by Laurel | November 6th, 2014
04 October 1964
Couldn’t resist posting this … Forbes & Wallace advertising the “watusi dress.” Okay ladies … tell us if you owned a fringed dress!
Forbes and Wallace
The watusi dress:
Fringe fling in motion
1964
Few wore fringed dresses, at least in my own experience, but a lot of people danced the watusi, including Lucy Baines Johnson who did the dance with actor Steve McQueen in August of the very same year.
The fringed dresses, commonly thought of as a “go-go” dress — likely seen on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, Nancy Sinatra and others, was inspired by Candy Johnson who was best known for her dancing in a series of “Beach Party” films released around the same time. Interesting to note Candy Johnson and her band, “The Exciters” played at the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens, NY. After seeing her show, the New York rock group The Strangeloves were inspired to write their hit single “I Want Candy,” which reached #11 on the Billboard charts. More on Candy Johnson.
