The Marvelettes

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This is the first time I've featured a girl group from the 1950s and 1960s, but it won't be the last.

Introducing:

The Marvelettes!

From Wikipedia:

The Marvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Tamla label. Motown's first successful female vocal group, the Marvelettes are most notable for recording the company's first US #1 pop hit, "Please Mr. Postman", and for setting the precedent for later Motown girl groups such as Martha and the Vandellas and The Supremes.

During their eight-year run on the Billboard charts, the group scored nineteen top forty American R&B singles and ten top forty American pop singles. Of these hits, three were top ten pop singles, nine were top ten R&B singles, and one was number one on both charts.

Not only was their music groundbreaking and trendsetting; their sartorial choices defined the archetypal, quintessential mid-century girl-group look.

I'm a sucker for a bright, opaque pair of tights! This look is among my favorites. And those green dresses! They landed on the perfect spot between Kelly and Lime.

The simple pleasures!

My favorite thing about the article above, from a 1961 issue of Jet Magazine, is that it reminds us all that The Marvelettes were just kids!

And so, the mini dress was born!

Some songs from The Marvelettes' catalogue to enjoy:

I absolutely love this song - and love the dresses they're wearing even more! The long sleeves and faux/mock bolero on a wiggle dress silhouette along with the over-sized bows and high hair make for a PERFECT look!

Here's the same look in color:

EDIT/UPDATE: A commenter pointed out something I noticed, but didn't mention: that The Marvelettes sometimes had 3 members and at other times had 4! This isn't at all uncommon in girl groups, now or back then; I loved Destiny's Child growing up and was devastated, confused, bewildered when their lineup changed AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN... (any child of the 90s will COMPLETELY understand! How were we supposed to keep up with the posters on our walls if we didn't even know who was still in the group??? It was like a high stakes game of musical chairs.)

Apparently, The Marvelettes had 7 members total during their run on the charts. What's a girl group without drama (and line-up continuity issues)???

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