How to Relive the 1960s

The 1960s were a sign of the changing time. People became to change their living standards, and technologies such as the TV were commonly used. Multiple things changed in the 1960s, such as the gradual adopting of pants in women's fashion, the development of video game consoles, and the growing peace movement in response to events like the Korean War. Also, many young people in the 60s wanted more self-expression and freedom as they exited the 50s and post World War II era. This guide will help you live like a 60s person.

Part 1
Part 1 of 3:

Dressing Like Someone from the 1960s

  1. 1
    Look for 1960s celebrities. [1] Celebrities from the 1960s wear fashion from this time, so looking for them on the web will make your 1960s look more accurate. Search up a wide variety of singers, musicians, models, and actors to get a wide variety of 60s fashion. Here are some ideas:
    • The Beatles gained popularity in the 1960s.
    • Zsa Zsa Gabor was an iconic actress in the 60s.
    • Steve McQueen was one of the stars of the 1960s.
    • Andy Warhol was a famous artist and pop icon of the 60s.
    • Jacqueline Kennedy was the 35th U.S. president's John F. Kennedy's wife. Her fashion was a hit in the 1960s.
  2. 2
    Get the hippie look of the 1960s. This look was the most iconic look during this time. Chances are that many people think of hippies when they think of the 1960s. Hippies back in the 1960s were usually middle-class students from liberal colleges. The most predominant colleges were U.C. Berkeley and San Francisco State University. Hippies believed in self-expression and a more upbeat way of life. Today, they are credited with making tie-dye clothing and the peace movement popular. [2]
    • Get a flower crown to put on your head.
    • Wear boho blouses and jean shorts.
    • Wear accessories with fringe. Wear fringe shirts or boots.
    • You can add hoop earrings to your outfit if you want.
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  3. 3
    Wear a miniskirt. Modern miniskirts were invented in the mid 60s. In earlier decades, skirts were meant to cover all of a person's legs, although skirts became shorter in the 20s and the 40s. [3] 60s miniskirts went up to a person's mid-thigh- something that was seen as unacceptable in earlier decades. Teenagers wore this daring piece, which many older, conservative people found "skimpy" and "revealing".
    • The most popular items to pair a 60s miniskirt with are go-go boots and sleeveless shirts.
    • These clothing pieces should be colorful and patterned.
  4. 4
    Adopt space age fashion. [4] This style emerged in the 1950s, although it became more popular during the 1960s. As technology was developing, more people wanted to take fashion to the next frontier by creating space age fashion. This style of fashion was heavily influenced by the ongoing Space Race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, as the two countries were competing for superior space technology.
    • Add swing coats to your wardrobe. These are coats with hemlines that grew progressively wider and wider.
    • Wear bubble dresses. These are dresses with short, voluminous skirts that rest at the mid-thigh. [5]
    • Wear clothing made out of different materials. As people were experimenting, clothing designers began to make clothes out of unique materials, such as PVC, polyester, and even paper.
  5. 5
    Wear Ivy League fashion. Ivy League fashion was the predecessor to the preppy style, and is similar to the preppy style today.
    • Wear button-down Oxford or polo shirts. Striped ones in particular are a good choice. If you don't have striped polo shirts, wear plaid ones.
    • Add a sweater vest or a cardigan if it's chilly. Harrington jackets are also an option.
    • Include chino pants as a clothing item.
    • Make your wardrobe full of argyle (diamond-patterned) and houndstooth patterned clothing.
  6. 6
    Wear suits to work for a masculine look. In the 1960s, men still wore suits to work. The suits were of simple colors like gray and brown. [6] However, the suits were slightly different than business suits of different eras. They changed from having 3 buttons to only 1 button. Also, the pants/trousers contrasted with the color of the suit jacket, as compared to same-color jackets and trousers. In addition, in the 1960s, hats began to fall out of fashion. People eventually stopped wearing fedoras and homburgs.
    • Put on a white polo shirt as the base layer. Wear a suit jacket with only 1 button on top of that. For a late 1960s look, go with patterned polo shirts. Striped and checkered polo shirts were common. Colorful suit jackets were then worn with patterned polo shirts in the late 1960s.
    • Put on a skinny tie. Skinny ties are thinner than the regular ties that you may wear to modern formal occasions.
    • Common textures of the suit jackets include tweed and corduroy.
    • Wear trousers that are of a different color than your suit jacket. To illustrate, if your jacket is maroon, wear navy or black pants.
  7. 7
    Wear 1960s shoes. These were added to 1960s clothing to make a whole outfit.
    • Put on boots. These were popular in the 1960s as well as the 70s. Go-go boots and knee-high boots were worn during this decade.
    • Put on low-heeled sandals.
    • Wear Cuban heels.
  8. 8
    Wear 1960s accessories. There were many 1960s accessories added to 1960s clothing. Colorful, patterned accessories in particular were commonly worn.
    • Wear feather boas.
    • Add round sunglasses to your outfit.
    • Add skinny ties to business suits.
    • Wear pill-box hats with skirt suits. These were popularized by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. [7]
    • Wear a beret with chic sweaters and skirts.
    • Wear bandanas in your hair.
  9. 9
    Wear 1960s hairstyles. There were many iconic hairstyles of the 1960s that are still remembered and worn today.
  10. 10
    Wear clothing inspired by youth subcultures in the 1960s. There were many youth subcultures in the 1960s that had their own unique clothing.
    • Be inspired by the hippie subculture.
    • Get inspiration from the mod subculture. This was quite a popular subculture in the 60s. Bands such as the Beatles, The Who, and The Kinks emerged from the mod subculture.
    • Gain inspiration from the greaser subculture.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 3:

Viewing Media from the 1960s

  1. 1
    Listen to songs from the early 1960s. Different types of rock, such as blues rock, funk rock, and psychedelic rock were loved by many in the early 1960s. If you were young in the 60s (someone from the Silent Generation or a Baby Boomer), you might've heard of some of these songs.
    • I'm Sorry (Brenda Lee) - May 1960
    • It's Now or Never (Elvis Presley) - July 1960
    • Hello Mary Lou (Ricky Nelson) - May 1961
    • Please Mr. Postman (The Marvelettes) - August 1961
    • Wolverton Mountain (Claude King) - March 1962
    • The Loco-Motion (Little Eva) - June 1962
    • Fingertips – Part 2 (Little Stevie Wonder) - May 1963
    • Blowin' in the Wind (Bob Dylan) - August 1963
    • The Sound of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel) - October 1964
    • I Get Around (The Beach Boys) - May 1964
  2. 2
    Listen to songs from the 1960s. In the late 60s, pop began to rise in popularity. Bubblegum pop emerged in the late 1960s, and Baroque and sunshine pop rose in popularity. Funk, soul, and R&B were popular throughout the 60s. Here are some of the more well-known songs from this time:[8]
    • (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones) - June 1965
    • Help! (The Beatles) - August 1965
    • You Can’t Hurry Love (The Supremes) - July 1966
    • Good Vibrations (The Beach Boys) - October 1966
    • White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane) - June 1967
    • Dazed and Confused (Jake Holmes) - July 1967
    • Time of the Season (The Zombies) - March 1968
    • Hey Jude (The Beatles) - August 1968
    • Hot Fun In The Summertime (Sly and the Family Stone) - July 1969
    • Suspicious Minds (Elvis Presley) - August 1969
  3. 3
    Look at 1960s movies. There are many 60s movies that have been highly rated by people over the decades. Many iconic ones, such as "The Sound of Music" and "Mary Poppins" came from this decade. They had dull colors and those iconic old-timey voices in them. Some of the movies listed below have been put in the U.S. National Registry for being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant! If you are a person from the Baby Boomer generation (1948-1964) or earlier, you may have seen some of these movies. [9]
    • Psycho (1960)
    • 101 Dalmatians (1961) [10]
    • To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
    • The Sword in the Stone (1963)
    • The Sound of Music (1964)
    • Mary Poppins (1964)
    • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
    • The Jungle Book (1967)
    • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
    • Frosty the Snowman (1969)
  4. 4
    Watch some 1960s TV shows. There are many iconic TV shows of the 60s that have stood the test of time and are widely known to audiences even now. For example, "Doctor Who" first aired in 1963 and has been airing ever since. [11]
    • Coronation Street (1960-)
    • The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966)
    • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962-1992)
    • Doctor Who (1963-)
    • General Hospital (1963-)
    • The Dick Van Dyke Show (1965-1974)
    • Dark Shadows (1966-1971)
    • Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969) [12]
  5. 5
    Get your hands on 1960s technology. Since it has been some time since the 1960s, you may not have any 1960s technology left in your home. You could reminisce about some 60s technology, however, by viewing the list below of common 1960s tech found in households at the time.
    • Find some cassette tapes. These were cases with reels of magnetic tape. They could play back audio and were the predecessors of CDs. They were invented in 1963.
    • Remember the first colored TVs. This may be surprising, but TVs with color were invented in 1928! Before the 60s, black-and-white television was still more common. In the 1960s, more and more households began to use colored TVs. [13]
    • Reminisce about 1960s radios. Radios were actually invented in 1895 by Gugliemo Marconi. Those box-shaped devices which could broadcast news and play songs were important devices in the 60s.
    • Remember 60s telephones. There were no modern iPhones or other mobile phones more than half a century ago- people back then still used rotary dial telephones. You had to turn the dial each time to dial each number of a telephone number.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 3:

Acting Like Someone from the 1960s

  1. 1
    Use 1960s slang. Each decade has its special phrases and slang. The 1960s were no different. There were many phrases that people across the internet used. Some of these include: [14] [15]
    • Bummer - a disappointing situation
    • Dig it - to understand or to agree with something
    • Fab Four - The Beatles
    • Far out - awesome
    • Flower power - the peaceful protests of the 60s counterculture
    • Groovy - cool
    • Gimme some skin - to ask someone to shake hands with you
    • Mellow - relaxed or laid-back
    • Slug bug - a Volkswagen Beetle
  2. 2
    Do 1960s trends. Each modern decade has its many trends. Some of these are interesting, whereas some of these are weird or even dangerous. Try to attempt some safe 1960s trends.
    • Be into British bands such as the Beatles.
    • Listen to Motown. This was a pop-influenced style of R&B, which was made by many African-American artists starting from the 1950s. Famous Motown artists include Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and the Marvelettes. [16]
    • Learn about hippie culture.
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