TREND WATCH: The 60’s Reloaded

Kick started by the retro swagger of Marc Jacobs’ Louis Vuitton recent mod-inspired collections, the 60’s are back in a big way this season, with big hair, big eyes and bold hues all the rage.

The bonus of dabbling in this classic trend is not only achieving a striking and timeless look, but the huge variety of 60s inspired beauty, make up, hair and fashion options to play around with means you’ll never get bored in the process! From catwalk chameleons, modern day celebs, to the original 1960’s bombshells, there’s plenty of inspiration around but here is a quick fire guide to set you on the path to retro glory.

Fashion

According to the likes of Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs himself, the 60s style trademarks essential to any woman’s wardrobe include

Mini skirts and A-line dresses
Kitten heels
Pointed heels
Pops of bright colours
Monochromatic outfits
Blacks, whites and bright citrus shades
Shift and mini dresses
Structured crop tops
Checkerboard, geometric and stripe prints

Underpinning the revival of retro fashion are cuts that are strong and structured with fun and opulent accessories including big, chunky, Dolce & Gabbana-esque earrings, boxy tiny bags and oversized funky sunglasses.

Make Up

It’s all about defined, smokey eyes when it comes to 60s inspired make up, so you will need to have at the ready good quality shadow palette, liquid eyeliner and mascara at the ready. First prepare the eyelid by smoothing it over with a neutral colour, before applying a dark grey or brown up to the outer corner of eyelid, blending in well and building up to your desired shade of darkness. Then line the lid with liquid black eyeliner, adding an upward feline flick at the end of the lids and bold lashings of black mascara to complete the retro look. To draw more attention to the eyes, darken your eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil to for a contrasting finish. As for your lips, this is the place add that splash of colour – citrus shades are classically retro, with the runways this seasons favouring ultra glossy orange lip colours.

Hair

Volume, volume, volume is key to nailing the 60s hair trend (if you can’t remember any original screen sirens from that decade, look no further than HBO’s series Mad Men).
A playful side-wept beehives oozes 60’s glamour and is an easy look to recreate.

Before blow drying hair, inject some volumising mouse into the hair, and once the hair is dry follow up by lightly spray some flexible hold hair spray under the roots of your tresses.
Then divide your hair into two sections from ear to ear across the top of your head, meaning most of your hair will be in the back section. Secure the front section with a clip before getting down to some serious backcombing business; working in sections, tease the hair away from the front of the head.
Once this section is all backcombed, Brush the back section into a high French twist, pulling the ends to the crown of your head. Slide large bobby pins down through the fold of the twist attaching it firmly to the back of your head. Spray once more with hairspray.
Now to the front section, make a deep side part, sweeping each side into the French twist and securing with poppy pins.
For an extra chic 60s look, clip in a velvet bow, bright scarf or chunky retro clip angled to the deep part of the front section, which will also help hold the swept fringe in place.