1940s Fashion Trends – Iconic Styles that are Still on Trend Today
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1940s fashion trends that are still stylish today in women’s fashion including the 1940s shirtwaist dress, the skirt skirt suit, 1940s womens trousers, and the 1940s two-piece swimsuit
This post is all about 1940s Fashion Trends and Iconic Styles from the 1940s
Early 1940’s fashion trends
Early and mid 1940s fashion was heavily influenced by World War II, with fabric shortages, inspiration from military clothes, and a focus on practicality.
The fashion industry in Europe came to a halt as fashion houses in France shut down during the German occupation.
With the war came rations on clothes and materials like silk.
The United Kingdom rationed how many clothes a person could buy all the way until 1949!
The government even made a line of utility clothing from controlled fabrics that were practical and also surprisingly stylish as they brought in a group of designers, the Incorporated society of London Fashion Designers, to design the collection.
A unique 1940s trend was the siren suit, which was a practical suit like a one-sie that one could wear in the case of going to an air-raid shelter.
The United states also put fabric restrictions in place as the war effort demanded that certain fabric had to be reserved for war materials.
Gone were things like double-breasted jackets.
In order to conserve fabric, only single breasted was permitted.
With the focus on utility clothing, American designers like Claire Mccardell designed practical clothes for women out of simple materials, that were both practical and figure flattering.
Shoulder pads were common in women’s clothing as they helped provide the 1940s silhouette of the wide shoulders and the narrow waist, inspired by military uniforms.
Late 1940’s fashion trends
After the end of the war, women’s 1940s fashion took a turn.
Christian Dior came out with “Dior’s new look” which was a 180 degree turn from the utilitarian styles of the early 1940s.
With waist-cinching jackets and gorgeous full skirts, these new styles celebrated the end of fabric restrictions and the return to wearing opulent clothes.
The new look celebrated the hourglass silhouette, and was a great influence leading into 1950s fashion, with it’s emphasis on the hourglass shape.
Coco Chanel had closed the doors to her famous clothing store in World War II when France and Germany were at war.
However, she returned in the early 1950s, and proposed an opposite style to Dior’s new silhouettes including her famous chanel suits which were popular in the 1960s.
Chanel inspired lady jackets and sweaters are still a fashion staple today that can easily dress up your jeans.
They now come in a sweater form, for a more casual twist on the fashion staple.
1940s Fashion Essentials
Some 1940s fashion trends consisted of the 1940s shirtwaist dress or housewife dress, high-waisted trousers, skirt suits, and the bikini.
Siren suits were also a trend in the UK, with the thread of air raids, these practical garment could be slipped over whatever one was wearing.
The iconic 1940s pinup girl was also a strong fixture of World War II.
The pinup was a printed image of their favorite girl that the soldiers would pin up wherever they were stationed.
The iconic images of women in swimsuits with high heels and red lipstick is the classic pinup look that comes from the 1940s.
Women today still take inspiration from these images for their pinup looks.
Below, Cindy Garner and Betty Grable were popular pinup girls from the 1940s.
Below, Dita Von Teese is famous for her classic pin-up style, channeling 1940s and 1950s pinup icons.
1940s Fashion Trend: Shirtwaist dresses
The 1940s shirtwaist dress or 1940s housewife dress was an everyday fashion staple in the 1940s.
The dress was designed to be practical all the down to the buttons appearing on the front of the dress rather than the back so that women could easily button the dresses themselves.
For more on the 1940s housewife dress and other casual 1940s dresses:
The Complete Guide to Women’s 1940s Casual Dresses
Below: Lana Turner wears a classic shirt dress in the 1940s film noir “The Postman Always Rings Twice.”
Below: the sultry Lauren Bacall wears a shirtdress in the 1940s movie “To Have and Have Not.”
The shirtwaist or shirtdress today
The shirtdress is still a classic style today, especially for fans of classic fashion.
Meghan Markle is often seen wearing shirt dresses, especially in the summer.
Below, Meghan Markle wore a classic dark blue shirtdress during her trip to Africa.
1940s Fashion Trend: High-waisted Trousers
Did girls wear pants in 1940?
Yep! In the 1940s, it finally became acceptable for women to wear pants for everyday activities (not just for sports or the beach, like the 1930s.)
High-waisted trousers were the pants style of the 1940s.
Fashion icons like Katharine Hepburn helped popularize pants starting in the 1930s.
Also, with women working in the factories while the men were at war, pants were obviously more practical than wearing a dress to run machinery.
For more on 1940s pants styles, you might like:
Vintage 1940s Fashion: Women’s 1940s Pants Style
Below, Barbara Stanwyck (left) and Rita Hayworth (right) rock high-waisted trousers.
Below, Katharine Hepburn (left) and Barbara Stanwyck wear 1940s style pants.
High-waisted trousers
Although the waistline of pants and trousers rise and fall with trends every few years, high-waisted trousers are in again for 2024 in a big way.
Below, a classic 1940s look with high-waisted trousers and a white button-up blouse.
1940s Fashion Trend: the Skirt Suit
1940s skirt suits or, since the war was on and everything had to be connected to it “victory suits” were skirt suits with a knee-length skirt and a matching suit jacket.
These were dressier pieces of clothing than say the casual housewife dress.
Women would even wear these as their wedding dress!
Fashion icons like Lauren Bacall and Ava Gardner wore skirt suits as their wedding dresses in the 40s.
For more on 1940s wedding dresses:
11 Dazzling 1940s Vintage Style Wedding Dresses
Below, Lauren Bacall wears a skirt suit in the 1940s movie “To Have and Have Not.”
Below, Barbara Stanwyck (left) and Ava Gardner (right) wear 1940s skirt suits.
Skirt suits today
The skirt suit today is more of a formal look that is usually worn for formal occasions, or worn by women in more professional office settings.
Below: Blair Waldorf from Gossip girl sports a tweed skirt suit.
1940s Fashion Trend: The Bikini
The 1940s really brought about the modern swimsuit, similar to what we wear today.
While one-piece suits were the most common, the two-pieces had been worn as early as the 1930s, however, with fabric rationing during World War II, the popularity of the two-piece suit grew.
After the end of World War II, the most daring swimwear yet was designed: two-piece bikini.
Below, Lana Turner rocks a two piece white bikini in the film noir The Postman Always Rings Twice. Ava Garnder wears a patterned two-piece swimsuit on the right.
If you’ve gone swimming lately, you’ll know the bikini is more relevant than ever.
While they’ve gotten skimpier than the 1940s two-piece bathing suits, if you really look you can find more full-coverage styles that have a more retro vibe.
For more on 1930s and 1940s swimsuits:
1940s Swimsuits – Welcome the Bikini and other Retro Bathing Suit Styles
This post was all about 1940s fashion trends and the iconic styles that are still in style today
What are some of your favorite 1940s fashion trends?
What are some 1940s fashion trends you wish would come back?
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References
Google arts and culture: Christian Dior: The New Look
The Met: Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (1883-1971) and the House of Chanel
Imperial War Museum How Clothes Affected Fashion in the Second World War
Wikipedia Claire McCardell
IMDB The Postman Always Rings Twice
IMDB To Have and Have Not
Edinburgh University Press The Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers
