Beachside modesty

In 1954, these terry-cloth cover-ups were considered racy, hiding a bold new fashion trend right underneath.

Two-piece style

Bikinis had been introduced only six years before this photo was taken in 1952—a bold step in 1950s glamour. That was also the year that 17-year-old Brigette Bardot made waves starring in Manina, the Girl in the Bikini.

Bridal couture

Farah Diba, on her way to marry Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi at the Marble Palace in Tehran, shows off some of the most glamorous bridal styles of the time.

Seams in her stockings

"A 1950s wardrobe would be incomplete without classic vintage seamed stockings, also simply known as nylons," according to Vintage Dancer, a vintage-themed costume consultant. Because nylons back then were knit into the shape of a leg, rather than in the shape of a stretchy tube like they are today, women in the 1950s were often seen straightening out their seams.

"Circle" skirts

"The fuller the skirt, the better in the 1950s," Vintage Dancer says. Another characteristic was a fitted waist that actually sat at the natural waist. Why? Because the curvaceous look was considered flattering (and still is). Skirts retained their fanned-out circle shape through the use of stiff petticoats and even boning.

Early 1950s hair

Believe it or not, hairstyles from the early 1950s, whether short, medium or long, were less "styled" than in the previous decade. Still, thick and wavy bangs (as seen here on film star Barbara Stanwyck) were pretty work-intensive, and many women booked weekly hairdresser appointments, sat under the dryer and then tried to retain the given style for as long as possible.

Beauty queens

Michele Mok won Miss Hong Kong in 1959 and went on to compete in the Miss World pageant before going to England to pursue a modeling career.

Poodle hair

Another popular hairstyle from the 1950s was the poodle cut, named for its resemblance to the coiffed look of a poodle (tight curls, exaggerated shaping) and made popular by actresses including Lucille Ball and Kim Novak. Novak, seen here, channels classic 1950s glamour by wearing the cardigan from a twin set without the underlying shell for a sultry, "vixen" look.

A new wave

Waves, dips and flips continued to be all the hairstyle rage throughout the 1950s, with the hair curving high at the forehead and then dipping into a deep horizontal wave from a side-part. Throughout the decade, the waves kept getting bigger, leading up to the bouffant styles that defined late-1950s glamour.

The bouffant

By the late 1950s, waves and dips had loosened further, lending a "bigger" look for hair. Inspired by stars like Sophia Loren and Connie Francis, women began teasing their hair for exaggerated height.

Invaluable saris

Here's the Marchioness of Winchester wearing a black sari with a 300-year-old gold border.

Tiny waist, a peplum and a fur collar

Along with circle skirts, pencil skirts had their heyday in the 1950s. To keep the silhouette as curvy as possible, the skirts were paired with a fitted jacket featuring a peplum like this one. The addition of fur also helped keep the look soft and high-glamour.

American royalty in a tiara

Tiaras had started making their way into nonroyal fashion a century earlier, but Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) started debuting what would become a truly impressive tiara collection in the late 1940s, bringing them into the forefront of fashion. Here, Hollywood royal Ava Gardner, with her husband Frank Sinatra, wears a tiara at an event in London as she mingles with peers of the queen.

Airport glamour

"Back in the 1950s, when commercial flights were a relatively new novelty, people dressed for the occasion," explains Town & Country, and no one did airport glamour quite like Hollywood's elite. Here, it's 1954, and Ava Gardner, now divorced from Frank Sinatra, dresses up for her arrival from Paris at Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport) in New York City.

Itty, bitty uniforms

All-Star basketball player Wilt Chamberlain, wearing a Harlem Globetrotters uniform in 1959, shows how different athletic uniforms used to look.

Pedal pushers pushing limits

Women in the 1950s were among the first to enjoy the freedom of wearing pants as acceptable women's clothing, explains Vintage Dancer, but it was still rare to see women wearing them in public. One exception was Lucille Ball and her I Love Lucy co-star Vivian Vance, both of whom occasionally appeared on the Lucy series in cropped pants called "pedal pushers."

Here, Ball is seen in cuffed pedal pushers on the set of The Long, Long Trailer in 1954.

"Street" style

"Street" style had an entirely different meaning in the 1950s. "[The] 1950s fashion moved style from the salons to the streets, as inventions in easy-care fabrics and speedier manufacturing systems meant that new silhouettes could be made for the masses," writes Marie Claire. So by the mid-1950s, women were more apt to be seen wearing the glamorous styles for everyday wear.

Dressing for errands

In the 1950s, women didn't slip into their yoga pants and head out to run errands; rather, they dressed for every occasion. Here, a woman stopping by a theater box office to purchase tickets in 1953 pulls out all the glamorous stops with a lightweight "casual" suit with a pleated skirt and a cardigan-style jacket—and let's not forget the jaunty little hat and white gloves.

Formfitting dresses

Fay Craig (left) and Fay Sparks (right) show off two different styles of the time: Craig in a more traditional voluminous skirt and Sparks in a structured dress.

Grace Kelly's equestrian glamour

Grace Kelly was Hollywood royalty even before she became Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco when she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in April 1956. Pictured here in March 1956, the soon-to-be-princess strikes the very image of equestrian glamour in New York City's Central Park wearing sunglasses and a babushka-style headscarf. Notice that she's riding side saddle, which was still a thing in the 1950s, although increasingly less so.

Affordable fur "stole" hearts

The 1920s saw the introduction of long fur coats as a fashion. In keeping with the theme of accessible (read: affordable) fashion for the masses, the 1950s became the decade of the stole, a fur wrap. Of course, the fact that it debuted in Paris meant that the stole was also popular among the über-glam, like Princess Grace, seen here with her husband, Prince Rainier, at a gala celebrating the christening of their son, Prince Albert of Monaco.

Pretty as a princess

Smoking cigarettes was the height of 1950s glamour, and it didn't get much more glamorous than Princess Margaret and her long cigarette holder. Sadly, Princess Margaret's smoking eventually caught up with her. The queen's younger sister died in 2002 of a stroke.

Elizabeth Taylor's lingerie chic

On the set of 1958's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Elizabeth Taylor smolders in a slip and holding a highball, but the slip was carefully designed to reveal, well, not all that much. As tame as it may seem by today's standards, this glamorous 1950s look was considered highly provocative in its day.

Sporty but feminine

Professional athlete and cricket player Diana Ferry is seen adjusting her makeup during a match. Women in the 1950s were held to a very high standard of femininity, even while playing serious sports.

A match made in glamour heaven

Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn were the archetypal designer and muse. "Mr. Givenchy and Ms. Hepburn defined a relationship that has become the gold standard of almost every brand," wrote the New York Times. They worked together through seven films, and he designed the white dress she wore to win her Best Actress Oscar in 1954 and this dress, which she wore in 1954's Sabrina.

A regal tone

Queen Elizabeth II's coronation took place on June 2, 1953. The sparkling, diamond-bedecked gown she wore for the event, made of white satin and embroidered with silver and gold thread, was designed for her by British fashion designer Norman Hartnell and epitomizes 1950s glamour.

Her majesty was so awed by Hartnell's design and craftsmanship that she requested this photo be taken to showcase it. According to the royal family's official website, the queen wore the dress no fewer than six times after her coronation.