1950's Fashion for Men

In the decades that followed the second world war, economies became more and more business minded and fashion of the 1950's for men was heavily influenced during the rebuilding phase of all the economies. In the 1950's fashion for men we can easily observe the influence of upcoming business and corporate world. The men's clothing had become more and more modernized and more liberal in nature. From a personal prospective, I feel that modern business fashion that has been in vogue is influenced by the way the men back in 1950's dressed.

1950's Fashion for Men: Suit

A simple explanation to the usual, everyday 1950's fashion for men is simple, the economic and social conditions were improving and life was becoming comfortable, hence people started dressing properly and tailors and designers started using cloth more liberally. The 1940's fashions had given men's wear a sort of simplicity and the military dress influence of the second world war had made men's wear, better fitting. The fittings thus were more precise yet simple and designers excluded any part of the clothing which was not needed. For example the early 20th century three piece suit was modified. The inner waistcoat was excluded and the length of the tailcoat was shortened. The tailcoat usually had two series of buttons running parallel to each other. The two set of buttons was reduced down to one and the number of buttons were also reduced to a couple or a triple. Next, the height of the collar was brought down and the upright, erect collars became short, folded and comfortable. The usual bow tie was replaced by the necktie.

The idea of such 1950's clothing was to keep the wearer comfortable. This evolved and modified design also easier to manage and handle. Basically the fashion from this era was practical. On any ordinary day at work, a person would wear the following:

• Suit Jacket: the stripped patterns were rather popular, but an equal amount of people also used plain jackets
• Shirt: Shirts were usually white, and in many cases were also pale colored with a single pocket in the front. Many designs also started introducing pocket-less shorts. The hand cuffs were modified to fit the wearer properly and comfortably. The cuffs became shorter, narrower and more comfortable. A distinct feature that is seen in many shirts from the era is the good fitting of the sleeves which were shaggy and ill fitted in the earlier designs.
• Trousers: The trousers were creased, (in some cases not), and well measured. In the 1950's fashion for men good, proportionate bell bottoms were coming into vogue. However people never wore them to work. The modern trouser and jeans that we wear today, are largely modeled on the same lines of this fashion design.

1950's Fashion for Men: Casual Wear

Men's wear in the 1950's also included a lot of casual wear. Again simplicity and comfort were the key to designing. Fashion trends from this era were heavily influenced by the western Spaghetti and up coming rock and roll fashion. The fashion designers took influence from cowboy wear while designing casual clothing. The shirts for casual wear started having embroidery designs and bell bottom over leather boots had started coming into fashion.

Another men's clothing style that came into being was that of casual shirts. Casual shirts were colored in liberal shades were short, half sleeved and loose. Fashion clothing by famous tailors and designers had also started coming into being and fashion icons such as Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley become the advocates of 1950's fashion for men.


The 1950's fashion for men is considered to be an important era as many noted fashion exerts, companies and famous clothing brands such as Ralph Lauren started doing their innovations and businesses in this decade. I hope that the elaboration of 1950's fashion for men, is resourceful. Good luck.