It is worthless to discuss fashion of the forties without first understanding the tremendous impact World War II had on everyday life during the early part of the decade. Social trends dictate fashion. World War II changed the world of fashion forever.
On September 3, 1939 England and France declared war on Germany. On June 14, 1940 Paris fell to Germany. German occupation began controlling haute couture. During the war, the Germans seriously considered moving the French couture houses to Berlin and re-establishing the seat of haute couture in Berlin. Berlin would then be known as the fashion capital of the world. On September 3, 1940, the United States transferred destroyers to Great Britain. The United States officially entered World War II on December 8, 1941.
Prior to World War II, New York fashion designers made the trek across the Atlantic Ocean to attend the flamboyant and opulent French fashion shows each year. They then returned to the United States and copied the latest Parisian haute couture designs. Once the Germans occupied Paris and the United States stationed battleships in the Atlantic Ocean, the New York designers were cut off from Paris haute couture. In their attempts to design new fashions for the United States market, they concentrated on sportswear. This led to the United States emerging as the sportswear capital of the world.In an effort to comply with the restrictions imposed on them, American designers created a new style of suits for women. Skirts were short and straight topped by short jackets of twenty-five inches or less in length. Cardigans matched skirts and sheath evening dresses replaced the long flowing gowns of the thirties.
McCalls produced patterns for transforming men’s suits into ladies’ suits and women’s dresses into children’s clothing. The women of America were once again sewing their own family’s garments.
American designers introduced the concept of separates and co-ordinating components in order to create the illusion of more outfits than one actually had. Classic sportswear styles took hold on college campuses and were soon adopted by all levels of society and all age groups.
Many varieties of peplums were in vogue: butterfly, bustle and gathered peplums were a few. Ruffles found their way to skirt hems, necklines and waists. Gored, gathered and A-line skirts were topped with soft, feminine blouses. Blouses donned bows at the center-front neckline and might sport full or puffy sleeves. Collars were cut generously full, in peter pan and traditional pointed shirt-collar designs. Lace also accentuated blouses around the neckline.
Women everywhere used household items, including cellophane and pipe cleaners, to create festive shoe decorations. Everything was recycled, giving rise to such clever advertising as Vogue’s “Make Do & Mend” campaign. Factories were converted from consumer goods production to military production. U.S. rationing rules limited the height of shoe heels to one inch and allowed for only six color choices; stockings were also unavailable. Magazines and beauty salons helped out by offering tips on how to paint legs with back seams and tan using makeup. This being impractical as an ongoing ritual, ankle socks became increasingly popular.
In 1947, Dior introduced the “New Look”, featuring longer lengths and fuller skirts; a return to classic femininity with a nipped waist. The use of many yards of fabric in garments was now seen as lavish and opulent. Women’s fashion changed to a soft, feminine and romantic image. The accompanying shoe designs would set the stage for the next decade…
Menswear in the 40s
The end of the war and rationing in America saw the development of the style that is most often associated with the swing era. Clothes were full-cut again, with double-breasted, longer jackets and wider trousers. Shirts and coats came in a range of colors and hand-painted silk ties ran the range from elegant to exotic – featuring geometric designs or pin-up girls. Everyone wore a tie and through it, one could express one’s individuality.
The Zoot Suit
The Jazz Era’s wide suit, hugely popular in Harlem in the 1930s, was worn predominately by African-American and Mexican-American youths in the 1940s. It was considered unpatriotic and even illegal because it went so far against the standards of rationing. The fact that so many of the Mexican-Americans who wore it were gangsters did not help its reputation. However, the high-waisted, baggy and low-crotched trousers with the narrow ankle and oversized jackets had a powerful influence on men’s fashions in the 1940s. Besides being an ideal outfit to wear while jitterbugging, the high waists and boxy, roomy coats were flattering, as well as comfortable. They gave a man more substance, something he wanted to project during such desperate times.
The tie, as mentioned above, was crucial. In the 1940s, high-cut trousers meant ties were shorter and wider. They were brightly colored when everything else was austere. They were held in place by clips, because you wouldn’t put a pin through your good tie.
Shirts were held in place by good cufflinks and dressed up by suspenders, which fastened to the trousers by buttons. Suspenders were especially popular when the leather that would make belts was all going to the war effort.
Almost everyone wore wingtip, spectator shoes, which were not terribly different from men’s shoes in the 1920s or 1930s. When he wasn’t wearing an Army-issued cap, a man distinguished himself with his wide-brimmed fedora. A smart, strong, stylish hat, the fedora was worn by everyone from gangsters to businessmen to President Roosevelt.
How to dress 1940’s style
Costume Gallery
Wikipedia
40’s Fashions
Women in WWII
1940’s icons
Lucille Ball
Judi Garland
Desi Arnaz
Gene Kelly
Joan Crawford
Lana Turner
Mickey Rooney
Betty Grable
Bette Davis
The entertainment industry continued to exert a strong influence over fashion. Movies were one of the few escapes from the harsh reality of the Depression. Movie star endorsements of styles and accessories became common, especially with evening wear. A popular formal look was the empire-waisted gown, with ties at the back. The dress might boast butterfly or large, puffy sleeves. Hemlines fell at the ankle and trains added a further formal touch. Fabric flowers might be placed at the neckline, on one shoulder, or at the center waist or center neckline. Bows were another popular accent. The peplum made its debut in the late thirties evening wear.
Barer bathing wear took on special significance as an expression of women’s newfound freedom. Swimsuits of the 1920s were either short taffeta shifts — favored by older women — or tight, sleeveless wool tank suits with built-in undershorts which stopped at mid-thigh. Women protected their bobbed hairdos by wearing bathing caps. Some women, especially in the most fashionable resorts, wore dramatic cover-ups over their suits. People became health-food, exercise and sun-worship oriented in a major fitness fad, triggered by all that flesh out in public view for the first time.
In the early 1920s, hats had deep crowns and medium-to-large brims, but in 1923, brims began disappearing and hats became helmet-like. These hats, or cloches, were quite popular even though they were unattractive on anyone but the very young and the extremely pretty. Though in a spring, 1924 issue of Vogue would pose the question, “Is the cloche dead?” they were the latest fad for most of the 1920s, finally easing out of fashion around 1930.
In summer, men sported broad brimmed Panama straw hats and in the fall and winter, English driving caps were popular for casual wear, while felt fedoras for everyday wear with suits and sport coats were frequently worn.
Dresses were designed to move while dancing. Some had long trailing sashes, trains or asymmetric hemlines. Typically, women did not wear hats for evening, but instead wore fancy combs, scarves and bandeaux. For evening wear, Paris was the place and haute couture was hot. Paris was equated with high fashion, and even a scarf or a small accessory from that city was considered the ultimate in chic. Designers such as Molyneaux, Vionnet, Poiret, Lanvin, and Chanel reigned, and, late in the decade, an important newcomer appeared: 
