Pathe 1940s fashion newsreel from 1943 – In wartime Britain, women had to make do and mend, with severe rationing from coupons and utility clothing a must, the new ethos was to be innovative with your current wardrobe. This Pathe film suggests – a tad optimistically that a girl could get by for a whole …
Ever wondered why a size 12 is called a size 12? – Kass McGann of Reconstructing History.com Explains – Dress sizing is certainly confusing! I mean, a man’s jacket size 42 fits a man with a chest measurement of 42″. Jeans sized 36/32 fit a waist of 36″ and an inseam of 32″. But what …
More Women are buying more clothes for more money – In the country’s custom fashion salons and high-priced stores, with the post war fears of fabric shortages, business in fashion is booming .. and women are in a frenzy of buying, at least those who can afford it. Shown here are this falls latest silhouettes …
The Photographs of Charles Harris Charles ‘Teenie’ Harris from Pittsburgh USA, is now acknowledged as one of the great photographers of his generation. His documentation of the daily lives of African American women and men in a collection of some 80,000 photographs, is quite simply unique. African American Women of the 1940’s We’ve picked out …
Visionary designer forerunner to Dior – In 1938, a young American female fashion designer named Elizabeth Hawes, an author, a journalist, a political activist and union organiser with the foresight of Chanel and Dior and a razor sharp wit that made her the Dorothy Parker of fashion, published a book called Fashion is Spinach, a long forgotten …
Colour 1940s Fashion from AV Geeks & Prelinger Archive – In full colour from 1942 – a full colour 1940s fashion showcase film made by Butterick to promote their war era dress patterns magazine. Digitised and uploaded to the Prelinger Archive by those great collectors of all things educational in old film – AV Geeks. You can buy …
Glamourdaze meets author Tam Francis World War Two, jitterbug dresses, swing dancing, swanky cocktails, and vintage living are hinted at in THE GIRL IN THE JITTERBUG DRESS back clover blurb! Everything a Glamourdaze gal could want in a summer read all wrapped up in a compelling fiction novel written especially for vintage enthusiasts. Successful vintage …
New Gamine Figure of 1949 turns heads American women, battle-scarred survivors of the 1947 style revolution, when the New Look took over, are hearing disquieting reports from the fashion front: Having made over their figures for the New Look, was it possible that they were going to have to do it all over again? The …
Paris Fashion Rises Again – After virtual domination for some years by the Americans, there is no better way to sum up the new post-war Paris fashion explosion, and the panic and incredulity which the Dior New Look triggered, than in this defensive fashion review from 1947. Procured from that great archaeologist of all things papery …
Plaids, Checks and Stripes for students – 1940’s fashion report – Marjorie Ripples The styles, the fabrics that are going places this seasons Sears catalog. Concentrating on young women for spring-wear, we see plenty of plaids, checks and stripes. Tried and true cottons you can easily wash and care for in these times of war …