1960s Men’s Fashion

by Michael RichComment — Updated October 25, 2023

1960s Men’s Fashion for men was not as revolutionary as it was for women during the 60s but there was a lot of change.

1960s Men's Fashion Photo

Ties, belts and lapels got wider, collars got longer and wider and a modified version of the bell bottom called “flared” became popular. The conservatives men’s suit took on some geometric design along with the flare in the pants leg and wider lapels. Sport shirts were the norm for causal wear with the polo style being the most popular.

1960s Men's Fashion suitThis suit perfectly illustrates the subtle changes in 1960s men’s fashion. Notice the wider lapels and tie. Also the jacket now has shoulder pads and the suit pants are flared. Even with the changes this would still be considered a conservative suit.

mens fashion suits

credit Esquire Magazine

The double breasted suit which was popular in the 30’s and 40’s made a brief comeback in the 1960s. Also called a ‘four button’ suit it was too stiff looking for the new casualness of the decade.

mens fashion in the 60sPlaids and other patterns were now acceptable for a sports coat. Even this solid color blue suit is much lighter in color than would have been worn in the 50s.

fashion clothes from the 1960sHere is the opposite of the plaid sports coat. An outfit like this wouldn’t be worn by an executive in a large corporation but it would be just fine at most other jobs.

The Kinks in 60s fashions

Casual Cool

Longer hair and relaxed clothing went with a more casual lifestyle. This pic is of an English rock band, The Kinks . Their hits included “You really Got Me” and “All day and All of the Night”

1960s sports coats

Even men’s business attire took on a new casualness except for in larger firms where a classic suit and tie were still required

60s mens classic fashionSweaters

Sweater vests could be worn with a suit coat or instead of a coat. The one pictured here would be more appropriate for work however more casual sweater vests were much more popular.

1960s mens casual styles

Notice the longer collars, flared pant legs and the use of geometric designs. All of these design elements were new in the 1960s.shirt styles of the 60s

Knit shirts like the ones above came in a big variety of colors and designs. They paved the way for the more popular Polo style shirt which came a little later in the 1960s.

60s golf sweaters

Sweaters were popular in the 60’s. They bridged the gap allowing men to be casual yet still neatly dressed.  Pictured here is golf pro, Jack Nicklaus, showing his line of sweaters.mod sweater

The geometric design of this sweater imitated the Mod look that women’s clothes designers used so liberally. The Mod look did not catch on in men’s wear.

The 1950s had James Dean but the king of cool in the 1960s was Steve McQueen. This pic is definitely how to dress casual in the 60s. The “un-cool” Leisure suit.

Steve McQueen king of 1960s cool

These tasteless generic green suits actually gained more popularity in the 70’s but unfortunately they were a product of the 1960s.

1960s leisure suit60s style mens pants

Although Mod designs never caught on in menswear, plaid designs in nontraditional colors were popular. Notice again the use of knit shirts to round out the casual look.1960s Men's Fashion Photo

This is an example of trying to make a regular suit more hip. It has a  bold print along with relaxed styling and flared slacks.

1960s mens suit selections

A 1960s Spiegel Catalog page showing the variety that men now had in their wardrobe choices.1960s Men's Fashion Photo

More conservative 1960s suits

 

1960s mens fashion seersucker suitThe Seersucker Suit was one of the 1960s more relaxed styles and a great choice to wear in the summer.

European influenced 1960s mens fashion

European influences on 1960s men’s fashion

Mod wasn’t the only influence on men’s styles, the anti-establishment hippie movement was bringing with it an “anything goes” philosophy that allowed for greater choice in clothing. 1960s mens fashions

Hippie clothing influenced main stream style to a certain degree but it never caught on as an everyday men’s fashion. While the movie Easy Rider was showcasing hippie style the average school kid was still dressing very conservatively.

1960's school fashion
A 1966 School yard

The movie Easy Rider was an anthem for hippie style.

easy rider style fashion

By the end of the sixties some fashions were here to stay, the flaired dress slack would remain in style for another decade ties and lapels didn’t skinny up for another 20 – 25 years either. But among the young crowd anything that was different from the norm was cool, hip and definitely groovy.

1960s Male Fashions
Photo taken at Woodstock
1960s mans fringed jacket
Another Woodstock photo

Leave a Comment