It’s 1962 at The Velvet tonight. Velvet Musicologist Maht Wuyts has set off on a year-long revue of the last half-century of music from 1960 to 2012. Every Wednesday evening from 7 to 9 SLT, Velveteers will travel through time. I had a blast at 1961 and wanted to let you all know about this fun and exciting dance trip through the history of rock music. 1962 was a momentous year in fashion and in society. The body-conscious, figure-hugging silhouette with the tight sleeves and the hem just below the knee was still popular but by the fall was being replaced with A-line dress and high and relatively loose waistlines. Marine blue was a hot color in the fall and prints often combined one bold color with black and white making this dress from Sonatta Morales seem a perfect fit. Gloves and hats were still part of the costume de riguer though hats were becoming less fantastical than in the past.

It was the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the first Nike running shoe. The US established bases in Vietnam and the the first communications satellite relayed television signals between the US and Europe. Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, sparking modern environmentalism. Top songs included Blowing in the Wind and the Locomotion. Route 66 was a hit TV series, but so was Beverly Hillbillies. Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Net was published. So was Happiness is a Warm Puppy by Charles Schultz. It was a time of optimism when all things seemed possible. We still believed in the art of the possible.

It’s tempting to thing of that as purely a happier time. A time of innocence and possibility. But it was also the time when gays were in the closet, women were in the kitchen and black were at the back of the bus. It will be interesting over this year to see how music changes as our society changes. Music was one of the cultural forces that changed our society. I am looking forward to hearing our past unfold into our future over this coming year.

Please come to The Velvet tonight and the upcoming Wednesdays. And if you’re inspired to dress for a specific year, I hope you blog it!!

****STYLE NOTES******

• Poses: EverGlow
• Skin: Curio :GP: Moonbeam [Dark] Chic-Chichi 1
• Eyes: Poetic Colors classic – forest morning (m) dark
• Lashes: [LeLutka]-2011 lashes/curl/touch me
• Hair: **Pocket Mirrors** Ethel Updo Brick
• Dress, Glove and Shoes: Sonatta Morales *8* Darling
• Shoes: Darling shoes by Sonatta Morales*8*
• Jewelry: Donna Flora GALA earrings and necklace
• Location: Hollow Hill
• 52 Years of Music at The Velvet, Wednesdays from 7 – 9 pm SLT