Looking Back

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting a great new exhibition in the Nordic Museum in Stockholm in Sweden. The exhibition is called “Mitt 50-tal" (My 1950’s). The exhibition is all about women’s fashion in Sweden from this period and talks about the influences that steered it.

According to the Nordic Museum's explanatory text on their website, the economy in Sweden was improving in these post-war years. Music and film had a big influence on the younger generation of women. Nylon, which was rationed during the war, became widely available, and trousers were becoming fashionable.

I am proud to say that my sister Helena Lindroth has been the project manager for this exhibition. She has been working very hard with a team for months choosing dresses and other clothing items, accessories, dress patterns, writing texts, choosing images for the slideshows, etc. Lots of work and it showed in a first-class exhibition. Thank you, Helena, for the informative guided tour!

The clothing on display all had some writing about their history and who owned them. It was fascinating to read the stories behind the clothes. There were corseted waists and billowing skirts, nylon stockings and pearls, and much more.

Reminiscing

I visited with my 92-year-old Dad and two of his friends of the same age group. They found it really interesting and spent most of the time reminiscing about their own experiences in the 1950s. Like many women of that era, my mother used to make her own dresses, and we all recognized some of the fabrics on display that she had worn in dresses and skirts, aprons, and even made curtains from.

While the exhibition was great to look at, there was the added bonus of awakening many positive feelings in the visiting audience. To me, this is a real sign of a successful project.

So, if you happen to visit Stockholm the next year, I would definitely recommend a visit to the Nordic Museum.

And if you don’t get there, a bit of reminiscing with another person who lived in the ’50s might be great fun. Google “clothing in the 50’s’ and go to images, and there is no end of inspiration there!

Wishing you well,

Maria Brady

Activity Coordinator & CQO at Maria’s Place

EDIT: This exhibition is now closed but do Google 'Dress in the 1950s' and reminisce about that era.