Teen Fashion Trends-1920-1950

[Petric Williums]

Teenagers are teenagers no matter what decade it is. They have their own customs, styles, fashion trends, and even their own language that most of us “old people” can’t even begin to understand. From the roaring 20’s to modern day fashion, teens are their own people as their clothes, attitudes, and fashion trends prove over and over again. Below we will discuss the fashion trends of teenagers from the 1920s to the 1950s. Get ready for a blast into the past!

1920s Fashions

Of course, everyone knows that the flapper age pretty much ruled the 20’s even for the teens of the era. Unsurprisingly, there were other styles around, and at the time teenage girls actually dressed quite a bit like their mothers. Shirt dresses with collars from Peter Pan were in fashion. The teen girls of the day coupled them with shoes that had straps and clunky heels.  Those weren’t the only popular shoes for teens however, they also wore pumps, t-straps, and even Mary Janes. Many girls of the 20’s preferred a more boyish look so they used corsets to make their breast look flatter. The most popular colors in fashion at that time were black, gold, silks, silver, and bronze.

Teenage boys of the 1920s had their own style of fashion as well. At 16 years of age they started wearing trousers complete with white shirts and ties. Some of them favored the aviator look however, which included wearing leather jackets and flying coats. Hats were also considered the “in” thing with the teenage boys as it made them look more like the adults that were their role models.

1930s Fashions

The 30s were a time of hardship as the Great Depression made it hard for parents to even feed their children much less dress them. Clothes, even for teenagers, were often hand me downs from older siblings or other families.

Most teens however were more apt to follow the fad of the time or even to wear adult clothing, since many of them had jobs and were able to buy their own clothes. Girls tended towards big skirts and baggy sweaters. Their shoes of choice were called saddle shoes in that era. Another popular trend at the time was for girls to wear moccasins with no socks and to wear their hair in finger waves that were tight and very close to their heads.

Boys of the era tended to gravitate towards double-breasted suit jackets and long pants. Boys wore their hair super short and parted to one side. Both genders had a thing for argyle socks as well.

1940s Fashions

Even though World War II was having its effect on everything, fashion continued on where teenagers were concerned. They learned to make do with what they had to work with and did pretty good with it as well. Teenage girls were actually encouraged to wear pants, something that had been done, but had been frowned upon in the past. Pants were warmer and safer for the many girls who had jobs during the war. Also, with pants they could be passed down from one child to the other regardless if it was a boy or a girl. Some girls, but mostly boys, took to wearing Aloha shirts since the military brought them home with them from Hawaii. Fashion trends of the 40’s for teen boys and girls was simple because of little money and little fabric to make clothes with. Sportswear was extremely popular since it had just made its way to the United States, teens of course were at the forefront when it came to wearing it. 

1950s Fashion

The 1950s were totally different from any other time before it. The 50’s brought teenagers Elvis Presley, burger joints, sock hops, and muscle cars. Being a teenager was fun again and their fashion trends more than proved it.

The popular look for teen boys in the 50’s was actually the clean cut look. More boys actually dressed like Richie, not the Fonz, from Happy Days. The style was tight jeans, blazers and jackets with short hair, and clean shaven. Cardigan sweaters were extremely popular, especially if you were the athletic type. Many teenage boys did dress in the greaser style, like John Travolta in the movie Grease, because this was after all the rock and roll era. The style for this group was tight tee shirts, jeans, and a leather jacket.

Girl’s styles were conservative as well with dresses that hung below the knees and sleeves being the style. Poodle skirts, jumpers, and cardigan sweaters were also seen quite often. Rolled up jeans were also worn but never in school. They were considered to be casual wear only. Scarves were considered fashionable and hair was usually long but pulled back in a ponytail more often than not as evidenced by Olivia Newton John in her role as Sandy in Grease.

The 1950s were a time for fun, breaking fashion trends, and unique fashions. Teenagers were just getting started however, and there was much more to come in the decades to follow. Join us next time as we take a look at teen fashion trends from the 1960s to today’s present society. What teen fashion trends do you remember wearing? Did we miss any? If we did let us know, we would love to hear them and discuss them with you!

Petric Williums is associated with SmartBargains and often writes about Teen Fashion Trends. He often go for shopping and buy Discount Fashion Jewelry for his wife.