1940’s Fashion and The Handbag
Found these charming images from a russian site called Vintage Story
The war saw the smooth contours of the 1930s fashion change to a more military look. Bags became larger, squarer, and more practical, reflecting a desire to appear self-sufficient. As zippers, mirrors, and leather became scarce, designers turned to wood or plastic for frames and employed new synthetics such as rayon. The drawstring bag reappeared and was often homemade. Bags in Great Britain were made both to carry gas masks and to match an outfit. In France and America, as more women entered the workforce, they turned to shoulder bags (Foster 1982). After the war, the shoulder bag was relegated to country and travel features until its revival in the 1970s (Wilcox 1999).
omg i am so happy i found this blog. i am lover of anything vintage. great site you have here!
my pick is the last handbag, so elegant!
Wonderful history about handbags, I love the last one especially!
These are fantastic. Thanks for sharing them. =D
-Andi x
I love all these bags!! Agree with Jitterbugdoll how glamorous the fashions were – given wartime restrictions. Very feminine and elegant too!
Fab bags – thanks for sharing.
Fantastic pictures! I love 1940s handbags, especially the crocheted and Corde designs. It's amazing how glamorous the fashion of that era was given the wartime restrictions :-)