Fabulous Fashions of the 1940s

Do you own a platform shoe? You can thank French shoe designer Roger Vivier. He invented the modern platform in the 1930s. Of course, women had worn a form of platform shoes before that. That was back in the late 1500s when they had to keep their feet out of wet mud and garbage on the street.

Vogue, a major fashion magazine, had a “Make Do & Mend” program

A woman works on a plane motor in 1942. She has her hair up in a victory roll and tied back with a bandana to keep it from getting caught in dangerous machinery

The 1940s
Introduction
Wild and Crazy Fads
Image Credit: Dover Publications, Inc./Sears®

Victory ROLLS and Patriotic FASHION!
In the 1940s, World War II affected just about every aspect of life, including fashion. While the men were off fighting, women had to take over their factory jobs. Liberty cuts and victory rolls kept hair from being caught in machines. Most resources went to the war effort so both women and men wore basic and practical clothing. But the end of the war in 1945 brought color and fun back into everyday life! Men wore bright Hawaiian shirts. Young people read a new magazine, Seventeen, aimed solely at them. The fast-paced swing dance, the jitterbug, took over the dance halls. Read

Knitting was a very popular activity in the 1940s. People made their own socks and other items of clothing. There were even knitting patterns for soldiers so they could knit in their spare time! Of course wool yarn was not always available. Sometimes people unraveled old socks or other articles to use the yarn for knitting something completely new!

There may have been a shortage of leather but there was plenty of alligator and snake! These reptile skins were used to make shoes. Sometimes they were used as a trim. Other times, they were used for the whole shoe. Reptile skins were a bit more expensive, so the woman wearing them would probably be quite well-off.

An advertisement for Bestform® bras from the 1940s. The waist-cinching designs of the 1940s made girdles unnecessary, but bras supported and brought attention to the bust.
In addition to bras, women wore panties and girdles, a type of elastic underwear that goes down to the thighs. It pushes everything in so a woman appears thinner. After the war, some of these styles got fancier. Designers combined nylon with stretchy panels and lace inserts.

Because everything was hard to find, women often made their own accessories. They wore hand-knit scarves, winter gloves, and socks. They made their own underwear if they wanted something fancy. Old wedding dresses, pillowcases, and nightgowns were just some of the materials that became underwear.

Because everything was hard to find, women often made their own accessories. They wore hand-knit scarves, winter gloves, and socks. They made their own underwear if they wanted something fancy. Old wedding dresses, pillowcases, and nightgowns were just some of th