1940’s in fashion for women in WW2. Trends, utility dresses, seamed stockings, peplum’s, shoulder pads, and the post war New Look.
Women in World War 2 left us an iconic and beguiling style which is forever celebrated in movies, books and magazines. Rationing encouraged women to “make do and mend”. With all resources going to the war effort, Fabric shortage meant longer skirts and less revealing evening dresses. Austerity was reflected by a more austere fashion in the early 1940’s. Makeup and hairstyles however never looked better.
Browse the 1940’s fashion trends as worn by women in that troubled decade. Find inspiration for your next 1940’s style dress, victory rolls hairstyle.
Now you know the highlights, dive in to our archive of 1940’s fashion history. Find out how women in WW2 lived, worked, served in the forces and of course dressed.
Create the Perfect Face 1946 – The beguiling camouflage make-up foundations give fresh, even color to the feminine faces of more than half of the women today – a big step forward on the past three or four years in makeup artistry. Correct make-up for the 1940s is no longer a matter of a quick …
Vintage Make-up rules on eve of the 1940s – Avon, a name synonymous with the beauty regimes of millions of American women from the 1920s up to the 1960s. Avon Ladies bought the company beauty products and sold them on their own time to their neighbors, often giving beauty demonstrations too. We present to you …
Pinterest Vintage Fashion Channel – Just a heads up to our subscribers. If you haven’t already checked it out, why not subscribe to our popular Pinterest vintage fashion channel. There’s dozens of boards dedicated to all the decades of fashion, from the Edwardian era to 1980s fashions. Thousands of archive images of vintage style, makeup and hair. …
Color Photos of Canadian Women during WW2 – Marking the release of our 1940s WW2 Women Memorabilia packs, here are some extraordinary color photographs depicting WW2 Women of Canada. which come courtesy of the Library and Archives Canada. As in Britain, the role of women in Canada changed dramatically during WW2. Like their British counterparts, …
From unfaithful harlot to plucky Waaf – Conflicting Portrayals of WW2 Women On both sides of the Atlantic, there were many conflicting portrayals of gender roles, femininity and female sexuality. All of these messages doled out by the official War Office propaganda machine. From the patriotic hard working WAAF, Land Girl and Rosie the Riveter …
Sexist Ads in WW2 – 1940s Women Sexist ads in WW2 In stark contrast to the positive empowerment images of women in the 1940s, there were many sexist ads in WW2. Government warnings to service men to ‘keep mum’ and ‘chaste’ depicted women in time honored fashion; the female stereotype, addled of the mind, untrustworthy and ridden …
Dress Uniform Identification – It was the era of World War, the fight to defeat fascism across the world. Equality in the forces had a long way to go ( with the notable exception of the Soviet Armies and air forces). Women were not allowed to join direct combat, there were many roles filled by …
Glamour Girls of the US Navy – WAVES Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, otherwise known as the WAVES brought thousands of young women in to the Women’s Reserve of the U.S Navy. They were assigned full military status, including ranks, and notably were the first to enlist African American women, albeit in the latter years …
Rare images of British women on the home front – Women on the home front Marking the release of our 1940s Wartime Women’s guides pack, here are some amazing images of women on the home front in Britain during the Blitz. See the Imperial War Museum who curate a rare series of color transparency slides. We …
Heroic women of World War Two. To mark the release of our 1940s Wartime Women Guides Pack, we’ll be featuring some posts to celebrate the brave women of the 1940s, who served in the Allied forces and on the home front. Celebrating the heroic women of WW2 Women’s Air Force Service Pilots – WASPS Photo courtesy …