The decade of the 1950s could be referred to as a decade of stable men’s fashion because there weren’t notable transformations. Mostly, men preferred to keep things as casual as possible. Dressing up of men in the 1950s sometimes used to very casual whereas sometimes very formal. As you know, no dressing up can be complete without the addition of proper accessories. Accessories play a key role in providing the final touch-up to any look. All men in the 1950s wore accessories of different kinds. Some important men’s accessories included belts, ties, hats, and gloves. These accessories were worn by most of the men. However, all these accessories were available in different kinds and men could choose the one according to their preference.
Accessories worn by men in the 1950s
The 1950s was a decade when men’s fashion included numerous accessories. After nearly two decades of minimalistic transformation in the style of accessories, the 1950s came in with a lot of colours and many new shapes as well as design. So, we are going to discuss the description of some of the most important accessories men used back in the decade of the 1950s.
Men’s hats
The hats worn by men in the 1950s were mostly paired up with a breezy summer dress or with outfits worn for business purposes. These hats provided a casual appearance to the men and they also prevented the sun rays from falling direct on their faces. Hats were subdivided into two categories, namely casual hats and formal hats. The casual ones were mostly worn for the daytime outings while the formal hats were worn by men while they were out on a business trip. Some hats, even comprised of a hatband that was supposed to get fixed around your head. The colour of the hatband was mostly contrasting. In some hats, the hatbands were of solid colours while some had printed hatbands. The prints were generally related to the tropical theme.
Further, we are going to describe the different types of hats that men worn in the 1950s.
- The Fedora Hat
The Fedora hats were one of the most popular kinds of hats worn by men in the 1950s. These hats continued throughout that decade. This decade continued the influence of gentlemanly effects of the hats. These hats were more prevailing in the cinematic world and streel styles because of their capability to enhance the overall appearance created by a suit coat or any other generalized daytime wear. Hats were considered as a representation of etiquette and respect, which provided a way to revert to the social environment of the 1950s. The most important tip men followed while purchasing a fedora was opting for single coloured classy pieces that can get paired up with various looks. The highly preferred colours in terms of these hats were navies, greys, and khakis.
- The Pork Pie hat
This was another popular kind of hat that men wore in the 1950s. These hats were available in a variety of colours and simple prints with more clear style. People generally called these hats as telescope crown hats. These hats generally came in colours like olive green and pale brown and were made up of fur material. They were shaped short with an oval-shaped flat top with an intense ridge. They were generally worn at a particular angle and were slightly tilted. They also included a band in the formal of a twisted tie made up of silk ribbon or wide grosgrain.
- The Straw Hat
The next well-known type of hat that men wore in the 1950s were straw hats. These hats were available in various shapes and natural shades. The straw hats of the 1950s had some unique features which made them stand apart from the rest. Some of these hats had check prints while some had geometric patterns printed overall. These hats were generally made of naturally yellow straw and were bleached using white straw and hues of coconut brown. Some were made of thick material, whereas some were thin, but all had the handwoven fabric in common. Some men wore it more aligned to the back, whereas some wore it more tilted towards the front.
- The Walking Hat
The walking hats were another popular form of hats worn by men in the 1950s. They were available in numerous multi-colored patterns. The material used in these hats was tweed wool, and cotton summer plaids to be worn in the winter. They were shaped in a tall circled crown that snuggled on the head. The bands of these hats were made up of a bow, tie, or a clip.
- Men’s Cap
Caps were known to be the sportiest version of hats. They were simple, lightweight, and very casual. Worn by both youth and older men, caps were available in the classy little flat shaped or even a more oval shape which had a hard ridge. Caps were made up of materials of different textures to suit different seasonal preferences, including tweed to be worn in the winter, plaid to be worn in summers, silk to be worn throughout the spring, and cotton for the fall. The most casually worn caps were the flat caps. The flat caps never really go out of trend. Mostly, men of the working class and young boys wore these caps. It was also considered as an important part of the sports outfit which men never missed out before going out for playing golf or on a long drive.
- Men’s leather belt
Belts were another essential accessory used by men in the entire decade of the 1950s. Some pants just had loops for belt and were paired up with a thin belt made up of leather. Some belts were worn in the form of waistbands. These belts didn’t need loops to get fixed and had a long extension to the upper part of the pant. Without wearing a belt, men feared the pant to fall. Many varieties of slacks also had loops for belts or elasticated waist on each side to keep it tight.
- Men’s fabric belt
Apart from the leather made belts, the belts made out of fabric were also highly popular amongst the men. Men wore these belts mostly with shorts to give them a more casual look. These belts were used by men with knee-length shorts worn for a daytime outing.
Men’s ties
The ties are worn by men in the 1950s steadily went from plus 3 inches broad to 2 inches skinny. The ties which were hand-painted were no longer in fashion instead of which more bright colours came into the trend. Towards the end of the decade, ties designed in bold patterns reverted in trend. Some of these ties had polka dots, some had geometric prints and mod arts, whereas the others had different tropical prints. The neckties which were knit thinly with squared ends once again came back in fashion along with the low width bow tie. The later part of the decade showed the uncommon continental tie getting inspired by the western outfits worn by men in the monotonous fashion.
- Painted ties
The painted ties were still popular in the earlier part of the decade. The patterns ended up becoming more contemporary, abstract, cubist, and aesthetic in comparison to those of the earlier decades. It was no more considered as a hobby, but a game of colours, designs, and different shapes.
- Cotton ties
Cotton ties were highly preferred by men throughout the entire decade. They claimed to be washable, which made them easy to get washed by the housewives. These ties looked formal but fun because they were made out of fabrics with different kinds of texture, whereas some also had miniature contemporary prints. These patterns by largely influenced by the renowned atomic age, which featured the Art Deco appearance on them. Ties with square ends, dual-toned as well as butterfly designed bow ties were in fashion too.
- Continentalties
Continental ties gained immense popularity in a short period, although they couldn’t retain the popularity for a longer time. They were neither a necktie nor a bowtie, but a broad patch of black ribbon made up of silk or satin which fitted across the neck and the ends of it were grabbed together with the help of a pin or pearl snap. These ties were mostly worn with formal outfits, but sometimes were also worn with business suits.
Henceforth, the ones mentioned above are the names of major accessories that were available for men throughout the entire decade of the 1950s. As you see the list of accessories is not short at all which implies the fact that apart from the women, men also were fond of adding accessories to complete their look. All these are the most essential accessorized tried by men of all ages for different outfits. Some of them seem to continue in trend even now, whereas some have become vintage accessories. However, all of them are collectible and you can get them at several online stores offering vintage fashion.