What did boys wear in the '60s?

WHAT DID BOYS WEAR IN THE 60’S?

Boys did not wear their casual clothes to school for most of the 1960’s. For school, church or social outings, boys wore dress pants, often in wool or polyester, along with a long-sleeved button-down shirt, a tie and often a jacket. In the '60s, men wore "flared" pants, or they wore a straighter leg pant such as the pants worn by the musical group The Beatles. The conservative men's suit took on geometric designs during this period and often featured a flare in the pant leg; suits were combined with wide-lapel shirt. Adult men often wore more-formal clothing for the workplace, including flannel suits in gray, dark brown and dark blue. For a more relaxed look, wearing cardigan sweaters with khaki pants was common and most men wore a hat whenever leaving the house.

Hippie Culture

Hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's Height-Ashbury district. Both the words "hip" and "hep" came from African American culture and denote "awareness". The early hippies inherited the countercultural values of the beat generation, created their own communities, listened to psychedelic rock, embraced the sexual revolution, and used drugs such as cannabis, LSD and magic mushrooms to explore altered states of consciousness. It featured natural fabrics, loose, flowing skirts and blouses, hip-hugger jeans, and the bold colours and patterns of exotic, foreign influences.

WOODSTOCK

Woodstock Music & Art Fair (informally, Woodstock or The Woodstock Festival) was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's600-acre (2.4 km²; 240 ha, 0.94 mi²) dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969. Bethel, in Sullivan County, is 43 miles (69 km) southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, in adjoining Ulster County.
During the sometimes rainy weekends, thirty-two singers performed outdoors in front of 500,000 concert-goers. It is widely regarded as one of the most pivotal moments in popular music history and was listed among Rolling Stone's 50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll.

In August 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair took place in Bethel, New York, which for many, exemplified the best of hippie counterculture. Over 500,000 people arrived to hear some of the most notable musicians and bands of the era, among them Canned Heat.

MEN HAIRSTYLES IN THE 60’S

Twiggy's boyish 'crop' hairstyle was actually created by Len Lewis who was better known as 'Leonard of Mayfair'. He also takes the credit for creating the 'mop top' style of The Beatles who were brought to him by Brian Epstein after their sojourn in Germany in order to 'smarten up' their image. Len had been a protégé of Vidal Sassoon and, working with colourist Daniel Galvin, his own salon at 6 Upper Grosvenor Street saw many famous visitors including Judy Garland, Liz Taylor and even John F. and Jackie Kennedy when they were in town.

The 'In' hairdresser for the mods in the early to mid Sixties was John Anthony's salon in Twickenham. Hair styles for men gradually lengthened as the decade progressed, through the 'mop-top Beatle' style, the raised-back Mod style and the longer, more casual 'Rolling Stones' style to the shoulder length hair favoured by the hippies of the later Sixties, often worn in permed 'Afro' style.

Wallace Scowcroft (President of The National Hairdressers Federation) at the 1964 national conference said:
"Mens hairdressers do not object to youth wanting to wear its hair long, provided it is shaped. It would be out of step with modern times to oppose long hair because the hairdresser fears it will lead to fewer visits to his salon. We shall get all the business we want by ensuring that the Mods, the Rockers and the Beatles fans are well-groomed".

The mop-top haircut

The Beatle haircut, also known as the mop-top (or moptop) —because of its resemblance to a mop—or Arthur amongst fans, is a mid-length hairstyle named after and popularised by the Beatles. It is a straight cut - collar-length at the back and over the ears at the sides, with a straight fringe (bangs).

By Angelo Fontana and his group.