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Rock Per Annum moves forward another year to 1966. 1966 was a year of contrasts. The Vietnam War continued to polarize people, largely along generational lines. Star Trek made its debut, as did the Monkees. The Black Panthers were formed, and the first Toyota Corolla was sold. More importantly for our purposes, this was a year in which the notion of an album really started to be much more than just an assortment of material packaged around a couple of singles. Pet Sounds, Blonde on Blonde, and Revolver made a strong case for the pop album as an art form of its own. The Velvet Musicologist Maht Wuyts will be ending the set tonight by playing Revolver in its entirety. His plan is that most weeks moving forward, he will end the night with an important album from the year in question. The set begins at 7 PM SLT tonight at The Velvet. Be there or be square. (I wonder if that phrase began in 1966?)

There was a lot of diversity in fashion in 1966. Hemlines were up, down and all around at the beginning of the year but by fall, were pretty firmly above the knee, though you wouuld often see a long coat paired with a mini-dress. The waist was gone forever, lost in a world of aline shifts and babydolls. There was a lot of experimentation with fabric. It was the year of the paper dress and of Paco Rabanne’s plastic and wire dresses. Yes, plastic a full 45 years before Josh McKKinley thought he discovered something new on Project Runway. Most women still wore cloth, however, and it often was a bright, bold print from textile designers like Emilio Pucci and Ken Scott. This dress from Subculture by Shauna Vella is a perfect example of the 1966 look.

Other big fashion trends were bell bottoms, pea coats, military look jackets and caftans and harem pants. The body suit became a fashion necessity with all the cutouts and sheer fabrics. As hemlines rose, the heels on shoes dropped. The most popular looks were both relatively low stack heels, the Pilgrim shoe with a buckle and the tap shoe with a bow. These Charlotte shoes from Shiny Things do the trick for me.

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1966 was the year that Twiggy began her modeling career. Her bold look with the short pixie hair and the dramatic black eyeliner were nothing compared to the new body shape she brought to fashion. Her look epitomized the end of the waist and the voluptuous beauty of the 40s and 50s. Incidentally, all of the poses in this set are from oOo’s Twiggy-inspired pose set to be released at the upcoming Vintage Fair.

Shot with Mechanized Life's Filter Cam and Expansion Pack

Makeup continued to focus on dramatic eyes with pale and subdued lip coloring. This is the Twiggy makeup from PXL Creations Dafne skin line – and exactly the style of that era. What is so wonderful, though, is that today’s fashion is so broad that every element from this 1966 look is at home today.

****STYLE NOTES******
Go to Blogging Second Life for store/creator links.

• Poses: oOo Twiggy Poses (will be available at Vintage Fair)
• Skin: PXL Creations Dafne NAT Twiggy Makeup MEB –
• Eyes:Poetic Colors
• Lashes: Lelutka
• Nails: Mandala
• Hair: Elikatira [e] Early – Red 07
• Dress: Subculture 60’s Mod GB
• Tights: Spica
• Shoes: Shiny Things Charlotte
• Earrings: Ruchica Kiel Earring
• Necklace: [bellballs] Disc Charm Necklace- Pure Gold (Chest)