Laura Petrie’s Revolutionary Style

It is hard to imagine a world where it isn’t normal for women to have the right to wear pants, but that was what the world was like back when the Dick Van Dyke Show debuted in 1961. I have talked about the Mary Tyler Moore’s fashion on her self title show from the 70’s, but I have yet to discuss how groundbreaking her style from the Dick Van Dyke Show was. Today that is all going to change! Let’s take a close look at what made Laura Petrie so influential on women’s style!

Besides being absolutely hilarious and the perfect comedic complement to Dick Van Dyke, Laura Petrie never played by anyone else’s rules. She was always willing to experiment, too (see episode where she bleaches her own hair blonde and immediately regrets it)! Those are all admirable qualities and what led her to being such an important figure in women’s fashion.

Seeing how it was the early 1960’s when this show began airing on television, we can clearly see how some of Laura’s style choices are influenced by another important figure in women’s fashion – Jacqueline Kennedy. The hair is especially a large giveaway as to who was the stylish lady of the time, but we can also see that the dresses had similar bodies/necklines as to what Jackie Kennedy was wearing at that time.

More importantly though, Laura Petrie put her who spin on 1960’s style. While Samantha Stevens on Bewitched was experimenting with wearing trousers on television, so was Laura. This is what we remember Laura Petrie’s style for the most! She was a capri loving lady and this gave ordinary women the green light to experiment with pants/capris themselves.

So thank you to Laura Petrie for always making us laugh, putting a smile on our faces, and giving us the freedom to wear pants! Life and fashion would not have been the same without you!

Much Love,

Sarah

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