1960'S FASHIONS INSPIRED BY MAD MEN AND PAN AM - TAKE A TRIP BACK WITH ME

I'm sure you have seen the 1960's styles making waves in the fashions of today, which was heightened by the popularity of AMC's hit, award-winning show Mad Men and ABC's new show Pan Am!

I happen to love the classic, structured looks of the time, as seen in many of the dresses, and flattering knee-length cuts that were in before the mini skirt trend of the late 1960's. It is back when women dressed for their days, fully styled their hair and were quite put together from head to toe before leaving the house.

The early years reflected the true elegance of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy who also introduced the pill box hat as a statement in fashion. It was a jet set style of living during what was the height of flying and a privilege of the time unlike today.

I pulled some looks online and put together some styles for you. However, when wearing a throwback type style that is a current trend or vintage outfit it causes prices to be a bit higher, but each is still affordable and one is even less than $20!

So, get ready to buckle up, sit back and relax during this quick flight back to the 1960's and through some dresses and flashbacks of the time that are making a comeback in 2011! Here we go...

1. Joyride 1965 Dress

Price: $82.00

Buy: Shabby Apple

2. Love Me Do 1965 Dress

Price: $86.00

Buy: Shabby Apple

3. Heartbreaker 1960's Mod Black Dress

Price: $58.00

Buy: Unique Vintage

4. 1960's Mad Men Green Dress

Price: $70.40

Buy: AndeMonster Etsy Shop

5. 1960's Contrast Structure Dress

Price: $19.80

Buy: Forever 21

Are any of you sporting looks of the 60's or would you rather just observe them?

I have sported the cuts of the 60's before, and think they will never really go out of style, as they say, but I have yet to put together a full 60's look, except when on the set of either NBC's "American Dreams" or AMC's "Mad Men," as seen in the pictures below. It seems to be the decade everyone thinks my look belongs in.

Playing Leslie with my giant hair flip on the set of NBC's "American Dreams."

On the set of "American Dreams" with actors Brittany Snow, Rachel Boston, Teal Brown, Erin Cahill and Danielle DiCerbo.

In my trailer on the set of USA's "Mad Med" in my stewardess attire feeling a little like my mother! :)

Also, a bit ago, in my Rediscovering My Life Passions and A Pan Am Flashback post, I put up a picture of my mother sitting in the engine of a Pan Am plane from her days as a stewardess, and I got so many lovely comments and messages about it and her. Some of you wanted to see more and were in love with that time in our history.

So, I pulled a few more images of her for you since this was a post all about the 1960's with some influence from Pan Am! They make me smile each and every time I see them, and just watching the film she did back then, that captures her life as a Pan Am stewardess, means so much to me! It is something I would never have been able to see, since I wasn't born yet, had it not been for that footage of her in a time she loved oh so much!

My mother rocked the blue eye shadow, a beautiful updo and a super cute uniform back when they were quite stylish and planes had 2 floors and spiral staircases...oh how I would have loved to do what she did then!

(Images Background: My mother was asked to be in the German feature film "Benjamin" by its director Willy Bogner, now a famous ski wear designer, after she was his stewardess during a Pan Am flight from NYC to Munich. She wore her actual uniform to play the part of herself as a Pan Am stewardess opposite the film's lead Philipp Sonntag. Thanks to Mr. Bogner's kind daughter, whom I tracked down online a few years ago, I was able to contact him almost 30 years later to get a copy of the film, which he so kindly sent with a hand written note to my mother. It meant more than either of us can express and I a still so thankful to them both!)

Needless to say, I LOVE the 1960's era, and would have loved to live during that time, but for now at least I can get a glimpse of what it would have been like through stories from my mother during her Pan Am days and from all the 60's inspired shows on TV these days! What an elegant, classy and glamorous time!

Thank you all for joining me on our journey, this concludes today's trip back to the 60's and I hope you enjoyed your fight! ;) Have a lovely start to your week and check back on Wednesday for more goodies!

SIDE NOTE: The new ABC Pan Am show unfortunately has a lot of inaccurate details, which is something that makes watching it difficult for my mother and her friends who flew at that time. Some are big mistakes and my mother feels that since they are promoting it as a representation of how it was then, it is disappointing that the industry lacks to fully follow-through in their research on some basic details. 

Though I realize they are trying and am aware that they do have a stewardess from that era on set for factual reference, so, as my mother said, perhaps it is the networks vetoing some decisions to make it more "hollywood" and TV-worthy. Like the decision to have a far too young actor play the pilot of a Pan Am maiden voyage flight or wearing their hats and jackets during service in flight...that would never have happened!