Charlot was not an original clothing designer. She was a singer and actress in an opera company. She worked that way until the Second World War was over and she got married to her husband Philip.

She was, however, sensitive to fashion. She was very particular about the clothing she wore while up on stage. She hired dressmakers to look at her designs and sew dresses based on them.

When her husband lost his job, and she had limited funds, she decided to continue creating her own designs instead of purchasing dresses. She was limited in what she could do, however, since she never had learned how to sew. Her mother owned a factory that gave her access to free felt material, so that was the material that Charlot decided to use with her full skirt.

Felt is a material that does not require hemming because it can be cut in a full circle. Charlot decided to make her first skirt during the Christmas season by adding cute Christmas appliqués to the skirt. She liked it so much she made three more like it and sold them at a Beverly Hills Boutique in town.

After the holidays she was asked to design some more skirts using a popular dog theme. That theme eventually turned to poodle themes. Thus, the poodle skirt was born.

Charlot’s designs began to grow in popularity. More and more stores wanted her designs in their store. By the time she turned 25 she already had her own clothing factory and 50 employees under her wing creating poodle skirt designs.

Juli Charlot is a great example of how to overcome challenges. She didn’t know how to sew, but she loved creating fashionable items to wear, so she came up with a design that she could do on her own. She did eventually learn how to sew later on in life.

First of all, the 1950’s have a lot of things to offer. There are fun 50’s outfits that you can purchase to wear to make the event fun. Plus there is good Christmas décor, and beautiful 50’s Christmas music that you can listen to.

Food – Serve a traditional, holiday meal that would have been served in the fifties. This can include holiday glazed ham, parsley potatoes, eggnog, green salad bowl with French dressing, individual plum puddings, broccoli, fruit cocktail, potato cubes or roast potatoes, and Parkerhouse rolls. Choose your favorite array of food items and be sure to serve on nice china.

50’s Outfits – Ask guests to dress up in traditional 50’s outfits. Adult men can wear suits and fedora hats, women can dress up as fifties housewives with heels and full dresses that reach a little below their knees. Teenagers and children can have fun with greaser outfits, poodle skirts, white t-shirts, slicked back hair, ponytails, and rolled up jeans.

Christmas Decorations – Decorations always help a party start off on the right foot. Use Christmas decorations that would have been used back in the 1950’s. These include gilt paper dollies that are red, white, or green. You can also use candles, pine cones, and fun place settings such as napkins that have the guest’s Initial on it.

Christmas Songs – Nothing brings us back to the good years of the fifties like holiday music can. Choose songs that were played on the radio during the fabulous fifties. There are literally dozens of holiday favorites that you can choose from.

One of the most popular Christmas artists during the fifties was the charming Bing Crosby. He sang the classics, such as Away in a Manger and Deck the Halls, but he also has other holiday favorites such as “White Christmas”. Other favorite artists from that time period are Burl Ives, Dean Martin, The Andrews Sisters, Frank Sinatra, Gene Autry, Nat King Cole, Bobby Helms, Alvin & the Chipmunks, Brenda Lee, and The Ames Brothers.

Party Favors – Wrap party favors in Christmas boxes, which you can find at dollar stores. Purchase miniature classic cars from the fifties era and write the guests name on it with the date of the party. You can also choose to do a Christmas theme for favors, such as a Christmas coffee mug with a yummy treat inside.

Clothing – Clothing styles were classified in to different types. Preppy styles were poodle skirts, button-blouses, and cardigans for girls. Guys wore button down polo’s, blazers, letterman’s jackets, and loose fitted slacks.

The Greasers were also a popular style during the fifties. Greaser guys wore white t-shirts, tight rolled up jeans, and leather jackets. They took their inspiration from the Hollywood legend James Dean.

Hairstyles – Hairstyles also varied. Girls often wore their hair in ponytails or short, curly poufy hairstyles. Guys wore their hair slicked back or parted to the side.

Shoes – Nothing quite expresses shoes from a 50’s outfit like the saddle shoe. Women also wore flats, stilettos, high-heeled boxy shoes, and “ballerina” slippers. Flats and ballerina slippers were worn to school or worn with slacks.

Accessories – A scarf was a very popular accessory for girls in the fifties. Scarves could be tied around ponytails or worn around the neck. Hats and caps were also popular, as well as pearl necklaces and pearl-stud earrings.

Makeup – When I think of fifties makeup I think of stars like Marilyn Monroe. Good makeup choices are cherry red lipstick, moderate false eyelashes, and lightly penciled eyebrows. Try using thicker eyeliner just on the top lid and see if you like it.

These ideas can be used for costume parties, sock hops, or just for dressing up. Having the proper 50’s outfit put together can really make you look great and wow your friends and family members. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Find the right 50’s gear to put together an amazing 50’s costume this year.

Having a few extra costumes on hand is always a terrific idea. Children love to dress up spur-of-the moment. When you have costumes for them to dress up in already you don’t have to worry about hunting down items last-minute.

Dress-up clothes can also be handy for adults. How many times have we forgotten about costume parties we have been invited to? A lot of times we don’t remember until the day of, and it can be stressful trying to run around and find a costume to wear.

Having an adult poodle skirt solves this. You already have a costume that you can fallback on. Poodle skirts work for 50’s parties, dress-up parties, couples parties, etc. They are great items to have in your closet.

You can purchase both adult and children poodle skirts online. Searching online saves you time and energy from trying to hunt down the items. They also allow you to do quick price-comparisons between stores.

If you have more time to spare you can try antique shops to see if they have any. Specialty stores might also have some for sale, though they are probably going to be on the more expensive side. Thrift stores might also carry some.

Some people also choose to make their own skirts. It takes a little more effort on your part than buying one already made, but it is doable. You can buy patterns again online or fabric stores, or you can make it from scratch if you are familiar with the type of pattern you would like to make.

Have fun with dressing up for the holidays. Your children will appreciate it as well. There is nothing more fun than getting all dolled up for some serious dress-up time during the holiday season.

Ugly Sweater Party – Have fun with those ugly, old, cheesy sweaters that people wear around Christmas. Guests will have fun dressing up in sweaters they no longer want to be seen in public wearing. Have some hot cocoa with donuts and have the main activity be socializing, though pictures of the event will be necessary.

Winter Wonderland – Host a winter party for your guests. String up winter decorations, such as snowflake ornaments and snowmen. Be sure to serve yummy wintery foods, such as soup.

Decade Party – Ask guests to dress up in different decade costumes. For example one couple could be asked to dress up in 50’s costumes and poodle skirts while another family could be asked to dress up in 80’s attire. You could even choose to have everyone dress up from the same decade. If you decide to do that it’s a good idea to choose a popular decade that has easy to access costumes. The 50’s are a good choice since poodle skirts and grease outfits are easy to come by. Poodle skirts especially are easy to recognize as a costume from the 50’s.

Christmas Traditions From Around the World – Use a Christmas theme for your Christmas party, but add a twist to it. Host a Christmas party that incorporates Christmas traditions that different countries have around the world. For example, you could incorporate France’s tradition of serving fish as the main meal on Christmas.

Holiday Crafts – Get together to make holiday crafts. Everyone likes having holiday decorations and crafts to put up around the home for the holidays. Look up cute craft ideas on craft sites that cater to the age of your guests.

Twelve Days of Christmas – Use this classic holiday song as your party’s inspiration. Use the entire song with decorations, invitations, activities, and menu. If your guests are the types that enjoy caroling you can also add that in to the activities.

Themes create unity with parties and make them really stand out to guests. If you want to leave an impression choose a theme and have fun with it. If any of our readers have any more party themes for the holidays we would love to hear your ideas.

It is no wonder that we think of the way people dressed in the fifties. They had some really amazing 50’s outfits. There were a lot of great styles during the fifties, and a lot of great choices to pick from.

Many famous designers emanated from this time period. Coco Chanel, for example, created the Chanel suits for women. Christian Dior and Savatore Ferragamo were also influential designers during this time period.

Actresses also made many of the 50’s outfits fashionable. Audrey Hepburn was one such actress. She was the actress that made the ballet flat shoe fashionable during the fifties.

Elizabeth Taylor made designer Dior’s outfits look great. Dior designed clothes that exaggerated hourglass shapes. Elizabeth Taylor had a figure that could pull off her hourglass shape, white an actress like Audrey Hepburn would not.

Marilyn Monroe was another influential fashionista. Her stylish makeup was copied by thousands of girls across the country. People even started sporting her stylish mole.

The younger generation wore poodle skirts or full skirts to extenuate their skinny waist. Pink was a popular choice for 50’s outfits for teenagers. A blouse was usually tucked in to the skirt, and a scarf was worn around the neck or in the hair.

Boys especially enjoyed wearing rolled up jeans. Famous actors of the time, such as James Dean, introduced the teenage generation in to sporting more “bad boy” gear. This included slicking hair back and wearing leather jackets. Blue skinny jeans that were rolled up and white tee shirts were also a popular choice.

Strolling right down memory lane can be  memorable experience for all.  With a few simple things to think about and prepare you’ll quickly be ready to amaze everyone with you’re great entertainment.  These include invitations, decorations, costumes, food, music and games.

There are many creative ways to invite your guests to your party. You could use black construction paper to make a record, inviting people to come for a “swinging party.”  You could cut out a picture of a clock and inviting people to come “rock around the clock” at your sock hop.  There are many possibilities.  Just put something along with your 50’s theme.

Next you need to start thinking decorations.  You could set your room up like a high school gym, or a diner.  Add an old-fashioned jukebox and you have a decoration and entertainment in one.

Costumes really help people to get in the spirit of things.  Encourage your guests to come in costume by offering a prize for the best costume.  Poodle skirts and ponytails are very popular costumes for the ladies.  Boys can don white shirts and jeans with the legs rolled up.  Throw on a Letterman’s jacket or a black leather jacket and your set.

Food is one of the best parts of these parties.  Simple hamburgers and fries will work wonders.  Put them in an old fashioned basket with paper and your set.  Have someone bring them out on Roller-skates and voila, definite crowd pleaser.

Make sure that you have plenty of music from the 50’s to liven things up.  Elvis is always a winner.  There are several fun things to do such as the limbo or the twist that will help guests to mingle and get in the spirit of things.

This holiday season instead of just thinking of something fun to do, do it.  This is the perfect time for a sock hop.  With a little planning you’ll soon be able to rock around the clock with friends and family this fall.

Costume makeup really makes your costume come to life. People are constantly looking into your face and if your face plays the part, then so do the rest of you. The time you will need to spend on your costume will depend on what your costume actually is.

Many costumes portray people as different animals or creatures. The make up that is worn with these costumes should be done to fit the specific creature. There are different techniques that can give the make up the appearance of fur or hair. There is even makeup that can give dimension to your face and other parts of your body.

This dimensional makeup is also used to depict injuries like scars or skin lacerations. It can even change the shape of a nose, cheekbones, or mouth if that is required. It opens the door for so much creativity and accuracy that really adds to the costume and character.

Many times make up is done just to give a stage presence to characters in a play. Most semi- professional and professional acting groups require their actors and actresses to wear makeup especially mascara and/or fake eye lashes. The reason for this is to add distinction to their faces so people in the audience can see more detail in the play. It also accentuates facial expressions and emotions.

Generational makeup is done to give the costume a look from a specific time period. Throughout the years, the way women have worn their makeup has evolved and changed. Having the correct time period makeup will add that much more accuracy and life to the costume you are wearing.

For example, a 50’s costume may entail a poodle skirt and bobby socks but there is also a certain makeup style that goes along with that costume. A 50’s costume will not be complete without the dramatic purely feminine look of a 50’s girls makeup. These details may or may not be important to the person wearing the 50’s costume but for a complete and accurate costume they are necessary.

Costumes are used for so many occasions and can have so much meaning. They can depict anything from an animal to a black eye and everything in between. They give the costume it’s final touch that will really make it come to life.

Bring in a jukebox. A jukebox will pull in the 50’s theme easily. You can bring in an actual jukebox to double as a CD player, or put a stencil of it on the wall.

Decorate room with records. If a jukebox is not your cup of tea, you can still decorate and bring in the classic 50’s theme by portraying music records in your room. You can display a few on the wall, or display record covers as part of the wall art.

Make your photos look antique. If you have a favorite family picture opt to put it in black and white instead of in color. If you want to go the extra step you can even set up a photo session with your family wearing 50’s style clothing in the picture. 50’s style clothing can be bought online or rented at costume shops.

Use a Moonbeam clock instead of your usual alarm clock. Moonbeam clocks were introduced in the early fifties and are still being replicated today. You can find them for a decent price online.

Use an older, vintage phone. You can replace your cordless phones with an older looking phone that has a spin dial. You can find these types of phones in vintage shops or online.

Frame posters of famous 50’s icons. There are a lot of easily recognizable 50’s icons, such as Elvis. Instead of pinning those posters to the wall, make them look more like art by putting them in a nice poster frame. The same can hold true for any stock photos you find of people that are dressed in 50’s style clothing.

Incorporate classic cars in to your decorating. You can do this by posters of classic cars on your walls, desk, or dresser. You can also use model classic cars on any shelves for a nice 50’s touch.

It is important to know how to dress up in a poodle skirt. You should know what items go with the skirt and how to wear your hairstyle. It is also important to know what shoes go with a poodle skirt.

Dressing up in clothing from the 50’s can be fun. Choosing a poodle skirt to wear brings you a few options for accessories and complimentary clothing attire. For example, you can wear saddle shoes, oxford shoes, or white tennis shoes with the skirt.

Saddle shoes usually were in two main combination colors. Those combination’s were white and black, or white and navy. These two combination’s were the most popular options, though they were not by any means the only combination used.

Socks of the time were bobby socks. Bobby socks are white, ankle socks that have a ruffle of lace around the top of the sock. Bobby socks are no longer available for adults, but they can be purchased online or made by sewing lace to the cuff of an ankle sock.

Poodle skirts look best with a nice blouse. Button-down blouses look great with them. Top the blouse off with a nice, soft cardigan sweater.

Hair can be styled in a few different ways. The most popular way of wearing hair back in the day was in a pulled-back ponytail. Scarves look great pulled around the ponytail holder.

Short curly hair is also another hairstyle choice. Tiny hair clips, such as flowers, can bring a nice touch for a shorter hairstyle option. When wearing jewelry, try to keep it simple. A good choice would be a strand of pearls.