one in the U.S. itself. The popular belief that the boom in the U.S. was largely a function of soldiers returning from the war is undercut both by the duration of the boom and that an increase could be seen before the war ended. That said, the surge in births in the U.S. was likely in part due to the recovery of birth rates after the Great Depression and World War II and to the extended economic expansion that followed the war. Other factors likely boosted the effects of the boom, including higher rates of marriage and fewer opportunities for postwar employment among younger women.

In the U.S., the years of the baby boom overlapped with a lull in new immigration. The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants from other countries, constraints that were not removed until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. This combination of surging births among U.S. residents and reduced immigration meant that the baby boom generation included an unusually low percentage of immigrants at the outset and was less racially and ethnically diverse than generations that followed. Interestingly, the baby boom generation became more diverse over time as immigrants allowed to enter the U.S. after the 1965 law continued to swell the generation's ranks for decades after the boom in births ended.

The U.S. Census Bureau identifies the period of the boom as having lasted from mid-1946 to mid-1964, though the baby boom generation is generally described as encompassing the entirety of both years. It is the only generation distinctly recognized by the Census Bureau. The others with which people are generally familiar-such as the silent generation that preceded it and Generation X that followed-are more nebulously drawn, contributing to uncertainty and debate over their boundaries and their names.

The impact of the boom

It did not take long after the boom began for its effects to be felt. This huge increase in babies became an increase in toddlers, which became an increase in children. At each stage-continuing into the boomers' teenage years, adulthood, and retirement-the country has had to accommodate the generation's needs. For example, not only did the country have to build scores of new schools in the 1940s and '50s, it also needed to staff them with trained teachers. Los Angeles county opened on average a new elementary, middle, or high school every month from 1946 to 1964.

Businesses that targeted specific age groups went through boom-and-bust cycles. In 1958 Life magazine estimated that the youth market was $33 billion annually-more than $334 billion in 2020 dollars. But when the boom passed, the bonanza for diaper sellers and the makers of baby toys or swing sets did as well.

The rise of the boomer

Luckily for those businesses, the boom passed fairly slowly. Members of the baby boom generation, often called "baby boomers" or "boomers," were in their teen years from 1959 to 1983. For a quarter of a century, there was an unusually large teenage population, a group that at first attracted attention for their disposable income and willingness to spend it. Between 1946 and 1964, the number of households in the U.S. that had televisions jumped from only a handful to more than 9 in 10. There was a new medium for reaching people and a new pool of people for marketers to reach.

Boomer dominance in the 1980s

While the generation is often defined by its teenage years- hippie culture, protests against Vietnam, the 1969 concert in Woodstock, New York-it was during the 1980s that boomers took control of economic and political power.

By that decade, most employed Americans were baby boomers. Members of the generation were climbing the corporate ladder-or inventing entirely new corporations and industries from scratch. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, founders of Apple, were both born during the baby boom, as was Bill Gates, cofounder of Microsoft.

The baby boomers' cultural dominance was just as pronounced during the same period. The popular television show thirtysomething debuted in 1987-exactly 30 years after the peak of baby-boom births in 1957. There was a baby boomer version of the hit board game Trivial Pursuit and a 1987 movie called Baby Boom. Steven Spielberg, one of the decade's most popular filmmakers, was born in the first year of the baby boom. Born in 1954, Oprah Winfrey debuted her nationally syndicated television talk show in 1986. Both Michael Jackson and Madonna, whose music defined the 1980s, were born in 1958.

It was during this time that baby boomers helped define how their generation had shaped and been shaped by the events and trends of the 1960s and '70s. By the 1980s, baby boomers were increasingly empowered to document their generation, leading to various ruminations on their teen years and early 20s-a period of both national and intergenerational tumult.

Boomers as the political elite

On Capitol Hill, the average age of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate dipped to about 50 just as the 1980s were beginning, a reflection of the increased election of younger Americans-i.e., baby boomers. This included elected officials from both parties, of course; the generation was large enough that its politics have always been fairly evenly divided. Analysis of exit polling shows that the generation's preferences in presidential voting drifted to the right from the mid-1970s to the 2020s, from backing Democrats by several points to backing Republicans by a bit more.

The first baby boomer U.S. president was Democrat Bill Clinton, born in 1946, the first year of the baby boom, and elected in 1992. The next baby boomer president was Republican George W. Bush, born about a month before Clinton. He was followed by another baby boomer-Democrat Barack Obama, born in 1961, close to the end of the boom. Then came Republican Donald Trump, who was born less than a month before Bush and who defeated Hillary Clinton, herself a baby boomer. For nearly three decades, the White House was occupied by a member of the baby boom generation. For 20 of those years, the president was someone born within a two-month period in the boom's very first months. In 2020 Donald Trump became the first major-party candidate from the baby boom to lose to a non-boomer.

Boomers oversee societal change

In addition to taking over cultural and political power, baby boomers were growing up personally. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, more than three-quarters of children born in the U.S. were born to mothers who were boomers. Even as late as 1997, at least a fifth were. Baby boomers were also buying homes to accommodate their families. By the end of the 1980s, baby boomers held more than 60 percent of all home mortgages in the country.

As this was happening, the baby boomers were observing remarkable changes to the world around them. The end of World War II led to the Cold War, polarized around the U.S. and the Soviet Union. But by the early 1990s, the Cold War had ended and-as in the wake of World War II-the American economy grew rapidly.

The consistent pattern across the history of the baby boom generation was that its scale forced American institutions to adapt. More schools were built. Teenagers were targeted as a new market. TV shows and movies were created to appeal to the generation. By the early 2000s, there was a new focus: preparing for baby boomers to begin retiring. The first baby boomers began hitting retirement age about 2010.

The decline of the baby boom

This came at the tail end of the Great Recession, meaning that many baby boomers who had built retirement wealth during the economic expansion in the 1990s-retirement wealth increasingly centred in private-sector investments such as 401(k)s -were suddenly faced with unexpected insecurity about their savings. Polling from Gallup shows that the number of baby boomers who were confident they could retire by age 65 was cut in half between the early 2000s and 15 years later.

There was another unfamiliar event in the same period: the election of Barack Obama. The gap between elder and younger voters in the 2008 presidential contest was unusually wide as members of the millennial generation, many of whom had recently become old enough to vote, backed the Democrat by a wide margin.

This indirect challenge from younger Americans was not confined to politics. From nearly the moment the baby boom began, the generation's size forced the country to meet its needs. But now younger Americans-who tend to be more diverse, better educated, and, relatedly, more politically liberal-have come to make up a larger percentage of the population. Just as members of the baby boom needed the country to accommodate their transition into retirement, the millennial generation and Gen Z began competing for limited resources. That spilled over into culture; the dismissive phrase "OK boomer" spread from video-sharing platforms such as TikTok into the broader public conversation.

By 2023, baby boomers made up only a fifth of the U.S. population. By 2041, they are projected to be only a tenth. Their children and grandchildren make up an increasingly large part of the workforce and elected positions at all levels of government. But the effects of the baby boom's dominance for three-quarters of a century will unquestionably continue to be felt for a long time to come.

Philip Bump

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Baby boomer | Definition, Age Range, & Societal and Economic Impact

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baby boomer, member of the generation of people born during the surge in births in the United States and other countries in the years immediately following World War II. The size of the generation in the U.S. combined with technological changes and geopolitical factors to dramatically reshape the country politically, culturally, and economically.

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Fashion in the 1960s became progressively more casual across all genders and ages. Womenswear followed three broad trends: a continuation of the previous decade's ladylike elegance, the youthful styles of Mary Quant and the Space Age influence, and the late 1960s "hippie" style. Menswear saw an increasing amount of color and pattern, military influence, and new fashion icons in the form of rock stars. Children's wear saw less change, but also became more casual and bright in color and pattern.

Broadly categorized, there were three main trends in 1960s womenswear: 1) the lady-like elegance inherited from the previous decade seen on the likes of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, 2) the fun, youthful designs popularized by Swinging London, and 3) the Eastern-influenced hippie styles of the late 1960s. Along with these diverse styles, there came a shift in the way that women shopped and for whom the styles were created.

In the early years of the decade, fashion continued along the lines of the 1950s. Skirt suits and coordinating accessories were emphasized as one decade transitioned into the next. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy epitomized this look during her husband's presidential campaign and short presidency. She was admired around the world for her put-together, lady-like look consisting of boxy skirt-suits like the Givenchy suit in figure 1 and navy suit in figure 2, sheath and A-line dresses (Fig. 3), and luxurious coats-all accessorized with white gloves, pearls, and a matching hat. This look was being produced by the likes of Hubert de Givenchy and Cristóbal Balenciaga (Fig. 4), but as the decade progressed, it became clear that the momentum was towards a new kind of designer in the 1960s.

The cultural phenomenon termed Swinging London began in 1955 but reached its zenith in the early- to mid-1960s. It was a phenomenon that focused on youth, spotlighting music and fashion. It brought us The Beatles and the miniskirt, Twiggy (Fig. 9) and The Who. The designer who led the way in the "youthquake" was Mary Quant who opened her first shop, Bazaar, on the King's Road in Chelsea, London in 1955. Quant's simple, colorful designs appealed to teenagers and young people who had more disposable income than any generation before. It differed from the stuffy looks of the older generation and appealed to young women who embraced the child-like styles Quant produced (Fig. 7). Fashion historian James Laver writes of Quant in Costume and Fashion: A Concise History,

"Rejecting the constraints of seasonal shows, she produced as many as twenty-eight collections during her early years, creating simple, practical, often mix n'match designs which had an element of classlessness perfectly suited to the mood of the sixties" (261-262).

Bazaar was in the new boutique style, a revolutionary new way to shop that differed from the traditional designer atelier and the department store. Besides the accessibility of the clothes in the shop, boutiques also created a frenetic atmosphere, as seen in figure 5. In her book The Lost Art of Dress, Linda Przybyszewski writes, "Boutiques were groovy places where modern music played and young owners and customers collaborated on new looks that came only in small sizes" (202).

One of the most revolutionary designs attributed to Quant was the miniskirt and minidress (Fig. 6). Eschewing the prim below-the-knee skirts of the late 1950s and early 1960s, by the mid-sixties, young women were wearing skirts that fell at the upper thigh. Like the short skirts of the 1920s, the miniskirt shocked but was also a highly popular look for young women. Miniskirts and minidresses were adopted by Parisian designers as Quant and her contemporaries continued to gain popularity.

Along with the miniskirt came a craze for the playful, innovative use of new materials and a focus on scientific progress. Newly developed materials such as acrylics, polyesters, and shiny PVC were used in women's clothing while designers were inspired by pop art and space, like the miniskirt in figure 10 and the dress in figure 11. Pierre Cardin and André Courrèges debuted space-inspired designs in shades of white and silver. Laver writes, "Courrèges' Spring/Summer 1964 'Space Age' collection featured 'astronaut' hats and goggles, white and silver PVC 'moon girl' loon trousers, catsuits and white patent or kid leather, mid-calf-length boots" (264, Fig. 8). Sheath and A-line minidresses, both without defined waists, were popular silhouettes. These modern designs dominated the mid-sixties as fashion moved toward a more playful and freeing look.

While the miniskirt reached its height mid-decade, by the late 1960s, a new style and culture was emerging. Skirts dipped back to mid-calf and by 1969, the full-length maxi-skirt had emerged (Fig. 12). This came with the move towards the "hippie" aesthetic. Elizabeth Wilson writes in Gerta Buxbaum's Icons of Fashion: The Twentieth Century, "Between 1965 and 1967, the uncluttered, futuristic design of André Courrèges and Mary Quant - featuring short skirts, childish pinafores, and boxy shapes - were superseded by a return to the styles of Art Nouveau, Hollywood, and William Morris" (98). Suede, headbands, kaftans, Afghan coats, beads and other non-Western elements of adornment were embraced as were flowing skirts and secondhand clothing (Laver 267-268). Janis Joplin, seen in figure 13, embraced this style in the late 1960s.

Both the "Mod" movement, to which Quant contributed, and the hippie movement were part of a new model of "street style" in which fashion is disseminated from the streets up to the designers rather than vice versa. Jane Mulvagh writes in Icons of Fashion, "1962 to 1968 were crucial years in which the allure and originality of street style challenged, and finally broke, the hegemony of high fashion" (86). The trajectory of fashion in the 1960s saw three very diverse overarching styles but also a shift from a designer-centric fashion ecosystem to one where the consumer was at the center of creation.

An enduring icon of the 1950s and '60s, movie star Audrey Hepburn embraced the progression of sixties fashion up to the hippie aesthetic of the last part of the decade. Having firmly established herself as a leading lady in 1950s films like Roman Holiday, Sabrina, and Funny Face, Hepburn's influence continued into the sixties.

In 1961, she starred as Holly Golightly in one of her most iconic films, Breakfast at Tiffany's (Fig. 14). In this film, like so many others, Hubert de Givenchy designed the costumes, including the iconic black dress from the opening scene (Fig. 17). Hepburn and Givenchy worked together both on- and off-screen to create a simple, but stylish wardrobe that was easily copied by women of all means.

In the early 1960s, Hepburn wore feminine, Jackie Kennedy-esque skirt suits. Like the First Lady, she paired these suits with the requisite accessories: gloves and hat, like the green Givenchy suit worn in Paris When It Sizzles in 1962 (Fig. 18). The clothes she wore in 1963's Charade would not have looked out of place on Kennedy but also cut a stylish figure as she gallivanted through Paris (Fig. 15). As the decade progressed, so did her fashion. In the mid-sixties, Hepburn began to wear more "Mod" styles with bright colors and minidresses working their way into her wardrobe. In the 1966 film How to Steal a Million, she sported white-rimmed sunglasses à la Space Age styles and a stylish bob hairstyle accented by dark eyeliner to give her the popular doe-eyed look of the period (Fig. 16).

Though she would remain admired for her fashion for the rest of her life, by 1969, when the fashion world had started to turn to Eastern influences and longer skirts, Hepburn married Andrea Dotti in a pink minidress (Fig. 19). Looking happy, she represented the part of the population, including couture designers like Givenchy, who had not yet embraced the new style.

Just as womenswear became more casual and colorful throughout the 1960s, so too did menswear. While menswear began moving towards a more casual style in the 1950s, the frenetic energy of Swinging London found its way with bright prints and colors for men. As there had not been very much movement in men's fashion for over a hundred years, the change was striking. The V&A writes,

"Perhaps the most remarkable development in 1960s dress was the dramatic change in menswear. For the past 150 years, clothing for men had been tailor-made, and plain and sombre in appearance. Now, colourful new elements were introduced, such as the collarless jacket, worn with slim-fitting trousers and boots" (History of Fashion 1900-1970).

Where the mid- to late-1950s saw a rise in the popularity of Italian style suits with narrow striped ties, menswear gradually incorporated brighter colors and patterns, and ties began to widen again as the decade progressed. The difference between the conventional suit seen in 1963 (Fig. 20) and those designed by Cardin (Figs. 22-24) and worn by George Harrison (Fig. 21) is striking.

By the mid-1960s, even the suit itself was seeing changes. Brightly striped or patterned suits were worn by bold young men, while even the trousers and jacket did not escape from new styling. The V&A writes,

"As the 1960s gathered pace, the standard template for a man's suit began to accommodate subtly daring new elements: the collarless jacket (a look popularised by The Beatles in 1963, the year they launched their first album) and slim-fitting trousers, matched with heeled boots rather than shoes" (The Peacock Revolution: 1960s Menswear).

As mentioned, even who was inspiring men's style was changing: where movie stars had been the primary style icons since the 1930s, rock stars such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Mick Jagger, among others, became a primary influence on men's fashion.

From the mid-1960s, men's fashion was influenced by military elements, with many of the rock influences contributing to its popularity. Mick Jagger (Fig. 26) and Jimi Hendrix (Fig. 25) both sported military jackets during performances, while The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band showed the band wearing neon versions of the styles (Buxbaum 100). Partly thanks to this style, army-and-navy surplus clothing stores and secondhand stores became popular in the late 1960s. Like womenswear, menswear also saw an influence from space as Pierre Cardin designed futuristic clothing for men, too. In Swinging Sixties, Jenny Lister writes,

"His 'Cosmos' collection of 1966/7 was too extreme to enter the mainstream, but elements of the look such as turtle-neck sweaters, and zipped tunics in bonded jersey, were taken up and worn with more accessible styles" (34).

You can see some of these elements in the green suit from 1960 (Fig. 22) and the space-inspired suit from 1965 (Fig. 24). By 1968, Cardin's suits had returned to a more conventional look, though the jacket still had a bold pattern (Fig. 24).

Like women's fashion, menswear turned to Eastern influences and secondhand shopping in the late 1960s. Rejecting the consumerism and synthetic materials of the earlier part of the decade, men began to wear vintage clothes, especially those from the 1930s and 1940s. This meant that men's suits began to widen again, as they had in the thirties and forties. George Harrison was an early adopter of the style and the boldly patterned suit jacket from boutique shop Granny Takes a Trip he wore in the mid-sixties foreshadows the style to come (Fig. 21). Tie-dye, loose-fitting shirts, and velvet vests were all a part of the men's hippie aesthetic in the later part of the 1960s while color continued to remain front and center. As the 1960s moved into the 1970s, flared trousers, jeans, and long hair were all widespread men's styles.

Children's clothing in the 1960s saw less change than their adult counterparts. While women's and men's fashion were changing quickly and radically, children's fashion changed at a much slower, subtler pace. Both boys' and girls' fashion continued along the same lines in the early sixties, but they did wear clothes made from the new synthetic materials which were easier to care for.

Girls continued to wear dresses with defined waists and full skirts at the beginning of the decade, like those seen in the 1962 Good Housekeeping feature (Fig. 28). Mary-janes, white ankle socks, and peter pan collars all continued to be popular aspects of young girl's clothing, and girls were sometimes even still required to wear white gloves for special occasions. As the decade progressed, however, girls' fashion slowly started to become more casual. Bright colors, bold patterns such as plaids and bright florals, and oversized bows became popular, like the fun styles featured in the McCall's patterns (Fig. 27). New silhouettes such as the A-line, dropped waist, and babydoll began to replace the nipped-in waist of earlier in the decade (Fig. 29). As styles became more casual, it became more acceptable for young girls to wear pedal pushers, shorts, and trousers while playing.

One of the areas where girls did follow the trends of adults was in accessories. Young girls could be seen wearing the same brightly colored and patterned tights that young women wore with their miniskirts. Others might wear the shiny white go-go boots that went along with the Space Age fashions. In some ways, many of the adult styles actually took after young girl's fashion rather than the other way around.

Boy's fashion saw the popularity of denim and plaid throughout the decade. In the early 1960s, cuffed jeans and corduroy pants were favorites paired with tucked in polo shirts and athletic jackets or blazers. As the decade progressed, the color and pattern that was seen in men's clothing began to slowly creep into young boy's fashion (Fig. 30). Striped and plaid blazers were popular formal options, while turtlenecks, a popular style among men, and brighter colors such as red, yellow, and orange were worn in the mid-sixties. Neither girl's nor boy's fashion saw a strong influence from hippie fashion, although some boys began to wear bell-bottom jeans in the later part of the decade.

References:

Breward, Christopher, David Gilbert and Jenny Lister. Swinging Sixties: Fashion in London and Beyond 1955-1970. London: V&A Publications, 2006. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/552142953.

Brown Jones, Bonny. "Fashion for Children in the 1960s." Our Everyday Life, January 10, 2019. Accessed June 27, 2019. https://oureverydaylife.com/fashion-for-children-in-the-1960s-12487774.html.

Buxbaum, Gerda. Icons of Fashion: The 20thCentury. Munich: Prestel Verlag, 2005. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/773599428.

Ewing, Elizabeth. History of 20th-Century Fashion. 4th ed. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 2001. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/456545252.

Moseley, Rachel. "Audrey Hepburn - Everybody's Dream Girl." The Observer, March 7, 2004. Accessed June 27, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/mar/07/highereducation.gender.

Olivier, Lucy. "Jackie Kennedy - A True Fashion Icon." The Telegraph, January 6, 2017. Accessed June 24, 2019. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/jackie/true-fashion-icon-jackie-kennedy/.

The People History. "Vintage 1960s Children's Fashion Clothes." Accessed June 27, 2019. http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1960skidsfashion.html.

Przybyszewski, Linda. The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish. New York: Basic Books, 2014. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1023179396.

Stratford, SJ. "1960s Clothes for Girls." Love to Know. Accessed June 27, 2019. https://childrens-clothing.lovetoknow.com/1960s-clothing-girls.

Victoria and Albert Museum. "An Introduction to 1960s Fashion." Accessed June 24, 2019. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/an-introduction-to-1960s-fashion.

Victoria and Albert Museum. "History of Fashion 1900 - 1970." Accessed June 24, 2019. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/history-of-fashion-1900-1970/.

Victoria and Albert Museum. "Introduction to 20th-Century Fashion." Accessed June 24, 2019. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/i/introduction-to-20th-century-fashion/.

Victoria and Albert Museum. "The Peacock Revolution: 1960s Menswear." Accessed June 24, 2019. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-peacock-revolution-1960s-menswear.

Events:

1961 - John F. Kennedy becomes president. His wife, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, soon becomes a fashion icon. Fur coats are much sought after because they are seen as a status symbol. Movements in the following decades protest vigorously against the wearing of fur.

1962 - The Sidney Janis Gallery in New York exhibits works by contemporary American pop artists and the "Nouveau Realisme" movement in a groundbreaking show called the "International Exhibition of the New Realists."

1963 - The Beatles make their first national TV appearance. Their identical haircuts became a popular look among young men on both sides of the Atlantic.

1964 - Young designers, including Mary Quant and Andre Courreges, introduce the miniskirt and minidress.
Maija Isola designs the iconic Unikko (poppy) print for Finnish fashion firm Marimekko.
The first Biba store, the inspiration of designer Barbara Hulanicki, opens in London, selling young, creative styles at budget prices.

1965 - Yves Saint Laurent's Mondrian- inspired color blocks sweeps through the international fashion world.
Young fashion designers, including Foale and Tuffin and Mary Quant, go on the British "Youthquake" tours to the US arranged by the Puritan Fashion Corporation and J.C.Penney in New York.

1966 - By early 1966 the waistline disappears, and designers like Norman Norell showcase loose-fitting dresses with loose sleeves. Twiggy, the "Face of 66" and one of the world's first supermodels, shoots to fame. Jewelry designer Paco Rabanne causes a sensation when he launches his linked chain and plastic paillettes and minidresses in Paris.

1967 - American fashion designer Geoffrey Beene presents his sequined football jersey evening gowns, following his ball gowns in gray flannel and wool jersey shown the previous year.

1968 - The rock musical Hair opens on Broadway and in London's West End, making Marsha Hunt a star and proclaiming "black is beautiful."The first Ossie Clark for Radley collection is shown at Chelsea Town Hall.

1969 - The Woodstock festival takes place in New York state, and is seen as a defining moment of the "hippie era" and the counterculture of the 1960s. The US lands the first men on the Moon, after space exploration earlier in the decade, which inspires space-age fashion looks.

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Fashion in the 1960s became progressively more casual across all genders and ages. Womenswear followed three broad trends: a continuation of the previous decade's ladylike elegance, the youthful styles of Mary Quant and the Space Age influence, and the late 1960s "hippie" style.

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Rock and roll | History, Songs, Artists, & Facts

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Rock and roll, style of popular music that originated in the United States in the mid-1950s and that evolved by the mid-1960s into the more encompassing international style known as rock music, though the latter also continued to be known as rock and roll. Learn more about the history of rock and roll in this article.

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Generation X | Origin, Years, Characteristics, & Facts

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Generation X, a term used for the generation of Americans born between 1965 and 1980, although some sources used slightly different ranges. It follows the well-known baby boomer generation and precedes the millennial generation. The use of the term Generation X was popularized by Canadian writer Dou…

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Digital technology and alternatives to adult-oriented rock

The music industry was rescued from its economic crisis by the development in the 1980s of a new technology, digital recording. Vinyl records were replaced by the compact disc (CD), a technological revolution that immediately had a conservative effect. By this point the most affluent record buyers had grown up on rock; they were encouraged to replace their records, to listen to the same music on a superior sound system. Rock became adult music; youthful fads continued to appear and disappear, but these were no longer seen as central to the rock process, and, if rock's 1970s superstars could no longer match the sales of their old records with their new releases, they continued to sell out stadium concerts that became nostalgic rituals (most unexpectedly for the Grateful Dead). For new white acts the industry had to turn to alternative rock. A new pattern emerged-most successfully in the 1980s for R.E.M. and in the '90s for Nirvana-in which independent labels, college radio stations, and local retailers developed a cult audience for acts that were then signed and mass-marketed by a major label. Local record companies became, in effect, research and development divisions of the multinationals.

The radical development of digital technology occurred elsewhere, in the new devices for sampling and manipulating sound, used by dance music engineers who had already been exploring the rhythmic and sonic possibilities of electronic instruments and blurring the distinctions between live and recorded music. Over the next decade the uses of digital equipment pioneered on the dance scene fed into all forms of rock music making. For a hip-hop act such as Public Enemy, what mattered was not just a new palette of "pure" sound but also a means of putting reality-the actual voices of the powerful and powerless-into the music. Hip-hop, as was quickly understood by young disaffected groups around the world, made it possible to talk back to the media.

The global market and fragmentation

The regeneration of DIY paralleled the development of new means of global music marketing. The 1985 Live Aid event, in which live television broadcasts of charity concerts taking place on both sides of the Atlantic were shown worldwide, not only put on public display the rock establishment and its variety of sounds but also made clear television's potential as a marketing tool. MTV, the American cable company that had adopted the Top 40 radio format and made video clips as vital a promotional tool as singles, looked to satellite technology to spread its message: "One world, one music." And the most successful acts of the 1980s, Madonna and Michael Jackson (whose 1982 album, , became the best-selling album of all time by crossing rock's internal divides), were the first video acts, using MTV brilliantly to sell themselves as stars while being used, in turn, as global icons in the advertising strategies of companies such as Pepsi-Cola.

The problem with this pursuit of a single market for a single music was that rock culture was fragmenting. The 1990s had no unifying stars (the biggest sensation, the Spice Girls, were never really taken seriously). The attempt to market a global music was met by the rise of world music, an ever-increasing number of voices drawing on local traditions and local concerns to absorb rock rather than be absorbed by it. Tellingly, the biggest corporate star of the 1990s, the Quebecois Céline Dion, started out in the French-language market. By the end of the 20th century, hybridity meant musicians playing up divisions within rock rather than forging new alliances. In Britain the rave scene (fueled by dance music such as house and techno, which arrived from Chicago and Detroit via Ibiza, Spain) converged with "indie" guitar rock in a nostalgic pursuit of the rock community past that ultimately was a fantasy. Although groups like Primal Scream and the Prodigy seemed to contain, in themselves, 30 years of rock history, they remained on the fringes of most people's listening. Rock had come to describe too broad a range of sounds and expectations to be unified by anyone.

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Rock - 80s, 90s, Pop: The music industry was rescued from its economic crisis by the development in the 1980s of a new technology, digital recording. Vinyl records were replaced by the compact disc (CD), a technological revolution that immediately had a conservative effect.

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As decades go, the 1980s had more than its share of iconic technology, from Walkmen to VCRs to pagers. Most innovative gadgets and entertainment devices of the Reagan era have since become obsolete, but they paved the way for a new generation of 21 st-century items such as cell phones and voice-activated household appliances.

Here are eight influential tech marvels of the 1980s that have long since jumped the shark:

Pager

Small, wireless telecommunication devices that could easily snap onto a purse strap or a belt, pagers allowed people to deliver simple messages in an instant. One-way pagers let users receive messages, while two-way devices could acknowledge, reply to and originate communications.

First commercially developed in the 1950s for use in the medical field, pagers spread into wider use the 1980s, when having a "beeper" (as they were called) signified your status to the world as an important person who needed to be reached immediately.

Pagers became a cultural phenomenon, mentioned in numerous rap songs from the era. The devices couldn't process texts, so users developed their own shorthand using numbers and asterisks-an early emoji. Pagers also became quickly adopted by illicit drug dealers, with one Miami school district official in 1988 calling the device "the most dominant symbol of the drug trade" and several districts around the country banning them from campuses.

Cell phones all but eliminated the need for beepers. But the device is still used by disaster responders and the restaurant industry, among others.
WATCH: Full episodes of 'The Toys That Built America' premiering Sundays at 10/9c on The HISTORY® Channel and streaming the next day.
Portable Cassette Player

The Sony Walkman, a handheld cassette player with headphones sporting orange foam earpieces, forever changed the way people consumed music.

Portable transistor radios had already made it possible for people to listen to broadcasts practically anywhere. The hi-fi Sony Walkman-introduced in Japan in 1979 and a year later in the U.S.-allowed consumers to become their own DJs. Not only could they choose from commercial cassette versions of LP albums, but cassette devices also facilitated the creation of "mix tapes"-curated analog playlists mixing and matching songs from different sources.

The popularity of Sony's invention, and copycat devices, helped the cassette tape outsell vinyl records for the first time in 1983. The word "Walkman" became generic and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 1986. During the height of the device's popularity, according to TIME magazine, walking for exercise increased by 30 percent.

About a decade later, the walking-and-listening trend went digital with the advent of the MP3 player-and most significantly in 2001, with the debut of Apple's iPod.

Boombox

This multiple-format, portable music player was the antithesis of the cute Walkman: large, heavy and in-your-face loud. The combination radio-cassette player-recorder with an amplifier and speakers offered good sound quality at a high volume.

Developed in Europe as a device to record clean audio directly from radio, the boombox made its U.S. consumer debut in the 1970s. In the 1980s, manufacturers added a second cassette player, sophisticated audio controls and input/output jacks that enabled the use of microphones and other external devices.

Buyers gravitated to bigger boxes, looking for increased bass output. Large boxes became status symbols, and teens commonly carried them on their shoulders, regardless of weight. The devices became a staple of the decade's breakdancing craze.

Because of boomboxes' connection to urban Black and Hispanic youth, some people started calling them "ghetto blasters." Cities tried banning their use in parks and public places, and their popularity declined-in part because of the growing acceptance of the Walkman and next-generation personal listening devices.
WATCH: The first season of 'The Toys That Built America' on HISTORY Vault.
Videocassette Recorder (VCR)

Devices that could both record TV programming and play previously recorded content on magnetic tape videocassettes arrived on the U.S. market in the 1970s. Two video formats emerged as industry leaders: Betamax, which debuted in 1975, and VHS, a year later. A format war ended with VHS controlling 60 percent of the market by 1980.

With timers that could schedule recordings of TV broadcasts, VCRs freed viewers to watch their favorite shows on their own schedule. In the early 1980s, the film and TV industry complained about the recording of copyrighted material; in a 1982 congressional hearing, Jack Valenti, the head of the Motion Picture Association of America, said, "the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone." Ironically, the sale of movies on VHS brought increasing revenues to the studios.

The DVD debuted in 2000, overtaking the analog video market. The last VCR was manufactured in 2016.

Fax Machine

Fax (or "facsimile") machines were as ubiquitous in 1980s offices as telephones, copiers and typewriters. Users scanned a document with text or images into the device, which processed the contents as a single image, converted that into a bitmap and transmitted it through a telephone line in the form of audio frequency tones. On the other end, a receiving fax machine reconstructed the image and print a paper copy.

In 1964, Xerox marketed the first modern fax machine, and by the late 1970s many other competitors entered into the market. By the 1980s-peak faxing years-copy and scan functions were combined into all-in-one fax machines.

Fax machines' instantaneous transmission of documents proved practical and convenient. But the devices were noisy, required pricey paper stock and their texts, rendered as bitmap images, couldn't be edited or altered.

Industries with strict privacy policies like healthcare or finance have relied on fax machines the longest. But the decline in use of telephone landlines and the convenience of email and the internet has rendered the device practically obsolete.

The Clapper

Introduced to U.S. TV audiences in the mid 1980s with the catchy jingle "Clap On, Clap Off!," the Clapper was the first sound-activated switch marketed to control household appliances like lamps and TVs. Plugged into an outlet, the Clapper accommodated up to two appliances. Two claps would turn on the first; three claps would activate the second.

The patented device was marketed-largely through late-night TV commercials-by California-based businessman Joseph Pedott, who sold his company in 2018. By then, Forbes reported, it had sold more than 7 million Clappers. The gadget continues on the market, appealing mostly to the elderly and disabled.

Some of the automation and sensing technology used to create the Clapper appears in 21 st-century voice-activated systems like Alexa, Google Technology and Siri.

Teddy Ruxpin

Introduced in 1985, Teddy Ruxpin was the world's first animatronic toy-a plush, storytelling bear-like creature with a cassette player in its back, which played its stories in as many as 13 languages. The magnetic strip on the audio delivered electronic commands that made Teddy move his eyes and mouth in sync with the narration. Kids could flip through one of 60 related storybooks, to keep up with the tale.

At around $100 for the Teddy Ruxpin (batteries not included, the first TV commercial warned), along with the additional storybook and cassette, the bear wasn't cheap by 1980s toy standards. Still, it became the best-selling toy of 1985 and 1986, and launched its own animated TV series.

The original Teddy Ruxpin was forced off the market when distributor World of Wonder went into bankruptcy just before Christmas of 1987. Subsequent versions appeared throughout the years, including a 2017 version programmed with digital audio.
READ MORE about the history of toys on HISTORY.com
Speak & Spell

The development of personal computing technology brought about several electronic games in the 1970s. Among them, the Speak and Spell-unveiled by Texas Instruments at the Consumer Electronics Show of 1978-was one of the earliest handheld devices with a visual display, and one of the first gaming consoles with interchangeable cartridges.

Its appeal was simple: It spoke, using trademarked technology to store full words. A synthesized voice prompted the player to spell a word, and called out each word as the user typed it in. Depending on the spelling, the voice called out "that is correct" or "wrong." Each cartridge held about 200 words.

Speak and Spell gained its share of pop-culture exposure. Referred to in multiple TV shows and films, it was part of the gear used to "phone home" in the 1981 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and even inspired the title of the British synth-pop band Depeche Mode's 1981 debut album, "Speak and Spell."

While its final model was released in 1992, the Speak and Spell's advanced technology, especially the speech synthesizer, presaged more sophisticated gadgets of the 21st century.

Fact Check

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8 Essential Gadgets From the 1980s That Are Now Obsolete | HISTORY

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Once cutting-edge and status-conferring, these technologies have since been overshadowed.

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New Pop Superstars

Pop stars and their music changed in the 1980s with the help of MTV and a greater focus on image. A new breed of mega-stars emerged, becoming iconic mascots for the genre and defining the decade through fashion, talent and persona. Some of the superstars to emerge were Madonna, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Prince. They experienced a level of fame and success not seen since Elvis Presley and the Beatles. These stars influenced fashion through their music videos, giving fans a first hand glimpse into emerging trends. Their songs set the gold standard for what pop music should be, and through constant reinvention they were able to navigate the pop culture world and keep themselves relevant. Thirty years on, they are still the standard that today's pop stars get compared to. There are several reasons they these pop mega-stars emerged, the main one being they were genuinely talented artists. Other reasons include a greater public interest in celebrity gossip, fashion and and increased obsession with pop culture. It also was related to the public having an increased disposable income and a want to imitate celebrity affluence. Changes in technology also contributed to the availability of music (MTV), better ways to listen (CDs and cassettes), and portability of music (the Walkman and boom-boxes). Lastly, a lot of these superstars' success can be accounted for through smart marketed by record companies and the artists' ability to look at themselves as brands.

Old Pop Stars and Their New Solo Careers

One trend in pop music during the decade was the re-emergence of older musicians who had once been popular as a part of a group or duo into their own solo careers. Some examples include Diana Ross, Cher, Lionel Richie, Tina Turner and Paul McCartney. These artists had already experienced success during the 1960s and 1970s and a few of them had even tried becoming actors during that time. They also came into successful solo careers after adapting to the new musical landscape. Cher, Tina Turner and Diana Ross all updated their looks to keep up with fashion, Lionel Richie made memorable music videos and adapted his soulful sound into the new style of pop music and Paul McCartney collaborated with other successful musicians to keep himself relevant. Part of the reason these artists were successful had to do with the fact that the Baby Boom generation was coming into adulthood and had an influx of disposable income to spend on the records of artists they had grown up listening to. They brought a sense of nostalgia for the good old days of music and yet their songs and styles were updated, combining the best of both worlds.

One Hit Wonders

The eighties was the decade of one hit wonders, where an artist would achieve massive success with one or two extremely popular songs and then seemingly fade away, never able to re-create their success. Part of this had to do with the expansion of the music industry, facilitated by MTV and technology. Record companies could now make just as much money by manufacturing one-hit artists in succession while not having to invest the time and money that would make a mediocre musician into a star with more longevity. Trends were also changing more quickly and many artists could not keep up and adapt fast enough. As the world's society became more globalized, the pool of talent became bigger, making it easier to move onto the next new artist. The changes in technology and societal attitudes also meant that consumers' attention spans got shorter. Some of the most memorable one hit wonders from the decade include, a-ha's "Take On Me," Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," Toni Basil's "Mickey," Nena's "99 Luftballoons," and Dexy's Midnight Runners' "Come On Eileen."

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1980s Music History including Eidhties Styles, Bands And Artists

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Pop stars and their music changed in the 1980s with the help of MTV and a greater focus on image. A new breed of mega-stars emerged, becoming iconic mascots for the genre and defining the decade through fashion, talent and persona. Some of the superstars to emerge were Madonna, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Prince.

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Fashion of the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of 1970s fashion. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the current decade.[2] The first half of the decade was relatively tame in comparison to the second half, which was when apparel became very bright and vivid in appearance.

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Last Updated on September 29, 2023 by Carla Jonas

Estimated reading time: 45 minutes

When thinking of 80's fashion, the words 'big and bright' surely sums it up. It was a decade of big hair, shoulder pads, large and dramatic earring types, acid wash jeans, colorful necklace styles and eye-straining fabric colors and patterns. Fashion trends in the 1980s were about materialistic values and flaunting wealth. Having the right clothes meant spending extra money to buy designer labels and sports goods with a brand logo.

Although teenagers certainly played a part, for the first time, fashion wasn't dictated by youngsters only. Baby boomers such as Tommy Hilfiger were becoming mature and more affluent, and they firmly planted their feet among the upmarket fashion influencers.

80s fashion gave rise to more style idols than any previous decade. It's hard to imagine now, but in the 80s there were no cell phones or internet. TV offered only a few channels, and watching a movie was a luxury. After television, magazines, and advertising were the average person's main source of fashion information. Limited exposure gave a select group of celebrities, music bands, and eighties clothing brands the opening to exert a significant influence on 80's fashion trends.

What shoes were worn in the 80s?

The 80s trendiest shoes included Jordans, aka color-block sneakers, Doc Martens (chunky boots), Vans Classic slip-ons, Adidas Campus, medium heeled pumps and Mary-Janes, Jellies and Moccasins.

What clothes were worn in the 80s?

The most popular clothes worn in the 80s included Oxford shirts for men, as well as polo shorts and turtlenecks, slacks usually in khaki, suspenders, striped linen suits and corduroy. For women, the hottest fashions included high waisted jeans (mom jeans), leg warmers, ripped denim, spandex and Lycra, acid wash jeans, statement shoulder business suits (usually with skirts), punk leather items and leotards.

What accessories were popular in the 80s?

80s fashion was big on accessories. The trendiest items included scrunchies, leg warmers, fingerless gloves, plastic bangles, large funky earrings in neon shades, mesh accents, fanny packs and pearl necklaces.

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Mix high and low like in the 80s with a pearl bracelet and a pair of sneakers, plus your favorite denims. Browse our selection of Pearl Bracelets, featuring classic and modern pieces that bring charm to any smart-casual outfit.Whether you're looking for Christmas outfit ideas, daily wear jewelry, formal bling or timeless pieces, pearls are always the right choice.

The Greatest Fashion Influencers of the 1980s

80s Fashion Designers and Clothing Brands

There were thousands of fashion designers and clothing brands in the 80s, but some will always stand out for their advertising campaigns or merely because their clothes were so quintessentially the eighties.

Reebok, Nike, and Adidas sportswear: Fitness became a craze in the 80s and sportswear from these companies was so popular that it became streetwear.
(Image Source: Arkamix)

Issey Miyake: Issey Miyake's designs concentrated on innovation and clothes that were comfortable to wear. In the 80s, he designed outfits that revolutionized pleated clothing.
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How To Spend It)

80s Music Icons

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MTV: MTV (a music television channel started in 1981) and wildly dressed celebrities of the 80's was a match made in heaven. It suddenly became much easier to spread a fad and rock stars appearing on the channel had an enormous impact on teenage fashion all over America.

Celebrities Who Shaped 80s Fashion

PEARL SPOTLIGHT

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Ella Macpherson: The 1980's saw the rise of the first high-earning supermodels and they increased their popularity and fashion impact by endorsing household products. Because of product advertising, the faces and 80s fashion style of models such as Elle Macpherson, Iman, Janice Dickinson, Grace Jones and Brooke Shields became famous in every household.
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Movies and TV Shows of the 80s

The 1983 movie Flashdance represented the essence of the 80s fashion. Oversized sweatshirts for women, leg warmers, leggings, and asymmetrical details originally made popular by the movie, are all coming into fashion again.
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A 1980s fashion icon: in the cult TV show Dallas, everyone tried to become rich and glamorous, and 80's fashionistas religiously emulated the dress code of actors in the show. When the show recently aired again, it sparked an 80's fashion revival featuring everything from Pam's big hair, shoulder pads and oversize knit sweaters to Ms Ellie's pearl necklace.
(Image Source: IMDB)

JEWELRY SPOTLIGHT

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The Calvin Klein underwear scene in the movie Back to the Future perfectly illustrates the power of brand name clothing in the 80's and how celebrity collaborations helped to put a brand on the 80's fashion list. To this day, Calvin Klein tighty whities with logoed waistband are the preferred symbol of sensual underwear for generation X.
(Image Source: Calvin Klein)

Miami Vice's look might have been excessive even by 80s fashion criteria, but predictions are that we will see many 80's styles from the show such as sockless shoes, 80's swimwear fashions, and pastel T-shirts trending again next year.
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Streetwear For the 1980s

The extravagance of celebrities' 80s fashion outfits was toned down in streetwear, but all the elements were there. The fabrics of the 1980s were unquestionably velour, spandex, and Lycra, with comfortable cotton and natural silk also popular. Severely tailored military-style suits and jackets with padded shoulders were worn side-by-side with printed t-shirts, velvet tracksuits, and baggy harem pants or leggings. One might think that with such divergent styles there's no cohesive look to 80's fashion, but the style expression of the decade is united by its determination to be bright, glitzy and bold. Ordinary people wore clothing in dazzling colors and patterns, emblazoned with slogans; every outfit was accessorized with watches, sneakers, belts, and jewelry that will always remain 80s fashion in our minds, but continued making a comeback in future decades.

Fifteen 80s Women's Fashions

The 80's female silhouette was slender with big shoulders (viva la shoulder pads!) and a pinched waist. 80's clothing, from dresses to overlarge sweaters, were worn off-the-shoulder and skirts were mini or hemmed at the knee. Footwear included high-heeled pumps and sports shoes, and even sportswear was accompanied by many accessories.

During the 80s, women in charge in the workforce were still novel, and 80's office outfits were inspired by actors such as Melanie Griffith in Working Girl. Women dressed up for parties and special occasions more formally than they do these days, so women needed a variety of smart clothes and accessories. With the fitness-craze just starting, females of any body type were squeezing themselves into leotards and bodysuits matched with legwarmers and a headband to walk, take an aerobics class, or even just to exercise at home with a Jane Fonda video.

Lamé: From 80's prom style to middle-aged moms at a party, every woman had a shiny lamé dress with ruffles and quite possibly off one shoulder. Lamé dresses were worn in dazzling colors, paired with high-heel pumps and lots of make-up and accessories.
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JEWELRY SPOTLIGHT:

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Eighties Fashions for Men

In the 80s, men started giving more importance to their appearance than before. The term 'yuppie' was coined as anacronym for the Young Urban Professional. For the first time in history, fashions for men played as important a role as for women, and many 80s clothing styles were unisex. Men started paying more attention to hairstyles and accessories, and thanks to music stars like Boy George, wearing makeup was no longer a taboo. Although male clothing in the 80s had bright colors and patterns in common with women's clothing, men still tended to dress more conservatively, and their primary concern was for comfort.

Velour sweat suits: Men and women wore velour sweat suits in the 80's. Fila, the Italian sportswear brand turned the classic velour sweat suit into the casual-wear staple for every man. Whether it's the Italian connection or a mafia association sprouted by the 80's TV series Sopranos, 80's velour sweat suits became common for men from couch potatoes to trendsetters and remain popular to this day.
(Image Source: Macy's)

The Power-suit: Men wore sharply cut suits with wide shoulders in the 80's. The idea was to look powerful and authoritative. Dark colors with a chalk stripe and jackets with a banker's collar were the most common style. Men wore ties in the 80's in a variety of styles; as with most 80's men's fashion, 'anything goes', and you could choose between extra-wide Kipper ties, skinny ties, and square-end ties. Ties were plain, patterned, or sometimes printed with weird designs that are making a comeback.
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Gucci sweatshirts: Rappers like Rakim and Eric B. loved the Gucci brand, and the designer's look was comfortable and stylish enough that even old-school men found their sweatshirts appealing.

(Image Source: Gucci)

Harem pants: The forerunner of today's dropped crotch pants, harem pants in psychedelic colors and dizzying patterns were a leftover from the 70s that carried forward its popularity in the 80s.

(Image Source: Jambo's Kickback)

Eighties Fashions for Children and Teenagers

Children in the 80s were becoming more self-sufficient than earlier generations, and with many newly affluent households in the eighties, they had the freedom to follow the latest fashions. The MTV music channel and famous musicians and film stars of the decade made a considerable impression on teenagers and fads spread like wildfire.

Vans sneakers: Skateboarding was a favorite sport in the 80s, and masters of the board were showing off their skills indistinctive checkerboard Vans slip-on sneakers. Kids who wanted to emulate Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times At Ridgemont High rushed out to get their own pair and sooneven adults were wearing them.
(Image Source: Vans)

Make-Up in the Eighties

In the 80s, makeup was unnaturally heavy, bold, and colorful. Emphasis was on the eyes with electric pink and blue eyeshadow and colored mascara was essential for thick dark eyelashes. Everyone blushed and highlighted their cheeks like Cindy Lauper's, and lipstick tended toward pale colors.

No one tried for a natural appearance in the 80s; the foundation was best worn a few shades lighter than the natural skin tone and slathered thick on the cheeks, with a bright streak of blush along the cheekbones to accentuate them to the fullest. Lips were unnatural with dark lipliner, followed by a bright lipstick in pink, orange, and red. For a while in the 80s, very pale lipstick was favored, but towards the end of the decade, it returned to bright colors.

The focal point of an 80's face was the eyes. Eyeshadow in peacock shades applied all the way to the eyebrows, followed by heavy eyeliner and lots of mascara. A smudgy look was popular, and often, more than one color eyeliner and mascara were applied for a layered look.
(Image Source: Hasshe)

80s Hairstyles

In the 80s, men, and women permed, teased and coiffed their hair to make it as big as possible. Hairstyles were massively large, curly, and heavily styled. Hairstyles from the 60s and 70s crept back into fashion with a few variations, and some fads like a rattail appeared and spread fast.

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Accessories That Made 80's Outfits Pop

Fashions were bright and bold in the 80s but what really gave the decade its distinctive look was accessories. No outfit was complete without a large statement necklace, dangling earrings down to your shoulders and a clash of bracelets. Dainty stud earrings and drop earrings took a backseat, while more opulent styles shined. If you were out on the street, a large tote bag and sunglasses were a must, and any physical exertion required the use of a sweatband and a boombox to complete the 80's look.

Jewelry: In the 1980s, jewelry was large and distinctive. To match an edgy leather jacket , women of all ages wore giant earrings, large beaded necklaces, stacks of bracelets, and enormous brooches. While the rich slathered themselves in gold and luxe gemstones, for the most part, people preferred costume jewelry crusted with rhinestones or sparkly c lear or pink gemstones. In the 80s, jewelry was not just a fashion accessory; it was a personality statement. Teenagers had their own culture of j elly bracelets and woven friendship bracelets, plastic watches, and beaded necklaces. Boy George and Michael Jackson could be seen on stage with large brooches and rappers adorned themselves in gold chain and ostentatious gold rings, but for the most part, men of the 80s didn't wear conspicuous jewelry.

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Tote bags: Tote bags were a favorite fashion accessory - and no 80s look was complete without them. Companies such as LL Bean were already selling them for years, but in 1980, The Strand bookstore in New York hopped on the fashion trend and started promoting their own version of the bag. Companies like Esprit also made distinctive tote bags in the 80s, and they've become a classic fashion collectible, still selling thousands every year.
(Image Source: eBay)

If you're old enough to feel a bit sheepish when you catch a glimpse of yourself in an 80's photo today, don't. With its neon overload, power suits and acid wash jeans, 80s fashion was one of the most iconic so far. Everything from spandex, shoulder pads, teal eyeliner, and velour tracksuits to the neon shoelaces which defined 1980s fashion have become trend leaders and gave birth to throwback fashion influences that are predicted to continue to pop up in decades to come. Any day now, you will be able to dig out that pair of Day-Glo sneakers from the back of your cupboard and wear them again with pride.
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Love it or hate it, 80s fashion is iconic. From neons to glam-rock, discover everything you need to know about the most controversial decade in fashion.

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Table of Contents

millennial, also called Generation Y or Gen Y, term used to describe a person born between 1981 and 1996, though different sources can vary by a year or two. It was first used in the book Generations (1991) by William Strauss and Neil Howe, who felt it was an appropriate name for the first generation to reach adulthood in the new millennium. Millennials are the cohort between Generation X (Gen X; defined as those born between 1965 and 1980) and Generation Z (Gen Z; defined as those born from about 1997 to the early 2010s).

Defining events and characteristics

Comprising some 72 million individuals in the United States, millennials surpassed the baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) to become the largest generation of adults in 2019. Millennials in the United States grew up during a period of relative stability and economic prosperity. In their 2000 book, Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation, Howe and Strauss noted that millennials had "never known a year in which America doesn't get richer." The September 11, 2001, attacks, however, punctured the semblance of security millennials had known up until then. Most were old enough to remember the events and to recognize their significance. The terrorist attacks were the first of a number of crises that defined millennials' adulthoods; others were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, whose costly failures made millennials question the idea of American exceptionalism; and the Great Recession of 2007-09, which contributed to millennials' difficulty in achieving the same milestones and affluence of earlier generations. Some scholars have remarked that millennials in the West are the first modern generation to be economically worse off than their parents. This generation, however, is also known for being adaptable. Indeed, they are considered the first digital generation, quickly acclimating to new technologies, including smartphones, social media, and streaming entertainment. They are the generation that has received the most formal education. They are also more diverse and more politically liberal when compared with earlier generations (later generations show signs of eventually surpassing millennials in many of these categories).

The rise of the Internet

One of the defining characteristics of millennials around the world is that they came of age during an era of major technological shifts, especially those associated with the rise of the Internet. In the United States, millennials are the first generation to have access to computers, cell phones, and smartphones from a young age. As young adults, they were the target consumers for social media and streaming entertainment. The rapid advancement of technology, however, created a nuanced subcohort. Younger millennials, for example, tend to be more comfortable with technology than older millennials. Moreover, millennials' experiences with the Internet vary around the globe, depending on the reliability of their country's networks. Although parts of the non-Western world are rapidly growing their networks, Internet access remains less reliable in those places than in the West.

Millennials are the first generation to integrate all manner of digital technology into their daily lives. They use social media to keep up with friends (using websites such as Facebook and apps such as Instagram and TikTok on their phones), date (on apps that include Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge), network (on the website LinkedIn), shop (on Amazon and other websites), and consume entertainment (using YouTube, Spotify, Netflix, Hulu, and others). Irish author Sally Rooney, who has been called "the first great millennial novelist," skillfully captures the types of conversations young people have over e-mail and text and how those technology-based exchanges often result in miscommunication and isolation.

Millennials, however, are not just passive users of technology. They are some of its main drivers. Mark Zuckerberg, perhaps one of the most famous millennials, grew Facebook from a college directory into a powerful and influential social networking website over the course of 10 years. Other millennial innovators include Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and TikTok developer Zhang Yiming.

With the proliferation of streaming services for music, sports, movies, and television, millennials were the first young adults to have access to a broad range of media suited to their specific tastes. Millennials therefore may not have popularized one specific style of music, as did the Silent Generation (those typically born between 1925 and 1945) with rock and roll and Gen X with hip-hop and grunge, but millennials offered a diverse mix of megastars with lasting influence. These millennial performers include Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Drake, Cardi B, and Lady Gaga. Moreover, streaming services offered new avenues for diverse voices. Millennial Issa Rae loosely adapted her YouTube series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl (2011-13) into the hit HBO show Insecure (2016-21), which follows two Black women living in Los Angeles. Comedy Central's Broad City (2014-19), which recounts the misadventures of two hapless millennial women, was also picked up this way; it came from Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson's YouTube series (2010-11) of the same name.

The great recession and its consequences

One of the events that had a lasting impact on millennials was the Great Recession of 2007-09. Many millennials in the United States and Europe entered the workforce at the height of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. They faced particularly high unemployment rates, and those who could find work were usually underemployed or in jobs that did not match their degrees. The difficulty in gaining satisfactory employment lowered millennials' potential earnings and hindered their ability to grow wealth. In the Western world, many blame the recession for millennials' tendency to delay significant milestones.

Millennials' stunted growth is reflected in their housing situation. Many millennials in the West have lived at home with their parents for longer stretches than other generations. This is especially true for millennials who did not attend college. They are twice as likely as those with a bachelor's degree or higher to live in their parents' home. The recession also restrained millennials' ability to save money to purchase a home, which, combined with limited housing stock and sharply rising prices, has resulted in fewer millennials owning their own home. For example, in Britain in 1998, when the average age of Gen Xers was 27, 55 percent of that cohort owned a house. However, when millennials were of the same average age, in 2014, only 32 percent were homeowners.

Millennials are also getting married and having children later in life. Yet this seems to be the case in many countries that were not affected by the Great Recession. In China, for example, millennials joined the workforce when the country's economy was soaring. And, while they have not necessarily delayed purchasing a house, as their counterparts in the Western world have done (some 70 percent of millennials in China own their own homes), they are holding off on other significant milestones. In 2019 the average age of first marriage in China was 27 for men and 25 for women, whereas in 1982 the average age was 23 for men while half of women were married by age 22. Researchers have suggested that as women have become more financially independent, they have more options and therefore do not feel the need to marry as young as earlier generations typically have. Live births have also declined significantly. China's birth rate hit such a low in 2020 that the government subsequently raised the number of children allowed per family from two to three. Yet researchers have observed that women around the world have been giving birth later since the 1980s; such dynamics may be the result of longer-term trends and not necessarily specific to millennials.

The most-educated generation

Researchers have posited that the causes for millennials' lag are complex, not necessarily limited to the recession. Part of the reason may be because more young adults are spending their early adulthood attaining college degrees. Since 1968 educational attainment has steadily grown, and by the 2020s about 4 in 10 millennials in the United States had earned a bachelor's degree or higher-more than any previous generation. The rise in educational attainment has been especially sharp for young women. More millennial women than men possess bachelor's degrees or higher, a trend that Gen X women started when, in 2001, they became the first generation to surpass men in educational attainment. Elsewhere around the world, education levels have dramatically increased. Between 1999 and 2006 the number of young people studying in postsecondary education in China more than tripled. In Egypt the rise is also pronounced. In 2010 about 11 percent of the population had attended university, compared with 2.4 percent in 1970.

Attending college in the United States, however, often requires students to take out loans, thus compounding the difficult economic situation many graduates faced during the recession. According to the Pew Research Center, millennials have a greater share of outstanding student debt and owe more than previous generations. The number of young adult households with student debt doubled between 1998, when Gen Xers were between the ages of 18 and 33, and 2016, when millennials were between 20 and 35 years old. Moreover, the median amount of outstanding student debt was greater for millennials ($19,000) than Gen Xers ($12,800).

The bridge to a "majority minority" nation

Millennials in the United States are much more diverse than previous generations and are leading the transition from a majority white nation to a "majority minority" nation. Their birth years during the 1980s and '90s coincided with an increase in immigration, particularly from Latin America and Asia. This contrasts with earlier generations who were born during an era when immigration was historically low, and the few immigrants who did settle in the United States were white Europeans. Millennials, who have grown up with a far less homogeneous culture than their elders have, tend to have more open and positive attitudes toward diversity.

The most liberal generation

The generation whose avid support in 2008 was helpful in ushering the first African American into the White House (and who voted in large numbers to reelect him in 2012) continued to be politically active, despite low turnout in local and midterm elections and waning enthusiasm in the 2016 presidential election. Millennials, however, came out in force for the 2018 midterms and helped marshal some 20 members of their generation, including Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota as well as Republican Dan Crenshaw of Texas, into the U.S. House of Representatives. Indeed, record numbers of millennials ran for office that year, citing dissatisfaction with the administration of Pres. Donald Trump and a lack of representation. Although the oldest millennials were eligible to run for Congress starting in 2006, only five millennials had seats in the house in 2017. Moreover, no millennials sat in the Senate until 2021, when Democrat Jon Ossoff of Georgia defeated incumbent Republican David Perdue in the closely watched Georgia runoff. Meanwhile, Pete Buttigieg, the popular Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was the first millennial to run for president (and the first openly gay candidate to become a serious contender), but he dropped out of the primaries after a poor showing in South Carolina. He later joined Pres. Joe Biden 's cabinet as transportation secretary, thus becoming the first millennial (and the first openly gay) cabinet member.

As millennials began to age out of the "youth vote" bracket, they remained politically liberal, breaking with the adage (backed by data) that individuals become more conservative as they grow older. Researchers have found that millennials grew to be by far the least conservative 35-year-olds in recorded history in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Many analysts suggest voters are often shaped by the politics of their early voting years. For millennials, that means early political experience with a conservative U.S. president in George W. Bush, unpopular wars, and a financial collapse may have shaped their generation's political leanings for decades to come.

Alicja Zelazko

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Millennial | Definition, Characteristics, Age Range, & Birth Years

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Millennial, term used to describe a person born between 1981 and 1996, though different sources can vary by a year or two.

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Get up to speed on "The Nineties" on CNN, Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

When it comes to technology, the '90s were sort of ... awkward. Sure, the pieces were there, but we didn't really know how to make the best of them.

Video game graphics that blew our minds look like sand paintings in retrospect. Even though we had the Internet, we hadn't yet perfected its primary uses (cat videos and abusing strangers on social media). Palm pilots and Tamogatchis happened. It was a mess!

But it was a beautiful mess, and the crazes we once could barely believe were real are now ones we can look back on fondly - from the comfort of our shiny, modern computing devices.

1. Talkboy

The TalkBoy is a perfect symbol of '90s technology: Clunky, obsolete, tied to a beloved '90s franchise and featuring a payoff that - for the time - was an amazing novelty, but now is positively medieval.

It was seriously just a video cassette in a little player upon which you could record and play back your voice. No part of that setup is still relevant. But because Kevin McAllister used it in "Home Alone 2," everyone had to have one - and to be honest, they sort of ruled then.

Lest ye forget, the TalkBoy also had a cooler, sleeker cousin: the Yak Bak. (But the Yak Baks could only record, like, a few seconds of sound. It was the Vine of '90s audio toys).

2. Tamagotchi

If you were a grade school kid in the '90s, you were probably responsible for the deaths of hundreds of little pixelated monsters called Tamagotchis.

These little egg-shaped doohickeys were originally from Japan, and taught children some important facts of life: Being a caring, nurturing person is a real hassle, and if you don't feed your pets they will grow angel wings and HAUNT YOU.

Good times.

3. 1998 iMac

Be honest. These things still look ridiculously cool. Why did the gummi-bear-colored computer trend never take off? Did we fly too close to the sun? Maybe it's because you could fit 10 working computers from 2017 in one of its big, beautiful, bulbous chassis.

4. Beepers

People used to say "beep me" and it was a really cool thing. If someone had a pager (aka, a beeper), they were extremely important. They had to be reachable at all times, but only in an archaic, indirect way: someone pages you and then you have to find a telephone and call them back.

Meanwhile, today's grade-schoolers are walking around with fully-functioning smart phones like they're expecting a call from the president at any moment. Time is weird.

5. Palm Pilots

Speaking of smart phones, let's take a moment to remember the honorable Palm Pilot. Another trapping of Very Important Business People and the grandmother of hand-held computer devices, the Palm Pilot was a brand-new '90s invention that changed the game.

It was a PDA - a "personal digital assistant" - that allowed you to organize the Very Important Things going on in your life with a fancy stylus.

But, the game moves on quickly! Looking back, the first Palm Pilots had all the futuristic appeal of a parking meter. The display wasn't lit, and it had a measly few hundred KILOBYTES of memory. Kilobytes! For the record, if you have an 8 GB phone right now, you have the memory of 16,000 early Palm Pilots.

6. Electronic diaries

If you were a kid, and you wanted to feel tech-savvy but didn't have the need or the money for a Palm Pilot, you probably got an electronic diary. These candy-colored clamshell deals were completely useless. They stored names and addresses and dates and things, but on a tiny screen that was so difficult to navigate, it was easier to just write it all down.

They made some for adults too, who presumably also decided they were useless and went back to writing stuff in a day planner, which is still the way to go and will always be the way to go. Shout out to papyrus, the one tech craze that will never die.

7. HitClips

These tiny, bizarre audio devices got popular amid the glittery frenzy of the new millennium. They were little keychain-type cartridges that played one-minute excerpts of pop songs, and the audio was so poor it sounded like it was recorded inside of a meat grinder. Did anyone care? No. This was before MP3 players and they were so tiny and cool, every kid had to have them.

They even made adorable little boomboxes to stick them in, so maybe this was less about music appreciation and more about shilling another cute gadget.

8. Car phones

Our first big dance with cellular phones came in the form of ... our cars. Car phones were another Very Important Technology for Very Important People, and they either came in briefcases that had to be stored and charged in the car, or they were straight up installed directly in the car. These existed way before the '90s, but the decade was a swan song for a technology that seemed impossibly cool and futuristic right up until the end.

9. Video game graphics

Do you remember Final Fantasy VII? The seminal video game that came out in 1997, and completely Blew. Our. Minds? The graphics they were -

Oh.

Oh my, the graphics.

Okay, so they basically looked like balloon animals, but at the time it was a whole new world. Now we have this:

Let that be a lesson: Never forget where you came from. We may have photorealistic graphics and fast Internet and unlimited music and tiny computers that put the entire history of knowledge in our hands ....

But it was barely 20 years ago that we amused ourselves by recording gibberish on audio cassettes. Stay humble.

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9 tech crazes that made us lose our minds in the '90s | CNN

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Get up to speed on "The Nineties" on CNN, Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. When it comes to technology, the '90s were sort of ... awkward. Sure, the pieces were there, but we didn't really know how to make the best of them. Video game graphics that blew our minds look like sand paintings in retrospect.

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by Josh Howarth
July 18, 2022
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More than 72 million people in the United States are Millennials.

If we expect them to follow in the footsteps of previous generations, they should be settling into their careers, getting married, and having children. However, the trends in this report show that the exact opposite is happening.

Millennials are busy traveling, paying off student loans, and turning away from traditional societal norms. What does all of this mean for past and future generations? Keep reading to see seven key trends that will drive the Millennial generation in the coming years.

1. Educated, but not wealthy

Millennials are the most educated generation ever.

More than one-third of Millennials overall, and two out of five Millennial women, have a college degree.

Female millennials lead all other generations in terms of college education, surpassing Gen Xers by double digits.
Despite all of these educational accomplishments, this generation is "on a much lower trajectory of wealth accumulation than their parents and grandparents," according to New America.

In fact, the typical Millennial holds 41% less wealth than an adult of the same age in 1989.

In 2020, the US Census Bureau reported the median Millennial household income (pre-tax) was just over $71,000.

Another source, PayScale, reports that "real wages" (wages with inflation factored in) have fallen more than 10% for Millennials between 33 and 40 years old since 2006.

Millennials started their careers during times of high inflation, making it one contributing factor for their low overall wealth. Searches for "inflation rate" are up 340% over 5 years.
On top of this, the average Millennial's daily expenses total $208.77-the highest of any generation.

As the TIAA Institute reports, Millennials have high levels of debt, low levels of savings, and expensive money management choices.

In a 2020 analysis, the organization reported that more than one-third of Millennials would not be able to come up with $2,000 within 30 days of an unexpected emergency.

Financial experts recommend putting at least three months' worth of expenses into a contingency fund. Searches over the last five years have generally been on the up.
One thing to note: this generation did come into adulthood just as the Great Recession was hitting.

For the average Millennial, their family's wealth dropped 45% in the time immediately following the Recession.

Even worse, this wealth gap continued to widen even between 2010 and 2016.

While some experts point to this generation being a " lost generation " in terms of accumulating wealth, others point to Millennials' education as being one bright spot that may eventually pay off and get them back on track in the future.

2. Focused on a healthy lifestyle

A survey from Global Web Index gave insight into how Millennials are balancing two critical lifestyle habits: alcohol and exercise.

More than three-quarters of these individuals report working out at least once per week and only 24% reported drinking once per week.

This survey found that Millennials are exercising more and drinking less than the generations that came before them.
In 2018, 33% of health club members were Millennials. That's compared to 24% from Gen X and 14% from Gen Z.

According to CBInsights, Millennials are flocking toward boutique studio gyms in particular.

They report that Millennials are attracted to the atmosphere and community aspect of these gyms.

This generation is willing to pay for the gym experience they want, too. A 2021 survey reported that nearly 40% of Millennials have been in credit card debt due to fitness and nutrition expenses.

For all their efforts, however, Millennials may not be as healthy as they'd like to be.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association reports that around age 27, the health of Millennials begins to decline.

3. Paralyzing student loan debt

Experian recently analyzed its database and found that the average Millennial is more than $87,000 in debt.

The company reports that the average student loan debt in this group is $38,877.

Debt is a big problem for Millennials. From 2019 to 2020, the average debt in this generation increased by more than 11%.
The cost of receiving an education at a four-year college has increased nearly 70% since 1999, according to New America.

Their stats go on to report that with rising costs comes an increase in loans. In that same time period, the number of loans issued for costs associated with higher education has doubled.

The amounts are staggering.

Millennial borrowers between the ages of 25 and 34 had more than $500 billion in federal student loan debt at the end of 2021.

In the next age group, people aged 35 to 49, there was $622 billion in unpaid federal student loans.

A Bank of America survey reported that individuals in this generation who carry student loan debt spend 10% of their monthly income on the loans.

Some, however, are simply unable to pay.

One professor and student debt expert says that nearly 30% of Millennials who entered college in 2003 have already defaulted on their loans. She believes that number will be 38% by 2023.

Some Millennials are putting their hope in student loan forgiveness.

In 2021, more students than ever benefited from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

However, the program still has a long way to go. In the last two months of 2020, only 2.16% of applications have been accepted.

That equates to approximately 4,000 claims per month that are accepted, approximately 250,000 that are denied, and 150,000 that are pending.

4. Reluctance to buy a home - for now

Fewer Millennials are buying homes compared to the generations that came before them.

Homeownership in the Millennial generation stands at 61%. For Gen Xers, at a similar time in life, that number was 68% and for Boomers it was 66%.

They may never catch up. In 2020, Apartment List reported that the percentage of Millennials who say they plan to never buy a home was up to 18%. That's a 6% increase from 2019.
The percentage of Millennials who say they'll always rent their home has continued to increase over the past few years.
The survey from Apartment List reported the main reason Millennials are forgoing homeownership is affordability. Nearly three-quarters of the generation say they simply cannot afford it.

In another survey, 27% of Millennials said student loan debt made them put off buying their own home.

Another reason Millennials aren't buying homes is that they are living in dense metropolitan areas where renting is the norm. As recently as 2018, 88% of Millennials lived in cities.

Will we see this trend of renting flip to buying once Millennials get a bit older?

One survey says it's promising. They report a seven-year delay in homeownership in this generation.

In addition, some Millennials are taking a different approach to homeownership: buying a house together with friends.

Attom Data Solutions reports that the number of homes bought by people with different last names increased by more than 770% from 2010 to 2021.

5. Putting off marriage-for good

Millennials and marriage are not a match made in heaven.

In 2019, data from the Pew Research Center showed that only 44% of Millennials were married.

For comparison, 61% of Baby Boomers and 53% of Gen Xers were married when they were at the same age as Millennials are now.

Numbers from the 2018 Census show the average age of getting married stands at 29.8 years old for men and 27.8 years old for women - as high as it's ever been.

More Millennials are living together and having children without being married.

One study from Bowling Green State University found that Millennial women are 53% more likely than Baby Boomers to live with more than one romantic partner during their young adult years.

The study also compared rates of cohabitation five years later. For the Boomers, 42% had married their partner. For the Millennials, only 22% had married.

Millennials are less likely than other generations to believe that it's important to be married before having children.
A Time survey recently reported that 42% of Millennials say it's very or extremely important to be married before having kids. In comparison, nearly half of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers agreed with that statement.

Data from the CDC shows more than 40% of babies born in 2020 were born to unmarried parents.

However, marriage may go the same way as homeownership with Millennials not completely dismissing the idea, just delaying it.

A 2020 survey from The Knot reported that the majority of Gen Zers and Millennials say they're expecting to be married in the next two to five years.

6. Millennials aren't becoming parents

Millennials are also waiting to have children.

Data from the National Vital Statistics System shows that the average age of a woman when she had her first child increased from 24.9 years old to 26.3 years old between 2000 and 2014.

This trend hinges on a variety of factors.

One professor analyzed data from the US Census and found that waiting to have children increased a woman's earnings. Women who had their first child at 30 years old were making $16,000 less than women who waited until they were 35.

This analysis is echoed in a 2020 survey by SoFi and Modern Fertility.

Their data shows 60% of people who haven't had children are delaying because they don't have enough money saved.

As women delay having children, fertility treatments are on the rise. Searches for the company "Modern Fertility" have surged by 100% in the past 5 years.
Interestingly, 32% said they are still young and have plenty of time in the future.

In a study by the Guttmacher Institute, 33% of women in the US said that the pandemic would likely delay their decision to have children.

Many Millennials seem set with their decision to remain childless.

A Pew Research Center survey found that 44% of non-parents between the ages of 18 and 49 years old say "it is not too or not at all likely that I will have children someday." That was a 7% increase over 2018.

7. Driven by wanderlust

Many Millennials are prioritizing experiences like traveling instead of traditional expectations like getting married and having kids.

One survey found that nearly 50% of Millennials would rather spend money to travel than to buy a home.

For Millennials, surveys report that traveling is a higher priority than buying homes, having kids, and making an impact in society.
Deloitte recently reported that "traveling the world" was the top priority of 57% of Millennials. In comparison, only 39% listed starting a family as a priority.

On average, Millennials say they take 5.6 trips per year.

One example of this dedication to traveling is Cait Flanders, a Millennial who turned to minimalism and wrote about it on her blog and later, in a book.

In her book The Year of Less, Cait Flanders describes giving up books, clothes, and shopping, but she continued to travel at least once each month.
Cait put herself on a "shopping ban" for an entire year. However, she never gave up traveling. In fact, she spent $10k on travel during that year.

Millennials aren't just staying local, either. One travel site ranked the top Millennial travel destinations and they're all over the world: Portugal, Indonesia, Italy, France, and Myanmar, just to name a few.

While the pandemic may have held Millennials back for a while, they are driving post-pandemic travel.

A TripAdvisor survey found that individuals from this generation are leading a surge in luxury travel, in particular.

They were much more likely to consider international air travel, take a cruise, and increase their travel spending.

Some Millennials are taking travel one step further and are choosing to live and work abroad.

More than 70% of Millennials would like to spend time working outside of the US, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers poll.

Companies that can offer these globetrotting experiences are benefiting from the Millennial workforce.

"You've got to look outside your little box, and what better way to do that than to expand internationally, giving your folks that are working an opportunity to do that? They'll come back with new ideas and new ways of doing things that we may never see here," said one business owner.

Conclusion

That wraps up the top seven trends we see impacting Millennials as we move deeper into 2022.

Through these trends, we can see that this generation is making their own way in life, charting a path that differs widely from the path their parents took. Financial woes are one of the main reasons, but changing societal expectations and uncertain times like the Great Recession and the COVID pandemic are driving the trends of this generation, too.

As Millennials age into mid-life, we'll need to keep a close watch to see how their maturity and experience has affected their choices going forward.

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by Josh HowarthJuly 18, 2022 You may also like: More than 72 million people in the United States are Millennials. If we expect them to follow in the footsteps of previous generations, they should be settling into their careers, getting married, and having children.

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If the last two years have taught us anything, it's that nothing ever stays the same -even in the office. And when stretching your memories all the way back to the 1990s, you would not be the only one who feels like it was a completely different lifetime. Read on for some of the biggest changes between then and now.
1. Remote work has skyrocketed
Back in the nineties, you would be hard pressed to find someone who even knew what "remote work" was, never mind find someone who actually did it. But the pandemic sped up what was already a slowly increasing trend: working from home. Now with lightning-fast internet speeds in much of the country, combined with a workforce that is largely bucking the old ideas of the daily office grind, many industries are standing up and taking notice. What was once seen as a temporary solution for a global health crisis now looks more and more like the norm.
2. More experience is needed
While college has long been held up as the golden standard, it was not too difficult to find a job that would cover basic bills without a degree back in the nineties. Nowadays, it can feel like it is nearly impossible. According to Pew Research, the fastest job growth consistently occurs in positions that require at least a four-year degree-and often requires intense training and/or experience on top of that.
3. Manual skills are less in demand
Stacker cites a one-third decline in manufacturing jobs since 1990, largely due to advances in technology that allow much of those factory roles to be automated. This means that physical skills such as carpentry and welding are seen as less essential than they were three decades ago.
4. The technology industry has skyrocketed
Speaking of advances in technology-there have been a lot since the nineties. The computer and electronics industry dominates much of the professional conversation now, from increasingly sophisticated computer developments to a looming overhaul of the auto industry.
5. Technological advancements have helped us all
But it is not just the electronics industry specifically that has benefitted from these leaps in technology. Long gone are the days of fax machines and filing cabinets. Instead, most offices enjoy the ease of a wireless, paperless, digital workspace. Electronic signatures instead of paper contracts, cloud storage instead of floppy discs, voicemail instead of paper messages: it is hard to imagine a more significant and dramatic change on the modern workforce than that of technology.
6. The death of the cubicle
Can we all take a moment to celebrate the cubicle has fallen out of favor? While rows upon rows of tiny workspace squares was a common sight in the nineties, most companies have ditched the boxes in favor of more open and collaborative workspaces. Business Insider suggests that this change was spurred by the average cubicle size shrinking "between 25 percent and 50 percent between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s."
7. Education employment increases
According to Stacker, jobs in the "educational services" field have grown by 105 percent since 1990. This field includes any job that instructs and trains others in schools, colleges, universities, or training centers. This could be due, in part, to the mass hiring of adjunct teachers at the college and university levels in favor of a select few tenure track positions.
8. A little more laid back
When it came to style, suits, ties, high heels, and tailored dresses were the norm at most nineties' offices. Perhaps there was a "casual Friday" thrown in, where slacks and button-up shirts were acceptable. Now? Unless you are in a select industry (banking, law, etc.), most offices have taken a much more laid-back attitude when it comes to dress. As long as you are clean and neat, modern workers have a lot more leeway in how they dress.

Remaining flexible has always been an advantage in the office, but the last few years have emphasized just how truly fluid we all need to be when it comes to work and life in general. After all, who knows what the next thirty years will bring?

Search for your next job now:

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Eight Differences between Work Today versus the 1990s

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It may have only been thirty years ago, but in some ways the 1990s workforce might as well have happened on a different planet. Find out the biggest changes that have occurred between then and now.

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Paving the way for a new millennium

In the last decade of the 20th Century, Information Technology brought about considerable changes to the way we live and work.

Telecommunications connected homes and offices to the Internet and World Wide Web giving access to all kinds of information and services.

Dominant "gorillas" in the market made ever bigger and more expensive systems while agile, new, start-up companies exploited the internet, and share prices soared.

But Y2k cast a dark shadow over the millennium celebrations.

Roots of Change

The 1980s were a period of rapid change in telecommunications and in personal computing that laid the foundations for a revolution in the way businesses and the public use technology.

At the end of the decade, in 1989, at the scientific research establishment, CERN, in Geneva, Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web and started developing Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). He originally intended only to network the CERN computers to share information and data within the organisation. To do so, he created the first web server which led to the launch of the World Wide Web at CERN in 1991. Three years later, Tim Berners-Lee made the source code freely available, and that combined with the growing global communications network, the Internet, started an information revolution that, by the end of the century, would change many aspects of our lives at home and work.

Modems and Dial-Ups... Internet in the Home

The public did not have access to the World Wide Web until commercial companies provided technology to "dial-up" via a home telephone line, using a modem. Pipex was established in 1990 and began providing dial-up internet access in March 1992, as the UK's first commercial Internet provider.

David Clarke, later to become Chief Executive of the professional body, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, ran two of the UK's early UK Internet Service Providers. Here, he talks about Netcom, Virgin, their rapid expansion, and Google's arrival in the UK.

In the 1990s connecting to the Internet from home generally meant using a dial-up modem connected to your telephone line. Early dial-up modems typically offered speeds of 14,400 bits per second, increasing to 56,000 by the end of the decade. Dial-up was increasingly replaced in the new century by Broadband which provides continuous connection and has progressively increased to speeds of 10s or 100s of Megabits per second, depending on location.

Internet users from the 1990s will remember fondly (?) the sounds which preceded access to the www.

Courtesy of Ogg Vorbis copyright free
The rise and rise of Microsoft

The IBM PC was launched in 1981 but by 1990 it was still not a common feature of British homes with only 17% of families having a machine. While it was invaluable for word processing (often linked to a dot matrix printer with tractor feed paper), spread-sheeting and rudimentary graphics, the functions and software that are now taken for granted were not available.

However, as the 90s progressed it became more common and by 2000 use at home had more than doubled to 38% and was on a steep growth curve, as it became central to a number of new home activities.

Three (at least) big changes drove growth in the use of PCs at home and they all had a lot to do with Microsoft.

Before 1990 many users ran their PC using text commands from the MSDOS operating system. But, through the 90s technology boom the Graphical User Interface became the default, starting with Windows 3.1 as above. As the years went by Windows evolved into something that current users would recognise and it was all a lot easier to use a PC without being a programmer.

The browser unleashed the power of the www via the Internet and gave rise to the Browser Wars of late 90s. Mosaic had led the charge from 1993 and developed into the market-dominating Netscape Navigator. However, Microsoft joined the game in 1995 with Internet Explorer and IE2 was offered as a free download, knocking Netscape's market share. In 1997 Microsoft integrated IE4 into Windows, giving it a decisive advantage over the competition.

The email had been around for years but most people were just not connected to it unless they were working in a networked office with a dedicated email program. So it took the arrival of public Internet access to make it real for most people. In 1996 webmail clients started taking off, with MS Internet Mail and Hotmail. By 1997 there were 10M users worldwide, so in 1998 Microsoft bought Hotmail and things really took off.

From 2 January 1990 to 31 December 1999, Microsoft's share price increased by nearly 100 times. In 1999, Microsoft was the largest company in the world, boasting a market capitalisation of $614 billion, and thriving because of its fast-growing personal computer market dominance.

Internet Start-Ups

In the mid-1990s Internet shopping became a reality, coinciding with the first Internet cafes and dial-up modems in the home. Internet start-up businesses drove huge growth in the sector as Internet entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to build tech businesses and digital marketing became a new field of expertise.

Interactive Investor enabled anyone with a PC and Internet access to trade in shares. Sherry Coutu CBE is a serial entrepreneur, Angel investor and Non-executive director based in Cambridge, UK and originally from Canada. She started Interactive Investor in 1995 to create an online service and remove the frustration of looking at obsolete, out-of-date pieces of paper to understand mortgages. It began on mutual funds but subsequently allowed trading of equities, pensions and other financial services. When the company was floated on the stock exchange in 1999 it was 33 times oversubscribed and the share price more than doubled on its first day. Sherry has since gone on to invest in approximately 50 companies, including household names, such as New Energy Finance, Lovefilm, and Zoopla.

In 2015 Sherry was voted one of the most inspiring women in Europe and named one of the most philanthropic entrepreneurs in the UK.

David Barker was born in Manchester in 1971 and grew up in a working-class background in the Moston area of Manchester. When the Internet arrived, David realised that this was the future. He says: "I had a real vision of its potential... in 1994 there was no one really doing Internet, so you couldn't leave and be employed by someone else, you had to leave to become an entrepreneur and create a business." David and his three colleagues established Moonfish, a digital marketing company in 1994. Since 2005 David has been innovating new social enterprise start-ups using Tech for Good.

Pocket Technology

The 1990s was the decade that saw the growth of mobile phone technology. From the brick-sized cellular handsets of the 1980s, the development of the RISC microprocessor meant that complex functions could be performed without needing large batteries. This allowed mobile phones, to be miniaturised to pocket size, kicking off a revolution in personal communications.

The idea of technology that you could carry on your pocket was an aspiration before the 1990s, with successive devices doing more and more: programmable calculators, music players, and digital organisers all appearing in the 1980s or before but the 1990s saw several breakthroughs.

The mp3 standard to store music on a PC was accepted in 1992 and in 1998 first personal portable mp3 player enabled music on the move without carrying a tape or disc player.

In 1990 Acorn, the company that developed RISC spun off a new company ARM Holdings Ltd and its technology is now in use in one billion phones around the world. ARM designs chips: it does not manufacture them and regards that as key to extracting maximum value from its ideas. In 2020 ARM was valued at £31Bn. Simon Segars became CEO of ARM and talks here of his early days in the company, how the ARM chip was invented and the importance of ARM's operating model.

Like the mobile phone, palm top technology became fashionable; especially the Personal Digital Assistant - a sort of electronic Filofax that managed diary and contacts and basic office applications. This is the Psion Organiser 3, from the company founded by David Potter, below.

The Nokia 3210 released in 1999 became a teenage fashion item. It slipped into your pocket, allowed texting under the desktop and PAYG deals made ownership for teenagers a reality on a pocket money budget.

David Potter was the founder of Psion, which was a market leader in the 1980s organisers and developed through the 90s, eventually allying with other technology companies to form Symbian, which laid the foundations for many future concepts of mobile technology. Here he talks about the evolution of the product and the company.

Dotcom Boom and Bust

1995 marked the start of the dot-com bubble. There had been huge investment in internet companies during the 1990s and massive growth in the market. By 1998 there were an estimated 320 million web pages and by the year 2000, one million people were employed in the IT industry in the UK.

Over-investment in Internet Start-Ups and excessive stock market speculation eventually led to uncertainty and share values plummeted. By 2001 the inflated dot-com bubble of the 1990s had burst.

Geoff Squire OBE was CEO of Veritas in the year 2000 and saw it become the 3rd most valuable software company in the world.

Nic Birtles was working in Silicon Valley around the year 2000 and describes here the effects of the bursting DotCom bubble.

A Brave New World: Artificial Intelligence

The history of Artificial Intelligence predates the first commercial application of IT but it continues to be an innovative and pioneering area of study. AI has taken longer to materially affect our lives than many other types of IT and tech but it will probably have an impact that most of us cannot yet imagine. Technology in the 90s saw continuing progress.

As artificial intelligence (AI) research and development continues to strengthen, machines compete in tasks that were once thought the exclusive preserve of humans. World Chess Champion Gary Kasparov competed against an artificial intelligence computer (IBM Deep Blue) in 1997, and the machine won. Many claimed that it was a sign that artificial intelligence was catching up and it inspired a documentary film called The Man vs. The Machine.

Professor Yorick Wilks spent the 90s at the University of Sheffield helping machines to behave and communicate more like people. Here he talks about the outcome of that work.

Y2K and the Prophets of Doom

As the 1990s progressed there were genuine fears that the increasing dependence on IT would prove to be an Achilles heel for the world economy and society. Software may, or may not, include a "bug" that could be triggered the closer to 2000 we got. It could cause chaos, many warned.

Roger Marshall was CIO of the Corporation of London and led the local government's handling of Y2k. As a major customer of the IT firms, Roger took a balanced view of the threat and the investment to address it.

Ian Watmore was later to become the first Central Government CIO but at the time of Y2k, he was a senior partner in Accenture, the major IT consultant and supplier to Government and Industry. Ian tells how Y2k created a boom in IT spending.

Y2K - Ensuring the Computerised Millenium - Just over twenty years ago there were genuine fears that the increasing dependence on IT could lead to disaster. Read the full account of the opposing views and discover if it really was "alright on the night" - and the day after.

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90s Technology: How the 90's changed technology - Archives of IT

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Technology in the 90s brought about considerable changes to the way we live and work. Internet in the home, the rise of Microsoft, pocket technology and more.

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As the new decade and millennium dawned, fashion largely continued along the same trajectory that had started in the late 1990s. However, in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, fashion returned to conservatism. With the rise of new technology, fashion spread quickly and celebrities played a key role in consumer choices as images were shared through the internet instantly. While popular styles changed over the years, one item remained ubiquitous throughout the decade: denim jeans.

At the turn of the millennium, fashion looked to the future as technology began seeing the rapid development that would lead to the widespread use of smartphones and social media by the end of the decade. The emphasis on new technology inspired fashion with metallic silvers, blacks and the use of straps and belts to create a Matrix-esque look. The catwalks in Spring and Fall 2001 were dominated by the use of black, with designers such as Balenciaga (Fig. 1), Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche (Fig. 2), and Calvin Klein (Fig. 3) using black almost exclusively in Fall 2001 (Brillson). The use of leather, trench coats, and straps contributed to a style that harkened towards a new age of technology and innovation.

However, after the events of 9/11 and the mortgage crisis of 2001, fashion turned back towards conservatism. In America especially, this marked the rise of jeans for every occasion. This stayed true throughout the decade, however, the dominant style changed over the years. In the early 2000s, low-rise, flared jeans were prevalent while by the mid-2000s, bootcut jeans had grown more popular. During this period, True Religion and 7 for all Mankind were staple denim brands. Jeans were even worn on the red carpet with True Religion a popular option as chosen by Jessica Alba (Fig. 4). In 2005, skinny jeans were introduced and were commonplace by 2006. Distressed jeans - purposefully ripped, frayed, or otherwise worn jeans - were a hallmark of the era, and jeans were accepted as appropriate attire in nearly all situations during the decade.

Designers even collaborated with fast-fashion retailers to bring affordable versions of their designs to consumers. In November 2004, H&M debuted their first designer collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld (Fig. 12). The affordably-priced pieces were an instant hit and mostly sold out on the first day to the surprise of both H&M and Lagerfeld himself. At the time, H&M Marketing Director Jörgen Andersson told WWD, "We've been operating this business for some 60 years and we've never seen anything like it" (Truly Fast Fashion). The frenzy was seen across stores in the US and Europe with some stores selling out in less than 20 minutes. The success led to H&M collaborating with other high fashion designers over the years with other retailers like Target following suit.

The rise of fast fashion was aided by online retail. Amy De La Haye and Andrew Tucker write in Costume and Fashion,

"Between 2006 and 2011 online international fashion sales increased by 152%, significantly boosted by the new transactional websites of high street stores, while fashion applications on smartphones facilitate purchasing on the move." (Laver 294)

From the technology-inspired clothing at the turn of the millennium to the sharing of trends through social media to the sale of fashion online, the story of fashion in the 2000s was linked to technology from beginning to end.

Though her style may be polarizing, there is only one person who first comes to mind in relation to 2000s fashion: Paris Hilton. The great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, Paris began modeling in the late 1990s and by 2000, was featured in Vanity Fair with her sister Nicky. From there, she rose to prominence as a socialite in New York before becoming a reality star with The Simple Life, in which she and her fellow socialite friend Nicole Richie spent time living on a rural farm.

Paris progressed her career with acting and writing books, but her presence on the red carpet circuit in the early to late aughts cemented her role as a fashion icon. She was seen and photographed in all of the trends throughout the decade: tracksuits, Ugg boots, bright colors, bared skin. While many of her styles were over-the-top, she also wore some of the more attainable styles like a baby doll tank top and ultra-low rise flared jeans in 2003 (Fig. 1). Paris wasn't afraid of using the paparazzi to her advantage and much of the decade was dominated by images of her in the tabloids and she helped to popularize many of the trends seen throughout the decade.

Like womenswear, menswear at the beginning of the 2000s looked to the future for inspiration. Futuristic styles for men included a dominance of black with some silver additions, trench coats and thin, square sunglasses (Fig. 1). However, after September 11, men's fashion also returned to more conservative dress with sportswear the dominant style. This included tracksuits, polo shirts (sometimes layered or with the collar popped), cargo pants, and rugby shirts.

In the mid part of the decade, retro 1960s-inspired styles emerged inspired by British indie-pop bands. Smart casual was acceptable for businesswear at this point as fashion continued towards a more informal trajectory. Later in the decade, there was a 1950s and 1980s revival including leatherman jackets and slim-fit suits.

One of the defining brands of the early- to mid-2000s for both men and women was Ed Hardy. Embraced by celebrities, t-shirts emblazoned with the tattoo-inspired art and Ed Hardy logo could not be avoided. Complementing the Ed Hardy clothing were Von Dutch trucker hats which were seen on celebrities such as Justin Timberlake (Fig. 2), Ashton Kutcher, Britney Spears, and Paris Hilton, making it a must-have It item for several years in the middle part of the decade.

Teen fashion also saw influence from celebrities especially from the rise of teen shows such as The OC (Fig. 6) and One Tree Hill. Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister and Co., and American Eagle were the brands to be seen in for teens in the 2000s as they supplied logoed polo shirts, popular jean styles and some of the favorite trends such as denim mini-skirts.

In 2007, teens and young adults got the high fashion treatment on the show Gossip Girl which not only featured designer fashion but often centered its plot around fashion (Fig. 7). Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter as the show came to a close in 2012, The CW's former Entertainment Chief Dawn Ostroff noted how the show influenced consumer choices:

"People watch the show the way they read a magazine: They want to know where to get the clothes, where to get the music and where to go in New York."

By the start of the second season in 2008, the show was influencing not only teen fashion but fashion for women in their twenties and older, as well, despite the characters portrayed on the show still being in high school. Their altered school uniforms (Fig. 8) created a trend for preppy clothing and Priorities, an eight-year-old company featuring preppy styles sold at Macy's, Bloomingdales, and other department stores, saw sales double in the year after Gossip Girl debuted, demonstrating the power the show had on influencing trends (La Ferla).

Labels mentioned or worn on the show sold out within days of the episode premiering while girls would tear looks out of magazines and bring into stores looking for the style. Like the story of fashion as a whole in the 2000s, this was heightened by the styles being shared on the internet. Ruth La Ferla wrote of the show in The New York Times in 2008,

"Its clout as a cultural and shopping influence is amplified by the Web, including the show's own site, which lets viewers identify the brand of the clothes and accessories in each episode and click through to buy them."

Novel at the time, this allowed viewers to access and emulate their favorite character's style in ways that had previously never been possible.

References:

"2000s in Fashion." Wikipedia. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000s_in_fashion.

"Balenciaga: Fall 2001 Ready-to-Wear." Vogue, August 8, 2015. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2001-ready-to-wear/balenciaga.

Bothwell, Claire. "Burberry versus The Chavs." BBC News, October 28, 2005. Accessed May 28, 2021. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4381140.stm.

Brillson, Leila. "From Uggs to Y2K, What the '00s Meant to Us." Refinery29, February 26, 2013. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Access May 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20140328105310/http:/www.refinery29.com/millennial-trends.

Bruce, Leslie and Lacey Rose. "'Gossip Girl' Cast and Producers Reflect on the CW Drama's 100 Episodes." The Hollywood Reporter, January 30, 2012. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/gossip-girl-100-episodes-leighton-meester-285716/.

"Calvin Klein Collection: Fall 2001 Ready-to-Wear." Vogue, February 15, 2001. Accessed May 8, 2021. https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2001-ready-to-wear/calvin-klein-collection.

Campion, Freddie. "Hedi Slimane: Anthology of a Decade (2000-2010)." Vogue, February 7, 2011. Accessed June 12, 2021. https://www.vogue.com/article/hedi-slimane-anthology-of-a-decade-2000-2010.

Dudbridge, Saxony. "2000s - 2010s." Catwalk Yourself. Accessed May 28, 2021. http://www.catwalkyourself.com/fashion-history/2000s-2010s/.

"Fall 2005 Ready-to-Wear." Vogue. Accessed May 28 2021. https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2005-ready-to-wear.

Fiorentino-Swinton, Alexandra. "An Ode to Disney Channel Stylists." Moda. Accessed May 28, 2021. http://www.modachicago.org/blog/disneystylists.

Fury, Alexander. "Roland Mouret's Nip-and-Cinch Galaxy Dress Helped Reshape Fashion (and Victoria Beckham). Independent, October 1, 2015. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/roland-mouret-s-nip-and-cinch-galaxy-dress-helped-reshape-fashion-and-victoria-beckham-a6676166.html.

Gallagher, Brenden. "The History of Burberry's Check." Grailed, December 7, 2017. Accessed June 12, 2021. https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/history-of-the-burberry-check.

Gallagher, Brenden. "The Strokes, Hedi Slimane and New York Post-Punk Revival Fashion." Grailed, December 14, 2017. Accessed June 12, 2021. https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/history-of-the-burberry-check https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/the-strokes-style-hedi-slimane.

Hennessey, Kathryn. Fashion: The Ultimate Book of Costume and Style. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2012. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/816318024.

Holgate, Mark. "Spring Fashion 2000." New York, February 14, 2000. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://nymag.com/nymetro/shopping/fashion/features/1945/.

Idacavage, Sara. "Fashion History Lesson: The Origins of Fast Fashion." Fashionista, October 17, 2018. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://fashionista.com/2016/06/what-is-fast-fashion.

McDermott, Kerry. "Paris Hilton's Most Outrageously Noughties Looks, Ranked." Vogue, August 28, 2020. Accessed June 13, 2021. https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/gallery/paris-hilton-outfits.

La Ferla, Ruth. "Forget Gossip, Girl; the Buzz is About the Clothes." The New York Times, July 8, 2008. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/fashion/08gossip.html.

"Lanvin: Fall 2001 Ready-to-Wear." Vogue, March 10, 2001. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2001-ready-to-wear/lanvin.

Laver, James, Amy De La Haye and Andrew Tucker. Costume and Fashion: A Concise History. 5th ed. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2012. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/966352776.

Okwodu, Janelle. "Paris Hilton Remains the Ultimate Aughts Muse." Vogue, Febuary 17, 2001. Accessed June 13, 2021. https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/paris-hilton-style-evolution-aughts-muse.

"Paris Hilton." Wikipedia. Accessed June 13, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Hilton.

Pires, Kevin. "Ed Hardy Invented 21st Century Fashion & Everyone Else is Playing Catch Up." Highsnobiety. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/ed-hardy-legacy/.

"Roland Mouret: Fall 2005 Ready-to-Wear." Vogue, February 7, 2005. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2005-ready-to-wear/roland-mouret.

"Quick Guide to 2000s Fashion." CentralCasting, January 14, 2019. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://www.centralcasting.com/quick-guide-2000s-fashion/.

"Saint Laurent: Fall 2001 Ready-to-Wear." Vogue, March 13, 2001. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2001-ready-to-wear/saint-laurent.

"Spring 2005 Ready-to-Wear." Vogue. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2005-ready-to-wear.

WWD Staff. "Truly Fast Fashion: H&M's Lagerfeld Line Sells Out in Hours." WWD, November 14, 2005. Accessed May 28, 2021. https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/truly-fast-fashion-h-m-8217-s-lagerfeld-line-sells-out-in-hours-593089/.

Events:

2003 - The first season of reality contest America's Next Top Model premieres on US television.

2004 - The group Designers Against Aids is launched to promote awareness of the disease. Designer Marc Jacobs and clothes store H&M go on to collaborate with the charity.

2005 - The Istanbul Cevahir Shopping Centre opens. It is the largest mall in Europe, and the sixth largest in the world.

2008 - First Lady Michelle Obama wears a dress by Jason Wu at the inaugural ball for President Barack Obama.

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As the new decade and millennium dawned, fashion largely continued along the same trajectory that had started in the late 1990s. However, in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, fashion returned to conservatism. With the rise of new technology, fashion spread quickly and celebrities played a key role in consumer choices as images were shared through the internet instantly.