1940s Aesthetic | How to Get the 40s Look

What was fashion in the 1940s?

Fashion in the 1940s was very practical and utilitarian with WWII raging on.

Fashion progress in Europe was essentially halted in the 1940s as the world became preoccupied with the war.

Due to strict material rationing, womens clothes were streamlined and practical.

Skirts got shorter than the 30s, going from mid-calf to right below the knee.

Pants were also beginning to become more popular for women.

With men in the war, women joined the workforce and began wearing wide legged slacks to work, because pants were obviously much more practical to work in a factory in than a dress or a skirt.

Guidelines dictated how many pockets could be added, and even how wide a belt could be.

Every scrap of clothing was used, even swimsuits had to have material removed.

As a result, womens clothing was sleek, straight and narrow.

“Better known as Regulation L-85, this order placed limitations on feminine apparel. The order specified the amount of fabric that could be used to create a garment and listed the measurements for feminine apparel items. For example, hems and belts could not exceed two inches in width, garments could not have more than one pocket, and ornamental sleeves, hoods, and scarves were banned.” – Library of Congress

With nylon and silk being rationed, women even resorted to painting on a seam up the back of their legs to look like they were wearing stockings.

“The look was simple but stylish, with good proportion and line. It incorporated padded shoulders, a nipped-in waist, and hems to just below the knee,” writes James Laver in Costume and Fashion: A Concise History (253).

Hair was styled in pin curls, to get the sculpted curls look and set in different patterns.

Even after the war ended in the mid 1940s, clothes rationing and current fashion stayed in place a few years longer until Dior’s voluptuous “New Look” came out in the late 1940s, and began ushering in the 1950s fashion.

In the 1950s, material again became more abundant and the ultra-feminine silhouette returned.

1940s Aesthetic makeup and hair

Above, Veronica Lake’s famous hairstyles had so many women copying it that the government had to have her change her hair. Since women were working on the factories during the war, it was literally dangerous to have one eye partially covered.

It’s hard to truly get the 1940s aesthetic without having the right hair and makeup.

Hair varied in length in the 1940s, but was always set in pincurls in order to achieve the sculpted curls look.

Think Veronica Lake, with her trademark cascading waves.

Makeup was simple, and usually centered around a red lip, foundation, eyeliner and mascara.