How+women's+rights+affected+women's+fashion+in+the+sixties

Women’s rights highly affected the fashion in the sixties, which sought out a generation of women who challenged the boundaries of personal expression and civil liberties. Societies fashion changed forever in the sixties, along with politics, and women themselves. Mary Quant is who is credited with creating the mini skirt. “The miniskirt lengths tended to vary by continent. In America the lengths were more around 4-5 inches above the knee but in London, 7-8 inches. Mary Quant opened a boutique named Bazaar in Chelsea back in 1955.This is the beginning of what would be called the "London Look". Her miniskirts and colored tights challenged the fashion world to move in a new direction.” Then she entered into an agreement with J.C. Penney’s to do four collections a year.  Mary Quant is also responsible for hot pants and the baby doll look. Baby-doll dresses with round necks and fitted waists were seen on women of all ages and sizes. These dresses were found in prints and solids and in both pastel and vibrant colors.” Hot pants were also popular in the sixties. “These short shorts were seen in bright colors and made a fashion statement on anyone that wore them. Culottes were another popular clothing item.” They had the look of a full skirt but were more like a pants. Tie-dyed shirts also appeared in the sixties. “Women wearing these brightly colored shirts were sure to be noticed. Women were drawn to the vibrant, bold patterns not usually seen in fashion. Toward the end of the 1960s, peasant skirts, granny dresses and bell-bottom jeans also became popular.”  "Sixties clothes." Footwear changed majorly in the sixties. Gone were the stilettos and in were the kitten heels. Flat knee high boots were popular and often worn with skirts and dresses. Women wore Mary Janes, ballerina flats and slingbacks with most of their clothes. Toward the later sixties, clogs became the rage with a wide variety of styles and sandals.The sixties ushered in an attitude of "anything goes" and showed the changing politics of the day, and the need for women’s civil liberties. "Do your own thing" applied to clothes as well. The fashion revolution was youth oriented and youth driven, which started something new politically and visually. During the 1950s and 1960s, large numbers of married women entered the labor force, but in 1963 the average working woman earned only 63 percent of what a man made. That year author Betty Friedan published //The Feminine Mystique////.// Arguing that women often had no outlets for expression other than "finding a husband and having children," Friedan encouraged readers to seek new roles and responsibilities, to seek their own personal and professional identities rather than have them be judged by the male-dominated society. The women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s drew ispiration from the civil rights movement. It was made up mainly of members of the middle class, but all women every shape and size. Another factor linked to the developing of the movement was the sexual revolution of the 1960s, which in turn was the development and marketing of the birth-control pill. Reform legislation also caused change. During debate on the 1964 Civil Rights bill, people hoped to stop the entire measure by proposing an amendment to outlaw discrimination on the basis of gender as well as race. Then the first amendment, then the bill itself, passed, giving women a legal tool to secure their rights in the ever changing world. Women themselves took measures to improve their selves. In 1966, 28 women, including Betty Friedan, established the National Organization for Women (NOW) "to take action to bring American women into full involvement in the mainstream of American society now." By the next year, 1,000 women had joined; four years later membership reached 15,000. (NOW ) and similar organizations helped make women aware of their limited opportunities and help to change them. Women became the beginning of a new world and toward the future. "Betty Friedan and the Making of The Feminine Mystique: “41 years after the sixties have ended and a new age of life, almost every thing has changed. Morals, values, politics, fashion, laws, ethic population, and even women have changed. "Women do two-thirds of the world's work, receive 10 percent of the world's income, and own 1 percent of the means of production." As of 2009, women represented 20.9% of parliament in Europe (both houses) and 18.4% world average.As of 2009, 90 women serve in the U.S. Congress: 18 women serve in the Senate, and 73 women serve in the House”. Women have all the oppurtunities men do and some day we might even rule the world. Wikipedia contributors. "Women in the workforce." Women have deffiently come a long way from being a house wife to a professional person in the workforce. We have our own choices that we make for ourselves. We can run for president and dress in what ever we please, we can fight in the war or even be the boss. Women of the future AKA the present should be grateful for the women that changed our future as a house wife forever. I hope women grow even more into this ever changing world. "Sixties clothes." //fifties web//. Rich web, 2010. Web. 11 Apr 2011. . "Betty Friedan and the Making of The Feminine Mystique: ." //mith2.umd.edu//. H-Women@h-net.msu.edu, 2000. Web. 2011. Wikipedia contributors. "Women in the workforce." //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 6 Apr. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.
 * How women’s rights affected women’s fashion in the sixties **