How to Wear Trousers Old Hollywood Glam Style | 1940s Womens Pants

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Women’s fashion in the 1940s, History of 1940s womens pants style, old Hollywood’s influence on women’s pants, and 5 ways to wear trousers old hollywood glam style.

This post is all about Womens 1940s Pants and How to wear trousers Old Hollywood Glam style

Women’s fashion in the 1940s and what type of clothing was popular in the 1940s?

In the 1940s, with the world embroiled in World War II, women’s fashion super practical and utilitarian, heavily inspired by military uniforms… Hello, shoulder pads and slim-waisted silhouettes!

Fabric rationing programs in the United States and the United Kingdom also drove a silhouette that was slim and cut close to the body. 

Can’t waste any fabric!

Similar to the 1930 and also 1950s, in the 1940s, dresses were the mainstay of a woman’s wardrobe.

House dresses would be worn for chores around the house, and then for evening there were all sorts of evening gowns to party in. 

The victory suit (or skirt suit) was also a popular outfit for women. 

This was considered more of a formal style than your typical dress.

Women often got married in their suits, and it was more dressing up than a simple dress.

For more on wedding dresses in the 1940s:
The Ultimate Guide to Vintage Style 1940s Dresses

Even though dresses were the mainstay in a woman’s wardrobe, the 1940s is when we first see women’s pants become more accepted as an appropriate fashion choice.

The war had a lot to do with pants becoming more mainstream for women.

With the men away at war, women had to take over jobs usually held by men, like working in the factories and farming.

Of course, pants were much more practical for these types of jobs than a dress, even a practical house dress didn’t cut working in a factory.

Just imagine trying to run machinery in a factory while wearing a dress!

Pants begin to emerge as an acceptable casual style, no longer just reserved for sports wear or on the beach, like the 1930s.

Another driving force behind women’s pants increasing in popularity was Old Hollywood.

Old Hollywood glamour stars like Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, and Lauren Bacall were often photographed in their pants, and made women want to copy their comfy, chic, casual style.

Other posts you might like:
1940s Fashion Trends – Iconic Styles that are Still on Trend Today

1930s Women’s Pants vs 1940s Womens Pants

In the 1930s, women’s pants were restricted more for active wear, or beach pajamas.

It was not a common casual style for women to wear outside of playing sports or lounging on the beach.

But things begin to change in the 1940s, and it started to become acceptable for women to wear pants instead of a dress.

By the 1950s, fashion changed from utilitarian to ultra-feminine, when Christian Dior brought in his new look.

But, thanks to the 1940s, pants were here to stay, so the pants simply became more feminine with the likes of Audrey Hepburn popularizing the cigarette style pants.

Wide leg trousers were more common in the 1930s, by the 1940s, the leg became a big straighter.

Fun fact: 
Women were given official permission to wear pants in 1923 by the attorney general, but it wasn’t until the 1930s and more like the 1940s that they became everyday clothing items for women.

We’ve come a long ways, ladies!

Women’s 1940s pants

Young women started wearing wide legged slacks that were similar to men’s trousers in the 1930s and 1940s.

These pants had a high waist and often sat above the belly button.

The leg was subtly tapered, with a looser fit around the waist and slightly narrower legs.

There was also often a sharp vertical crease down the front of the pants, just like a man’s pant. 

(There’s that military inspired fashion again.)

But, finally in the late 1940’s, new fashions emerged making women’s pants a little more flattering. 

You know that pants were becoming more acceptable, when they make the cover Vogue magazine!

Below: A model wears a pair of high-waisted, wide leg pants paired with a black blouse on the cover of the 1943 Vogue magazine.

We love these fun, red, vintage style trousers paired with a black blouse.

Old Hollywood’s influence women’s 1940s trousers

Old Hollywood stars helped popularize women’s pants in the 1940s and made them stylish.

Stars like Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, and Gene Tierney made wearing pants glamorous, inspiring women across the globe to imitate their style.

Enough with the history, let’s get into how to wear trousers Old Hollywood Glam style!

How to Wear Trousers Old Hollywood Glam Style: #1 – Pair high-waisted trousers with a sweater

Is it chilly out and all you want to do is curl up in a cozy sweater?

We’ve got you covered!

Take a cue from Lauren Bacall (below left) and Rita Hayworth (right) and style your cozy sweater with a pair of high-waisted trousers.

Notice how they both chose a monochromatic color scheme and belts to emphasize the waist.

How to Wear Trousers Old Hollywood Glam Style: #2 – Use Trousers to Dress up your Knitwear

Similar idea to number one, but this time with your short-sleeved knitwear.

Pair your cozy knit top with a pair of high-waisted trousers to instantly have an elevated, cozy outfit!

Below: Katharine Hepburn (left) and Rita Hayworth stun in their knitwear and trousers outfits.

Below, Gene Tierney (left) and Hedy Lamarr (right) also wear knitwear paired with high-waisted trousers.

How to Wear Trousers Old Hollywood Glam Style: #3 – When in doubt, wear a white blouse

The white blouse is still a classic for good reason.

It literally goes with everything, including trousers.

Below: Old Hollywood stars Rosalind Russell (left) and Elizabeth Taylor (right) demonstrate how to elevate trousers with a simple white blouse.

Think a white blouse always has to be dressy?

Think again!

We love how Elizabeth Taylor (left) and Ingrid Bergman (right) pair white blouses with rolled up trousers for a cute, casual outfit.

How to Wear Trousers Old Hollywood Glam Style: #4 – Show off your feminine side with a blouse

Want to wear trousers but still look feminine?

Easy peasy.

Simply pair your high-waisted trousers with a feminine blouse for a more elevated casual look. The key here is to always go for a pair of high-waisted pants and emphasize the waist.

Below: Katharine Hepburn in her signature trousers style.

Fun fact!

Katharine Hepburn was known for her feisty personality and bold fashion choices. Her sporty, outdoorsy lifestyle made wearing pants a natural fashion choice. She played tennis daily in her trousers and is credited with helping making pants popular for women and defining modern sportwear.

Other posts you might like:
The Katharine Hepburn Style Guide – Her Vintage Tomboy Fashion

Rita Hayworth (below) demonstrates a couple ways to pair a feminine blouse with trousers.

Either choose a colorful blouse with neutral pants (left) or color-coordinate stripes with a solid. (right)

How to Wear Trousers Old Hollywood Glam Style: #5 – Use accessories to glam up your trousers

Want to glam up your trousers outfits a bit?

Accessorize away!

As these Old Hollywood Glam stars demonstrate, all it takes are a few accessories to really dress up your trousers outfit.

Below: Gene Tierney dresses up her polka-dot trousers with pearls and some cute ballet flats.

Lana Turner’s belt and heels take this trousers outfit to the next level. (below)

Don’t you love this simple outfit for taking the dog for a walk? Not sure how practical the heels are though…maybe it’s a super short walk.

Hedy Lamarr (left) dresses up her trousers with a fancy coat and vest.

Gene Tierney (right) adds a statement scarf and sparkly sandals to dress up her basic trousers and tee outfit.

Other 1940 Women’s pants styles

Siren suits

A jumpsuit, also called the siren suit, was also worn during the 1940s.

The siren suit was a practical suit that was was created for going over your clothes to wear in the bomb shelter, when sirens for air raids went off in Europe. (remember, this was war time)

Hence the name “siren suit.”

It resembled a jumpsuit, with a hood on top.

Old Hollywood star Rita Hayworth makes a siren suit look stylish in this photo from the 1940s. (Below left)

Women’s 1940s Jeans

In the mid 1930s, Levi’s designed the first pair of women’s cut jeans the 701 Jean. 

These weren’t your comfy jeans with stretch as we know them today they were made of 100% cotton blue denim and were non stretch. (i.e. needed lots of break-in time)

The jeans sat at the natural waist with a straight leg.

In an early 1940s photo of Norma Jean (Marilyn Monroe) she wears 1940s jeans with a wide rolled cuff.

Women’s 1940s Pinafore style pants

Pinafore style pants were also worn in the 1940s.

Women’s pinafore pants were a style of overall, rather than pants, with suspender straps that connected the front and the back and wide legs.

They commonly had large white buttons.

Land Girls 1940s pants

In the 1940s, the “land girls” also wore pants, as again, it was much more practical to be working on a farm in pants rather than a dress.

During the war the UK created a program to grow more food in their own country.

Women were needed to work the land.

Thus the land girl army was needed.

They were called the “women’s land army“

They even had their own pant suit uniform to wear.

This post was all about Womens 1940s Pants and How to Wear Pants Old Hollywood Glam Style

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