Swinging London In Photos: 1960s

~ beetleypete

During the 1960s, London was trying to become the new fashion capital of the world. It rebranded itself as ‘Swinging London’, and photographers were out on the streets taking photos of the new fashions, regularly using professional models too. This selection includes some styles that never caught on.

A man sporting the early ‘Mod’ look. Smart suit, and an Italian scooter.
(This was how I dressed at the time, but I was too young to own a scooter.)

Three young women shopping for clothes.
(Or a set-up by the photographer.)

A carefully posed group in very colourful attire.
(I think this might be the very early 1970s.)

Models in London wearing what almost appears to be a uniform.
(I don’t recall any ‘ordinary girls’ wearing such things.)

The famous model Twiggy, pictured with children and animals all wearing paper masks of her face.

Colourful dresses and berets posed by models.

Another model showing off a designer fashion.

This young lady was very on-trend.

Showing the fashion for wearing old military uniforms.

Taken to show ‘ordinary’ young people trying their best to be fashionable.
(And failing.)

Nearer the end of the 1960s, the trend for Eastern clothing began to emerge.

43 thoughts on “Swinging London In Photos: 1960s”

  3. I loved this, and wanted to live this in the 60’s. I did spend a weekend in London in ’66 when I was on a student tour to France. I still remember the dress I bought. It was short, and no one in America was wearing mid-thigh dresses. Not yet. Great memories.

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  11. (1) A scooter and a straight shooter.
    (2) Yellow, red, and blue figure prominently everywhere in this photo. Definitely set up by the photographer. (I’m guessing that’s a brasserie named La Coupole.)
    (3) Sign post girl: “Salmon I think green is a sexy color.”
    (4) The not-too-sexy six later formed a punk rock group called the Pumpkins. But they weren’t very successful. They mostly performed in the seedy part of town.
    (5) The girls wearing Twiggy face masks reminds me of the Kate Bush video, “Running Up That Hill.”
    (6) The models were named Abigail, Natalie, and Tiffany. My aunt, who once worked for the Ford Model Agency, simply referred to them as Model A, Model N, and Model T. But she said the French photographer called them “the ANT girls” because they were “fourmi-dable.”
    (7) The lady showing off a designer fashion must have aroused the photographer, who accidentally included something in the photo (bottom center).
    (8) The trendy young lady is an immigrant from Pisa.
    (9) Looking at the signs:
    — The girl with her hands up is saying, “I will surrender to any man who wears a uniform!”
    — Those hand prints are far from being a concrete example of the ones I’ve seen at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
    — The lady with the bearskin hat (typically worn by the royal guards) reminds me of Pocahontas Pirelli’s hair, which was styled by Warren Pretty. (Once you’ve watched this video, you’ll Cherish it.)

    (10) “I wish those guys would go away. First of all, they look stupid in those clothes. And second of all, I’m dying of thirst.”
    (11) Unlike Eastern clothing, which was just a fad, Western attire is still going strong. Now excuse me while I go put on my cowboy hat and boots.

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  13. I remember being told that mini skirts would make your knees fat because that was how your body would protect itself against the cold. Not sure if there was truth in that! Didn’t stop me wearing a short skirt but never really a mini. A couple of the girls I worked with cut their hems so short the skirt barely covered their knickers. I always liked a nicely dressed man.

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    1. I think that knee thing is nonsense. Twiggy wore them, and she remained stick-thin with normal knees. I loved the mini-skirt era, the shorter the better for me at that age! 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  14. Pingback: Swinging London In Photos: 1960s | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

  17. I wore minis for a while and then the dreaded’sack’ dress. We didn’t become a ‘scooter’ family until our eldest son made it a lifetime career and is now a respected scooter journalist under the name ‘Sticky.’

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