Television: A New Frontier

Although the electronic television was first successful in 1927, it was not until 1947  that it became viable commercially. The prosperity of the 1950’s allowed many Americans to have TV sets in their home. In 1949, 3% of families had television sets, by 1951, the number had jumped to 24%. Owning a television, which had once been a privilege, shifted to being the norm. The dawn of the Cold War made many Americans believe that the purity of American pop culture was invaluable in protecting traditional American ideals. In 1952, the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters created their own censorship guidelines, so that the government would not step in and create their own restrictions. The goal of these guidelines was to encourage American values and support a healthy American culture, which included keeping violence, sex, and crime off the air waves.

Arguable the most popular show of its time, I Love Lucy, is an excellent example of how television was used to reinforce American ideals. With its premier airing on October 15, 1951, I Love Lucy, was the most popular TV show in America for 4 of its 6 seasons, with more people tuning in to watch the birth of the TV couple’s son than to the inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower. On October 15^th, 1951, CBS aired I Love Lucy for the first time. The show starred Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, who were married in real life. The show featured Lucy, the bumbling and dependent housewife to Ricardo, the domineering the breadwinning man of the house. Every attempt Lucy made to break out of her mold as doting wife, fails with Ricardo having to come save her, sending the message that women should stay at home, not only for the benefit of their husband and children, but for themselves. At home, Lucy can be the pinnacle of familial stability and relish in the American Dream. This message was pertinent, for many women had had a taste of the workplace when their husbands were shipped off to war, but I Love Lucy, told them that it was alright to want to break free of the home, but not to actually attempt to do so. I Love Lucy also kept within the propriety standards set out by the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters, with Lucy and Ricardo sleeping in separate twin beds for the first two seasons of the show. Only when their son was born were the beds put together under one headboard, yet, the separate twin sheets stayed, dividing the couple. In general, Lucy and Ricardo were to mirror the hopes and values of the American public, and sent a strong message as to the gender roles of men and women in post-war society.

The television does not only deliver sitcoms however, it also provided a new means for advertising to a wealthier America. The commercials of the early 1950’s concentrated on repeated and simple slogans. Take this M&M commercial, which repeats the slogan, “M&M’s melt on your mouth, not in your hand”. Aside form the traditional commercial however, some companies sponsored full variety shows. One of the most famous, Texaco Star Theater, was hosted by Milton Berle on NBC. Throughout the show’s hour long time slot, Texaco employees were seen smiling an doing good deeds. The theme song for the show is an elongated advertising pitch for Texaco, with the closing song including, “Remember to be loyal, To our gasoline and oil, When they save you time and toil you'll be glad”.  As the full power of television advertising was realized airtime became more expensive and advertisements became shorter.

Fashion in the 50's: A Great Shift

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            With the dawn of WWII came new restrictions that fashion had not yet see. The rationing of raw materials as well as bans on clothing imports lead to the development of man-made materials, and the restrictions lead to a completely different style of clothing. The War Production Board (WPB) was ordered by the president to regulated the production and allocation of materials. The WPB also regulated how much fabric could be used for different pieces; a blouse could have pleats or ruffles but not both; the circumference of skirts was reduced and skirts could not be lined; civilians were limited to 3 pairs of leather footwear a year. A ration book was used to assure these orders were implemented. Adjustments such as these made fashion very utilitarian. This was compounded by the emergence of women in the work force. As more and more men were shipped overseas, women were needed to fill the gaps (hence the famous Rosie the Riveter poster). This pushed women towards pants as opposed to skirts and dresses.

           With this in mind we enter into the 1950’s, an era that ran towards old norms that had been overturned in the chaos of war. Women were encouraged, if not required, to look like a proper lady. There were two main styles for women, the swing skirt and the pencil skirt. The most famous example of the swing skirt was Christian Dior’s “New Look” in 1947. This look was overtly feminine with a below mid-calf length, full, skirt, a pointed bust, a tiny waist, and a round shoulder. The “New Look,” unlike the wartime styles, used bolts and bolts of fabric, especially in the voluminous skirt. This was typically paired with gloves and a pair of heels. The pencil skirt was used to create an hourglass figure that was considered very feminine. The very narrow skirt was sometimes paired with a cropped jacket to accentuate the figure eight figure. 

Christian Dior's "New Look". Notice how the peplum jacket help creates a tiny waist and larger hips.

The pencil style skirt was very streamlined to create the hourglass look.

            Men generally dressed for business, wearing suits that were more relaxed than they had been in previous decades. However, they were still made of heavy fabrics, no matter the season. Men did not have much freedom in outfit choice, and were expected to be wearing a suit jacket at all times, except when at home. A man’s outfit was also incomplete with a matching fedora. The suits were single-breasted with unpadded shoulders. Both jackets and pants were shorter, but still used a lot of fabric. Early in the 50’s colors were muted, but patterns came into fashion alter on in the decade. However, because of the wealth of the period, men in the 1950’s had more leisure time and therefore needed different clothing. Polos, short sleeved button downs, and jeans shirts all came into trend.

Men generally dressed the same

            Another phenomenon of the 1950’s was teenage fashion. The war had created a prosperous era where middle class families suddenly had an expendable income. Prior to this time there hadn’t really been teenage years, young children turned into adults and were expected to tact that way. The dawn of the 50’s lead to more freedom for teenagers, and a sort of category of their own. Parents who had lived during the depression wanted to make sure their kids had more than they had, creating this new market. Teen girls wore jumpers, dresses with shirts under them, and tailored dresses with sleeves. The iconic poodle skirt also became very famous, and was paired with a cardigan or a boat neck shirt. Rolled up jeans were considered very casual, and were generally only worn around the house. Boys fell into two categories: preppy and greasers. Preppy teens wore button up shirts paired with sweater vests or, on occasion, t-shirts. Jeans and slacks were both worn, but they generally looked neat. Greasers wore t-shirts, jeans or twill work pants, leather jackets, and heavy work boots. Despite these two categories, many places did not allow jeans in school, and boys wore chinos and khakis. Jeans were worn to hang out with friends. The same goes for t-shirts, which were worn for recreation.