Tailfins...

A spectacular styling feature, or a gaudy anachronism? 

Whatever history pigeonholes them as, there’s no doubt they represent a time when the world was getting back on its feet after WW2. 

An era of optimism. 

Also an era of planned obsolescence which meant as the years went on, and the fins got to gargantuan proportions, they were out of style all too quickly. 

Styling returned to more practical proportions and the space age features everyone had gotten used to subsided. 

Here’s a few pics of some of the eras biggest and best fins.