The Ultimate Guide to 1940s Fashion with Lots of Photos

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1940s fashion through WWII, including women’s suits, 1940s dresses, 1940s casual styles, 1940s fashion icons and Dior’s New Look

This post is all about womens 1940s fashion

What was the fashion style of the 1940s?

’40s fashion was heavily influenced by World War II during the first half of the 1940s.

Government restrictions on fabric required a slim silhouette and an emphasis on practical clothing.

With the german occupation in Paris, many fashion houses were closed, slowing down the fashion industry.

As a result, the fashion style of the 1940s was utility and military inspired.

In the late 1940s, after the end of the war, with the material restrictions dropped and the influence of Dior’s New Look, fashion become more luxurious with luxe materials and an emphasis on the hourglass silhouette.

Evening dresses were still glamorous, with the silhouette dictated by which part of the decade they were in.

Early to mid 40s had a slimmer “column” silhouette, than the curvy, hourglass silhouette popular after the end of the war.

Early and mid 1940s fashion

For women, the silhouette of the early 40s was military-inspired and practical, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.

With the emphasis on preserving material, a slim silhouette emerged, with clothes that hung close to the body.

Silk stockings were replaced by nylon stockings, as the US wanted to limit it’s reliance on Japan, who at that was importing 90 percent of it’s silk from Japan.

When nylon got prioritized to be made into equipment for the war, things like parachutes and ropes, women began to go bare legged and even drew a seam up the back of their legs with makeup to appear as if they were wearing stockings.

Shoulder pads were common in women’s garments to achieve the broad shouldered look.

Skirt suits with the slim silhouette were popular. 

Both men and women’s suits were single breasted rather than double breasted as it saved on fabric. 

Women’s trousers gained in popularity as more women had to join the workforce with the men away at war.

Due to fabric rationing, dresses also had a slim silhouette with a narrow waist in the early to mid 40s.

Dresses fell to the knee, shorter than previous decades.

Late 1940s fashion

In the late 40s, with the debut of Christian Dior’s new look, the focus changed from fabric conservation and a slim silhouette, to a curvy hourglass silhouette with a nipped in waist and full skirts achieved with petticoats.

Dresses became longer, falling to mid calf, with the abundance of fabric now available.

Wartime restrictions on 1940s fashion during world war II

With the world embroiled in the second world war, it had an impact on fashion.

The United Kingdom  imposed clothing restrictions, and limited the amount of clothing a person could buy for almost the entire decade of the 40s.

When the United States later joined the war, they also put clothing restrictions in place to support the war effort.

The need for utility clothing came about as the emphasis was on practical clothing.

Utility clothing was a limited range of styles, made from controlled fabrics by the governement, in order to preserve materials, and to provide quality clothing to civilians at a reasonable price.

Men’s suits became single breasted rather than double breasted. Things like the number of pockets was restricted and the length of the cuffs and lapels had to be a certain size.

Women were encouraged to mend their clothes and “make do” rather than buy new clothes.

Above, Models in wartime Britain show off the new utility fashion styles. Don’t they look stylish?

Incorporated Society of of London Fashion Designers

The utility style is still a fashion classic today.

How did they look so good?

A group of leading fashion designers designed called the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers, designed stylish attractive clothes for the utility clothing project.

“The designer’s collection contained four basic items – a coat, suit, afternoon dress and suit dresses for the office. None of the designers were credited and the designs became standard for Utility clothing from 1942 until late 1945.” Flaskbak.com

Womens utility suits had wide shoulders, with a nipped in waist, and knee-length skirts.

Shoulder pads were commonly sewn into clothes to provide the wider-shouldered silhouette.

It was common for military uniforms were worn by the men everywhere, from the movies to restaurants and weddings, even grooms would simply wear their military uniform to their own weddings.

Late 1940s Fashion, Dior’s new look

At the end of the decade, after the war was over, the world once again turned back to fashion.

The new look represented a return to prosperity with an abundance of previously considered “wasteful” materials could now be used on to create lavish clothes with full skirts.

​With full petticoats and long hems, it was time to move on from the war and the restricted fashions of the early and mid 1940s.

Dior’s new look changed women’s fashion and would be a large influence on the 1950s fashion soon to follow.

The french designer Christian Dior deputed the bar suit, and with it, a new silhouette.

The new look went the opposite direction of the 40s.

Whereas the 40s fashion was a slim silhouette to avoid wasting material, now the new look emphasized full skirts with a nipped-in waist, and a curvy hourglass silhouette.

1940s Fashion designer Claire McCardell

With the fashion scene in Europe cut off from the the US, and the fabric restrictions, fashion designers in America had to get creative with their designs in the 1940s.

Practicality was at the forefront of fashion.

An American fashion designer Claire McCardell thrived by creating fabrics that weren’t restricted and were available during the war.

She helped popularize the ballet flat, and created ready-to-wear designs out of basic materials like cotton and denim.

A famous dress she designed was the “popover dress” a dress that designed to work for both housecleaning and going out without requiring a change of clothes.

1940s Style hair

Women would pin curl their hair and wear red lipstick, even while working in the factories.

Veronica Lake’s hairstyle was so popular, that the government had to have her change her hairstyle so that women could see out of both eyes while working in the factory.

The “victory roll” hairstyle was popular, where the curls of hair were pinned on top of the head or framing the face.

The term “victory roll” was supposedly coined by Lana Turner after the the victory rolls made by pilots in world war II.

Other Old Hollywood starlets like Betty Grable and Ingrid Bergman helped popularize the hairstyle.

1940s Fashion Women’s Suits & Victory Suits in the early 1940s

You can’t talk about 1940s fashion without mention womens suits.

In the UK it was called the utility suit, the US it was called the victory suit.

Again, following the popular silhouette of the broader shoulders and narrow waists, the suit jackets often had shoulder pads and a narrow waist.

A line skirts were very common.

The suit jacket could have a range of different necklines, waist detailing, number of buttons, pocket detailing and ruffle trim, but the trim silhouette with the broader shoulders and narrow waist remained.

Fabric restrictions restricted the double breasted suits resulting in the everything being single-breasted.

We love how smart the 1940s suit looks.

The suits were used for working in the office and could be dressed up in the evening for dinner or the movies.

These were high quality, and more of an investment piece in a woman’s wardrobe.

Similar to grooms wearing their uniform to their wedding, women would also wear their suit as their wedding dress.

1940s Dresses

1940s dresses were a stable part of a woman’s wardrobe. 

Early 1940s dresses had sleeker lines, with the emphasized waist and often an a-line skirt.

Again, practicality was top of mind.

The shirtwaist dress became the de-facto house dress as it was easy to get in and out of, the buttons were in the front so a woman needed no help in getting ready.

There was a range of styles available, including the swing dress (for dancing) the summer dress, the tea dress, the cocktail dress, the pin up dress, and house dress or casual dress.

In the late 1940s, after the war, and Dior’s New Look, skirts became fuller, and the dresses had a softer feel overall.

Skirts became longer and more fabric was used to create the full skirts, so essential to the look.

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

Casual 1940s dresses

Casual dresses in the 1940s followed the popular silhouette of wide shoulders and a narrow waist, complete with an a-line or pencil skirt.

1940s dresses formal

Formal dresses in the 1940s had a range from simple and sleek to glitzy and ornate. Grecian style gowns were popular as were sheath dresses and ballgown styles.

1940s wedding dresses

As mentioned in the womens suit section, it was common for women to wear their suit to get married in, rather than a wedding dress.

In the early to mid 1940s, traditional wedding dresses had a long and slim silhouette.

In the late 1940s, again, due to Dior’s new look, the skirts became more voluminous to get the dramatic hourglass shape that would carry over into the 1950s.

For more on 1940s wedding dresses:
11 Dazzling 1940s Vintage Style Wedding Dresses

Suit style 1940s wedding dresses

Lauren Bacall and Ava Gardner were celebrities followed the trend of the day and got married in their suits.

Traditional style 1940s and early 1950s wedding dresses

Elizabeth Taylor’s wedding dress in 1950 (right) is an example of how far the pendulum had swung since the early 1940s, with her lavish wedding gown with a full skirt.

1940s Fashion – Womens casual styles

Everyday wear for women in the 1940s was often a casual dress, trousers, or shorts.

Wide leg pants were the norm for the 1940s, the cigarette style pants would become popular in the 1950s.

High-waisted trousers were popular as women needed something practical to wear.

Shorts were also worn, high waisted, like the rest of the 1940s fashion.

No matter the outfit, belts were commonly worn to emphasize the waist and to acheive the desired silhouette.

1940s Womens shorts

1940s shorts worn by Lauren Bacall (left) and Rita Hayworth (right).

1940s Womens pants

Women’s trouser came into their own during the 1940s, spurred on by both a need (harder to work in a factory in a dress) and also inspired by Old Hollywood Glamour stars like Katharine Hepburn and Lauren Bacall.

The fashion icons flaunted their high-waisted, menswear inspired pants, in an era where it was still the default for women to wear dresses.

The 1940s style of pants was long and high-waisted, before leading to the popular cigarette style pants in the 1950s.

1940s Old Hollywood Fashion icons

Old Hollywood had an influence on fashion.

Just like today, popular stars would wear the latest fashion that would then influence the rest of society.

Popular 1940s actresses included the likes of Ingrid Bergman, Ava Gardner, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, Ginger Rogers, and Bette Davis.

The studio would pressure their stars to maintain their glamorous images off screen as well as on, and they were expected to be camera ready at all times.

You weren’t likely to catch an Old Hollywood star out in their pajamas like today!

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn helped popularize pants for women and is credited for helping define modern sportswear.

She was athletic and liked to play tennis everyday, and chose to do it her tailored trousers rather than a dress.

Related post:
The Katharine Hepburn Style Guide – Her Vintage Tomboy Fashion

Ingrid Bergman

Ingrid Bergman was known for her chic effortless style, and starred in many movies during the 1940s.

Ingrid Bergman wears a 1940s style suit in Notorious (left) and wears a 1940 style evening gown in Casablanca (right)

Lana Turner

As the original “sweater girl,” Lana Turner had a great passion for clothes and her style was often emulated.

She reportedly wouldn’t wear anything off the rack and had to have all her clothes perfectly tailored to her.

She was also a popular 1940s pin up model.

She helped define Old Hollywood glam along with Hedy Lamarr.

She played in a number of movies in the 40s including the popular The Postman Always Rings Twice as the Femme Fatale.

Above, Lana Turner in the Postman always rings twice (left) and lounging in 1940s trousers during the filming of The Postman Always Rings Twice (right)

Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr wearing a 1940s style coat (left) and wearing 1940s style trousers with a white blouse (right).

This post was all about womens 1940s fashion

What 1940s fashion is your favorite?

Do you prefer the military inspired early and mid 1940s or the later more lavish late 1940s?