Each past decade, starting from the fancy, prim and proper 50's, had a signature look. Every girl dressed in accordance to that signature look, especially on prom night. So to answer our question, what did girls from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and even 90's wear, let's take a look into those past decades and see for ourselves.

The 1950's were all about perfection. Tight, fitted tops with poofy, taffeta material skirts were the most popular form of dress in this decade. "It seemed like a really glamorous time, fashion-wise. "I look at 50's style dresses today and they look so beautiful but cute at the same time," says Deepa Dhir, 15, of Mill Valley, California. Dhir is right, 50's style dresses embodied both a glamorous, beautiful feel along with a cute and innocent element. The tight upper body of the dresses exuded glamour, while the poofy bottom portion spoke of innocence.

The 1960's were a time where fashion was still doing great by being glamorous, but the focus changed a little with the help of one celebrity style icon-Audrey Hepburn. Her simple approach to style influenced millions of prom go-ers and still inspires many top designers today. Maryland resident, Maria Carter, whose high school prom was in the 1960's, says, "Audrey Hepburn had a great sense of style. She really changed the direction of fashion." Hepburn was not only simple, but also very modest. Because of her, fashion also took the modest approach with nothing too low-cut or showy with almost no showing of the legs. Empire style dresses, modest and simple, were very popular in this decade says Carter. The make-up and hair that completed 60's prom looks was classic: a matte face with bold lips (usually in red) with a perfectly done up-do. But towards the end of the 1960's, everything started to change. In came the powerful 1970's and fashion was never the same again.

The 70's were all about being different, unique and non-mainstream. It was perhaps one of the most creative times for fashion, because everyone tried their hardest to look different. 70's fashion spoke out against rules, and brought along a new tradition: that of following no tradition, especially in terms of apparel. Anything went at this point, so long that it looked different from the elegant, simple and lady-like looking gowns of the 60's. So along came ethic prints, big bold jewelry, messy unkempt hair, and dark eye makeup, a shout out against the dark lip-makeup so popular in the 60's. Carter, whose college prom was in the 70's, says her college prom look differed a lot from her high school prom look. She actually made a dress for her college prom, just to be different. "I made a dress that was hip-hugger pants with a long, open back dress on top. Fashion was all about pushing the envelope and how to get away from the mainstream," says Carter. Dresses during that time were adorned with ethnic touches and the silhouettes loose and flowy. The most popular prom dress for that time would have been one that no one else could have bought, something unique and something radically different.

The 80's and 90's, which are fairly recent times, had their signature looks as well. Those looks could have been easily spotted at a prom during one of those decades. When we think of the 80's, we think of neon colored dresses, colorful make-up, pumps and plastic jewelry. Well it seems what we think 80's fashion is right as 80's prom dresses embodied each of these elements. Most girls carried their day-time look into their evening look, retaining their flamboyant sense of style. Natasha Juneja, 16, of Columbia, South Carolina says, "The 80's seemed very flashy and big. So I can only imagine that the prom look was also flashy and big with bright dresses, make-up and hair." Juneja gets it right as she describes exactly what the average 80's prom girl would have looked like. Fast forward to the 90's, and we see a change from big and flashy to elegant, simple and chic. Fashion, if you haven't noticed already, is constantly giving re-birth to itself and no one look remains for too long. If the 60's were elegant and simple, the 70's had to be radically different. And if the 80's were bright and gaudy, then the 90's had to be the exact opposite. And so they were, with dresses in plain colors with a tight fit accessorized with a funky hairstyle or evening bag. Think Jennifer Aniston during the early seasons of Friends. She wore cute and plain clothes, but added spunk to her look with her famous shaggy hairstyle. Girls everywhere tried to copy that look, especially for their all important prom night.

Vintage prom fashions are always fun to look at it. They show us the changing nature of fashion and give us a whole list of looks to choose from for our own prom. Just as designers use inspiration from past decades to create new looks for us to wear to our proms, we too can look at these past decades and come up with ideas of our own.

- Ritu Sharma, Associate Editor