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Beatles Fashion Influence
Photo on the Left:
Our American Century Turbulent Years: The 60s. 1998. Edited by Sara Brash and Loretta Britten. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 159. (Photography Copyright Apple Corps LTD., London.)
Photo on the Right:
Our American Century Turbulent Years: The 60s. 1998. Edited by Sara Brash and Loretta Britten. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 156. (Photography taken by: Harry Benson, 1964.)
With their very first entrance into America (pictured right in 1964), the Beatles like the rest of their country at that initial time defined and solidified the mod culture of the early 60’s. The Beatles took the popular transformation of the crew cut and parted hair to that of longer, un-parted hair. They often had an effect on men’s fashion, with the appearance of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts club band album in 1967, satin uniforms with braids like those on the cover became popular (American Decades: 1960-1969 1995).
Just as they had defined the cleanness of the mod look, they took a complete opposite direction when they decided to loosen up and thus help in the defining of the youth counterculture (pictured left in August 1969.)Their style of music and dress over a single decade alone is somewhat of an outward illustration of the changes of that time. From their initial boyish clean-cut looks and matching coats upon their arrival to their long hair and beards like those being sported by many of the hippies, they had helped to launch not only the wearing of long hair by men; but as the years passed, the wearing of outlandish outfits to their gradual but dramatic loosening of appearance over the decade (Chalmers 1991).
At their peak in 1966, the summer of love, their songs were reflective of the unfolding of drugs, as they got high with such songs as “Revolver” and higher with “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (Chalmers 1991).
They followed not only the hippie movement in their fashion, but also in their call for peace as John Lennon wrote the anti-Vietnam War anthem “Give Peace a Chance.” However, one song, “Helter Skelter”, was greatly misinterpreted leading to a far cry from peace (Chalmers 1991).
“The range and excitement of the Beatles’ musicianship and creative talent were part of the bridge that brought the high culture into a loose combination with the popular culture of the sixties. The constant experimentation with dress, drug, lifestyle, and musical form both reflected the frantic pace of the sixties and also influenced the many young people who took the Beatles as cultural heroes and models” (Chalmers 1991).
American Decades: 1960-1969. 1995. Edited by Richard Layman. New York: Gale Research International Limited.
Chalmers, David. And the Crooked Places Made Straight: The Struggle for Social Change in the 1960s. 1991. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
For further information on the Beatles: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatles
Beatles Fashion Influence
Photo on the Left:
Our American Century Turbulent Years: The 60s. 1998. Edited by Sara Brash and Loretta Britten. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 159. (Photography Copyright Apple Corps LTD., London.)
Photo on the Right:
Our American Century Turbulent Years: The 60s. 1998. Edited by Sara Brash and Loretta Britten. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 156. (Photography taken by: Harry Benson, 1964.)
With their very first entrance into America (pictured right in 1964), the Beatles like the rest of their country at that initial time defined and solidified the mod culture of the early 60’s. The Beatles took the popular transformation of the crew cut and parted hair to that of longer, un-parted hair. They often had an effect on men’s fashion, with the appearance of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts club band album in 1967, satin uniforms with braids like those on the cover became popular (American Decades: 1960-1969 1995).
Just as they had defined the cleanness of the mod look, they took a complete opposite direction when they decided to loosen up and thus help in the defining of the youth counterculture (pictured left in August 1969.)Their style of music and dress over a single decade alone is somewhat of an outward illustration of the changes of that time. From their initial boyish clean-cut looks and matching coats upon their arrival to their long hair and beards like those being sported by many of the hippies, they had helped to launch not only the wearing of long hair by men; but as the years passed, the wearing of outlandish outfits to their gradual but dramatic loosening of appearance over the decade (Chalmers 1991).
At their peak in 1966, the summer of love, their songs were reflective of the unfolding of drugs, as they got high with such songs as “Revolver” and higher with “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (Chalmers 1991).
They followed not only the hippie movement in their fashion, but also in their call for peace as John Lennon wrote the anti-Vietnam War anthem “Give Peace a Chance.” However, one song, “Helter Skelter”, was greatly misinterpreted leading to a far cry from peace (Chalmers 1991).
“The range and excitement of the Beatles’ musicianship and creative talent were part of the bridge that brought the high culture into a loose combination with the popular culture of the sixties. The constant experimentation with dress, drug, lifestyle, and musical form both reflected the frantic pace of the sixties and also influenced the many young people who took the Beatles as cultural heroes and models” (Chalmers 1991).
American Decades: 1960-1969. 1995. Edited by Richard Layman. New York: Gale Research International Limited.
Chalmers, David. And the Crooked Places Made Straight: The Struggle for Social Change in the 1960s. 1991. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
For further information on the Beatles: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatles