Having a thin waistline was a major part of the style. Swing skirts and pencil dresses were often worn to shop or go out to eat, but rarely to parties, these styles were more for casual occasions, but girls nor women would ever dress down in front of the public. If a woman wanted to wear something around the house they may put on a wrap dress or a simpler swing skirt. Women did not go around doing housework in dresses wore with pearls and heels like they portrayed on television. .
Evening dresses were soft, feminine and romantic. When World War 2 brought mass production many women that couldn't afford designer clothing were now buying by the dozens. An accessory well known to be with a dress was the shawl that might be worn with a beautiful ball gown. Ball gowns were captured from Hollywood fantasies. Every woman wanted to feel and dress like a princess and in this time period they could just do that. For a teen formal, however, they used long dresses with simple patterns and lines. The teens, also known as the baby boomers, wore to school dresses every single day, well except the guys of course. But the girls could not be seen wearing jeans, at the time called dungarees, or shorts. If a girl did wear jeans it was in limited circumstances, but they all wore dresses. Also for the teens the sailor look seemed to be quite popular along with jumpers. Girls had to wear petticoats under everything along with older women. Petticoats were uncomfortable but they were mandatory. Teens" party dresses were what every little girl wanted. They were very fanciful and romantic to make every girl feel too like a princess, just like the evening gowns in the day. .
Make-up and hair had changed since the decade before. The Fifties hairstyles were curly. Straight hair was out and short hair was in. Wearing chiffons in a girl's hair was done often along with putting it up in a tiny ponytail. But to achieve the goal of curly hair a woman must pin curl their hair and spray it down with hairspray.