Seven Style Symbols of the Early 1960s

Jean Seberg (at top, in the intro) rocked this cut in Jean-Luc Godard's famous 1960 film A Bout de Souffle (Breathless). Audrey Hepburn was arguably the most famous pixie pusher. Icons like Twiggy and Mia Farrow took the cut into the later '60s, proving this look had legs. It's not for everyone (I could never wear it as an adult, although I had this cut for about 15 minutes back in 1969, at age 3!). But when it works, it works.

Early '60s French pop singer Francoise Hardy was a vision in streamlined style: boy-cut trousers with little sweaters, boots, jackets...a look that influences designers like Nicolas Ghesquiere to this day. And her eyebrow-grazing bangs still hang like a hipster flag on millions of 20something women.

I'm a charter member of the I Hate Capri Pants club, but I have to admit, cropped trousers can look good on a select group of women (alas, myself not included). Basically you've gotta channel the young Mary Tyler Moore--in attitude and physique; keep the cut fitted thru the leg; and take the crop closer to the ankle than the knee.

Invented by London designer Mary Quant, the mini got a big boost from model Jean Shrimpton, who made waves at the '65 Melbourne Cup Carnival (above) in a shift-style minidress that would soon be ubiquitous.

Like all fans of cute but comfy shoes, I owe a staggering debt of gratitude to Audrey Hepburn, who helped popularize the ballet flat. Still going strong after all these years, it's a wardrobe staple for fashion-inclined females of all ages, including moms on the run.

Gotta end with a bang, right?? Although it was invented way back in 1946, the bikini really took off with the release of Beach Party, starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, in 1963. The scandalous suit also got tons of publicity from young bombshell Brigitte Bardot, who used it more or less as a uniform on St. Tropez.

People showcased the "huge" fashion impact of AMC's "Mad Men," set in the early '60s, in its September 28 issue. Banana Republic even launched a "Mad Men" clothing line and corresponding ad campaign. Wasp-waisted, full-skirted dresses--like the one on actress January Jones, at right--were a super-feminine flipside to the streamlined sheaths also big at the time.