Vintage Dresses & Hairstyles of the 1940's

There's a resurgence of vintage styles from the thirties and forties lately. 

In particular, for the spring 2010 collections, the designers seem to favor 1930's and 1940's inspired fashions for their latest catwalks designs.

With designer John Galliano featuring forties fashion heavily on the Christian Dior catwalk for fall/winter 2009-2010. The show featured elegant sophistication with a touch of the dramatic.

Unlike the more subtle tones of the 1940s, the Dior catwalk featured stunning shades of fuschia pink and scarlet. 

With 40's inspired style hairstyles featuring on the Cavalli catwalks in 07-08, there's no doubt that this is an era that has classic fashion looks that will continue to inspire us. 

Forties Dresses

Whether you're just seeking inspiration for an elegant evening dress, the fashion & style of the 40's can help provide some great ideas. 

With Hollywood taking off in the post-war era, fabulous evening dresses & long formal gowns were being worn by film stars, designed to encourage fashion-starved women to start buying & wearing the fabulous new Paris clothing styles. 

Check out the awesome Met Museum costume collection evening dress by Jacques Fath, made in silk, designed in Paris.

After working in the factories for the war effort,  women had to learn how to dress in feminine clothes once again.

If you're planning to make your own, it's possible to buy vintage 40s dress patterns or pick up books full of pictures to give inspiration on fabrics, styles & cuts.

Cocktail dresses featured nipped in waists with beaded detail, such as belts.

Wedding gowns were not subject to the rationing experienced elsewhere, but the stars of the silver screen set a trend for wearing a wedding dress made of the latest fabric, rayon. 

Following the war, creative British brides used silk parachutes to make their gowns.  Meanwhile the Paris fashion houses struggled to rebuild and American women enjoyed indulging in new bridal designs.

At the end of this decade, Christian Dior emerged as a popular fashion house that would continue to set the trend in formal gowns for decades to come.

The 1940s Trends

Classic films such as "It's A Wonderful Life" (Frank Capra, with James Stewart as George Bailey, 1946), Fantasia (Disney, 1940), Casablanca (Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman, 1942), Easter Parade (with Fred Astaire & Judy Garland, 1948), brought new hope in the post war years. 

Popular film stars included Clark Gable, James Cagney, Betty Grable & Rita Hayworth.

The first two piece swimming costume, the bikini, was created in 1946.   Men wore smart clothing and were proud of being well groomed.

The latest swing dance craze was the jitterbug, with 45 and LP records being popular at the end of the decade.  This era also saw the invention of the atomic bomb in 1945.

Diners sprung up on street corners and the introduction of Tupperware ©, with velcro being invented in 1948.

1940s Costume Ideas

Much of forties fashion was influenced by military silhouettes, so formal suits and skirts reflect the forces fashions of the era.  

Hence a military style or wartime outfit, worn with forties style hair worn in a snood, would be a fairly easy idea for a costume.

For a simple costume, try recreating the forties hairstyles with formal curls, a pearl necklace, long gloves and a silk or satin evening gown.

Another idea would be to wear a summer dress, but with a net skirt underneath to give the fullness that was seen at the end of the forties and into the fifties.

Or visit eBay to download some vintage patterns to create your own authentic outfit !

Recommended Resources

Evening & Formal Gowns - latest long dresses & designer inspired evening wear

Vintage Sewing Patterns - further inspiration with these genuine images of paterns from 1940 through to 1949.