SHOP NOW: 1940s vintage clothing from eBay!

It’s easy to see the 1940s fashion influences when you know that those trends are being reproduced in new fashion today. Check out vintage inspired clothing sites like Stop Staring, Pin Up Girl Clothing and Pin Up Dresses.

I’d love to know if you see 1940s fashion influences in today’s fashion! Let me know by leaving a comment below the post, or sending me a tweet or saying hi on Facebook. And don’t forget to check out my 1940s Pinterest board!

xx, SD

1940s Fashion Influences for 5 Modern Looks

1940s Fashion Influence #1: Knee Length Coats

Source: Family Photo

Knee-length coats came into vogue in the 1940s because of fabric restrictions. No longer was it considered trendy to wear a maxi-length coat made from rich, warm fabrics like wool. Even if you had the money to buy a luxurious and lengthy style, clothing brands were bowing to US demands and producing more conservative styles with less fabric and almost zero decoration.

And for ladies who couldn’t afford to buy a new shorter piece, they’d cut the bottoms from their ’30s coats to stay on trend with the new shorter-length look!

I found this family photo in my mother’s photo albums. The photo dates from 1941 and shows one of my distant family relatives wearing a knee-length princess style coat, a style defined by a slight A-line flare and soft pleats. Note the coat’s triple rows of buttons, which is an interesting style characteristic and probably designed to give the piece a bit of stylish flair.

Source: Wallflower Vintage /’40s trench coat

1940s fashion investments were strategic and smart. Women purchased classic pieces that they could wear for seasons to come. Their coats needed to be as versatile as the rest of their wardrobe.

Since military influences abound for fall-winter season 2012 (just check out the Moschino runways for proof), a great way to incorporate 1940s fashion influences is to wear a classic trench coat. Thankfully you won’t be fighting in the trenches … but you’ll still look great when seen in one!

Thanks to Couture Allure for providing background information on the 1940s coat trends.

 1940s Fashion Influence #2: Floral Dresses

Source: Dardanelle / Gottlieb Jazz Photos from Library of Congress Flickr Commons

The 1930s was an era of feminine, elegant dresses in fresh florals and cut in silky drapes of floor-length drama.

When World War II began in 1939, within a few seasons soft tailored dresses were replaced with boxy cut plain dresses, masculine blazers of wide shoulders and shorter knee-length skirts. The feminine feel of the ’30s took a backseat to the severity of wartime style that was designed for practicality more than prettiness.

Still, a girl had to feel gorgeous sometimes, so the era compromised and the trend of short-sleeved and knee-length rayon dresses was born. Because fashion adornment was looked down upon, most dresses still took on masculine qualities and were designed with collar lapels and box cut skirts with slight pleats. Girlie decoration of buttons, lace, sequins and other frills were few and far between.

 Source: Yours Truly Mag / ’40s floral dress

Simple floral designs satisfied the ’40s woman’s desire for something decadent in her wardrobe. Plus, the synthetic fiber rayon was the least war-rationed material, and because of its cotton-esque properties took to floral designs and light coloring well.

’40s floral dresses were worn for multiple occasions by the women of the era,  but the style is best worn today for a sweet ‘n casual day look. I love how Yours Truly Mag has accessorized her ’40s floral dress with a vintage straw bag, a forest green hat, nude flats and gorgeous red nails and lip!

1940s Fashion Influence #3: Pencil Skirts

Doris Day & Kitty Kallen / Gottlieb Jazz Photos from Library of Congress on Flickr Commons

Source: Polly Bland / ’40s skirt

It was as if the war made every garment smaller — including skirts, which for the first time since scandalous 1920s fashion rose to the knee to conserve fabric. The “pencil skirt” was born because it was cut close to the body for a leaner, trimmer style. Now, women all around the world rock the pencil skirt as a go-to professional clothing staple.

Polly’s modernized her ’40s pencil skirt by pairing it with a tucked-in white blouse to show off her teeny waist. Rather than wear the boxy jacket style of the ’40s, she’s chosen feminine pieces to top off her look so that she looks like a lady of 2012! 

1940s Fashion Influence #4: Masculine Style Suits

Pee Wee Russel & Linda Keene / Gottlieb Jazz Photos from Library of Congress on Flickr Commons

Because fashions were discouraged from having decorative details like ruffles, lace and other types of trim, American designers found inspiration in the utilitarian design of men’s suiting.

Since fabric restrictions were in place, it made the most sense to design a women’s suit based on the simple styling of a man’s. Plus, with patriotism the new “trend” of the era, designing suiting to resemble military styles was a way for fashion to contribute to wartime efforts.

 Thanks to Kaziah Vaughn of Spotlight Vintage for providing background information on 1940s suit trends.

Source: Wallflower Vintage / ’40s blazers

Even sewing patterns were designed to show women how to wear men’s suiting in style. McCall’s magazine produced patterns showing women how to transform their husband’s suits into ladies suits, dresses and children’s clothing. The 1940s was arguably the first decade of sustainability, recycling pre-existing materials by re-purposing them into new garments. So if you were a woman of the ’40s and your husband was at war, chances were he needed a new wardrobe when he returned! Wallflower Vintage transform two different ’40s blazers and styled them into form-flattering  androgynous-inspired looks for today. The black ’40s blazer she’s wearing can be paired with dress pants to skirts to skinny black jeans, and the military-esque gray wool blazer is perfect paired with feminine pleats and black Cuban heels.

 1940s Fashion Influence #5: Hair Scarves

Source:  Tatiana Riabouchinska / Wikipedia Commons

One of the most popular (not to mention easiest) ways to spotlight some ’40 style into your look is by copying this vintage hairstyle – wearing a patterned scarf tied from the back of your head into a knot at your forehead.

This style wasn’t a look worn by day for the typical lady of the ’40s. Rather, it was a practical but pretty way for the new working woman of the era to keep her hair out of her eyes and away from the machinery she might have been handling at her factory job.

This is why the iconic image of the ’40s — Miss Rosie the Riveter, shown at the top of this article — is wearing a scarf in her hair. She represents the new “factory girl” of the 1940s. These were the women who took on the jobs men once had who were now enlisted in the military.

Source: Adore Vintage / ’40s hair scarf

Ironically today, the ’40s hair scarf trend is not worn by the modern woman for a “working girl” look. We’re definitely not dressing to manage the assembly line in a factory!

Rather the hair scarf serves as unique hair flair that can add a punch of print to a tailored, feminine look. The knot can be tied as small or large as you want with hair tied back in a loose bun or swept-up ‘do.

Adore Vintage smartly added a ’40s touch to her look by knotting a patterned scarf with colors matching her pencil skirt. Even with two patterns in her look, the outfit has an aesthetically pleasing flow and has her looking like a 2012 version of Rosie the Riveter herself!

MORE 1940s FASHION

HISTORY: 1940s Fashion Timeline from Fashion-Era.com
DRESS CODE: The ’40s Silhouette Revealed on Glamourdaze.com
PHOTOS: Amazing Advertising of the ’40s on Costumegallery.com
PLUS: How Women Really Wore World War Two Fashion