Were the 1960s truly a time of great change? Did fashion and music play a part in this generational change, and how did those changes differ in the UK and the US?
The 60s were truly a time of change. We read about London but America was having its own social growing pains with artists like Elvis Presley. And the ‘boy bands’ of England were quite successful in the US as well. I think the American gals were taking their fashion cues from London at that time. Also the chic style of Jackie Kennedy.
Fashion and music helped create a huge change in the 1960’s. It was an epoch change because the youth wanted a more informal style of fashion and music that represented their own lifestyle. This may have been a result of the cultural change brought about by the student protests against the Vietnam War. This was also a time of the introduction of the popular English pop bands who created music that represented the attitudes the youth felt at this time.
I was in middle school and high school in the sixties and I felt it was definitely a time of extreme change in fashion, music, etc. The Beatles were a huge influence. The guys hair got longer and the girls skirts got shorter. Depending on where you lived in the United States there could be similarities with England. Although I always thought England was more liberal and ahead of the United States in many ways such as fashion and music.
If you’ve only read about the sixties, you have not idea the amount of change that was happening all at once! Politics, feminism, civil rights, Vietnam were all crammed into that time.I thikn music had a huge influence.Music drove the antiwar movement and fashion statements were just that we didn’t want to dress like our parents. We didn’t want to BE them, we wanted to be our own person, without restrictions.
Yes, the 1960’s was an unbelievable time for change. Others mentioned music and fashion but there were also changes in religion, (that included changes to the service and church music for Catholics and Protestants and allowing young Jewish girls to celebrate by having a Bat Mitzva). Politics exploded with the awareness of Black and women rights and a general opening of strict restrictive laws.) In fact, 1960 is called the Year of Africa, there were 17 African colonies declaring independence!
Fashion and music led the US, it was called the British Invasion for a reason! Even Elvis felt the Beatles was a new direction for music, and he was the biggest star of the time.