In 1947, Christian Dior, turned 1940s fashion upside down with his “New Look.” The New Look was big and bold and utterly feminine. And it started for the period boom of 1950s dresses.

There are two classic dress shapes of the 1950s. The most popular style today is the full skirt, tea length dress often called a 50s swing dress. The other very classy look was the form-fitting sheath dress often called a pencil or wiggle dress today.
Both styles had modest, snug fitting tops with narrow high waistlines, and shin-length or tea-length skirts. Both styles were worn by women equally although the sheath dress was too impractical to wear as a housedress.

Take a look at these glamorous pictures of dresses that girls often wore from the 1950s.