Today is Sir Paul McCartney’s 80th birthday, and while the world is very much aware of his musical contributions both individually and as a member of The Beatles, our style crew here at ONE37pm have chosen today to commemorate his style contributions. We’re chronicling some of The Beatles best and most iconic looks, while also diving a little deeper into the era that hand-delivered these incredible artists to us.
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How The Beatles Became Fashion Moguls
On Paul McCartney's 80th, we commemorate
The Beatles, aka “The Fab Four,” consisted of four members: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Star, and George Harrison who began their journey in Liverpool in 1960.
Much of the early 1960s fashion wise was a continuation of the themes and patterns we saw towards the end of the 1950s. The Beatles made their debut with short straight haircuts, and matching suit styles that were popular in European fashion. Jeans and leather jackets were also a prominent part of their performance looks.
That was pretty much the gist of their 1960s style, with the only major difference being the length of their hair, which grew steadily over the years.
As the world crept towards the 1960s, we began to see the movement shift towards more of a hippie style (people didn’t just randomly decide to pull up to Woodstock in boho Peace and Love attire folks). The Beatles were certainly in on the fun, and by the mid-1960s they had adapted more of a free-flowing wardrobe complete with long locks and facial hair.
Their outfits were also more colorful.
By the time their eleventh and final studio album as a group, Abbey Road was released in September 1969, their style had changed immensely.
In fact, you can gather pretty much anything you need to know about late 60s/early 70s Beatles era fashion through the cover of Abbey Road. On it you can see Liverpool’s Finest walking down Abbey Road in suits that were much looser and a little more colorful than the ones they donned at the beginning of their career.
The Beatles wound up disbanding a year later in 1970, and much like their music, their fits remain an important part of music and cultural history.
Happiest of birthdays Sir McCartney.