The 50s saw a change in female dress after Dior’s New Look was unveiled in 1947. Following wartime measures in the 40s, which had pushed women into the workforce and utility clothing, women wanted to look feminine again. Designers such as Balenciaga, Laroche and Givenchy (the designer of the classic little black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany’s) were iconic in this era: they embraced feminine fashion and determined the looks of the decade.

Key features of the decade:

• Pencil and full circle skirts
• Sack and sheath dresses
• Empire lines, especially empire line LBDs
• The American influence (wide belts, gloves and hats, nipped in waists)