Iconic Photos That Define the 1960s

You could say that the 1960s was a Technicolor revolution. Everything got brighter.

While color TV existed in the 1950s, it was still relatively rare. Color films were around, but bringing color into everyday homes made everything feel brighter, bolder, and more alive.

Groovy ’60s Threads and Far-Out Fashions

The fashions got funkier, er, groovier, than the greaser and teeny-bopper trends of the ’50s, and the music got louder — both with volume and messages — as the youth of the day rallied for peace.

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Tin can rollers were the ’60s equivalent to a life hack.

World-Changing Events

Whether you were wowing the boys in your mod skirt, protesting for peace, or even sampling a bit of the so-called “psychedelic” side of things, the ’60s was an era defined by immense shifts in every aspect of modern life and culture.

Over 200,000 people gathered around the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, where the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom ended with Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

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While the ’50s might have been all about blending in, the ’60s were about big sweeping changes and advancements. From the moon landing (that happened, right?) to the March on Washington and the threat of Cold War, if it happened in the 1960s, it wasn’t quiet.

Ed Sullivan and the Beatles stopped for a photo just before their legendary appearance on his TV show.

The Lifestyle, The Music, The Vibes

In many ways, the ’60s were defined by the music. When else has popular music been described as an “invasion”? It was the era of Beatlemania, Woodstock, and wild, funkadelic dancing. As Austin Powers would say, “Yeah, baby!”